2nd m.2 vs ssd

[Rbaut]

Hi guys,

Continuing to tinker with my build and debating what is best in terms of adding an cheap secondary 1TB PCS M.2 NVME, or a decent quality Samsung SATA SSD.

From what I've read, even a lower end NVME will out perform a strong SATA SSD. However when dealing with a secondary M.2 slot on the Mobo, issues with PCIe lanes may come into play etc and this is where I get lost.

Current spec below, to clue you up on my Mobo in question etc.

(I know it's currently very short on storage, but that's what I'm trying to fix, plus I do have a large HDD I plan on adding from my previous build)

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERCASE H500M GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)

Motherboard
ASUS® STRIX B550-F GAMING (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!

Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP

1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED

1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 2500MB/W)

Partitions: 500GB

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED

Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET

Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i RGB PRO XT Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)

Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0

 

[Resistance100]

M.2 is better than Sata SSD all day. But for most it comes down to budget. But if you have the money m.2 all the way

 

[Martinr36]

Yeah if you got room for a second M.2 go for it, I've 2 in my pc, one for system the other for games

 

[Rbaut]

I mean, more than happy to go with a cheap m.2, at that point it's not a budget thing as they are about the same price.

I just wanted to confirm if there would be any issues in having 2 with my mobo.

 

[Resistance100]

I mean, more than happy to go with a cheap m.2, at that point it's not a budget thing as they are about the same price.

I just wanted to confirm if there would be any issues in having 2 with my mobo.

Nope as long as your mobo supports it you’re good to go

 

[Rbaut]

Nope as long as your mobo supports it you’re good to go

Perfect, thank you got your help

 

[ubuysa]

I sometimes get tired of saying this over and over again - a drive used for data storage should be specced based on the requirements of the applications whose data is being stored on there. Some examples....

Music and video files get zero benefit from the speed of any SSD - hence the most cost effective storage is an HDD.

Most normal user data (Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, low res jpegs/pngs/gifs, log files, pdf files, text files, etc.) are in files smaller than about 5MB. A 5MB file can be read from a 5000MB/s NVMe SSD in 1ms, the same file read from a 550MB/s SATA SSD takes 9ms. Think you're going to notice the 8ms difference? You'll sure notice the cost difference!

The only user data that needs a very fast SSD is data that's in large files (well over 5MB) and which must be loaded quickly. 4k images, large databases, large spreadsheets etc, or smaller data files that are loaded very frequently.

Rather than buy a single large NVMe drive for all user data it may be more cost effective to buy a smaller NVMe drive for that data which really needs that speed and a SATA SSD drive for everything else - even including a SATA HDD for music, videos, and archive (stuff you need to keep but which you rarely use).

One size rarely fits all.

 

[SpyderTracks]

@ubuysa Completely agree with you there....however, a 1TB PCS M.2 drive is cheaper than a 1TB Samsung SSD (about £12 I think) so, even if the speed of the PCS M.2 isn't needed, on a pure cost basis, the PCS M.2 is better. Of course, wehether a 1TB drive is needed is a different matter.

Those PCS M2’s are amazing value!

 

[ubuysa]

@ubuysa Completely agree with you there....however, a 1TB PCS M.2 drive is cheaper than a 1TB Samsung SSD (about £12 I think) so, even if the speed of the PCS M.2 isn't needed, on a pure cost basis, the PCS M.2 is better. Of course, wehether a 1TB drive is needed is a different matter.

Understood, there are compromises everywhere in any build. My point is that it's a waste of money buying a 5000MB/s NVMe drive for all but a very specialised set of user data.

Just as you don't need an RTX3080 for a 1080p 60Hz monitor, you don't need a 5000MB/s NVMe drive for most user data - unless of course it's cheap enough....

 

[Rbaut]

I sometimes get tired of saying this over and over again - a drive used for data storage should be specced based on the requirements of the applications whose data is being stored on there. Some examples....

Music and video files get zero benefit from the speed of any SSD - hence the most cost effective storage is an HDD.

Most normal user data (Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, low res jpegs/pngs/gifs, log files, pdf files, text files, etc.) are in files smaller than about 5MB. A 5MB file can be read from a 5000MB/s NVMe SSD in 1ms, the same file read from a 550MB/s SATA SSD takes 9ms. Think you're going to notice the 8ms difference? You'll sure notice the cost difference!

The only user data that needs a very fast SSD is data that's in large files (well over 5MB) and which must be loaded quickly. 4k images, large databases, large spreadsheets etc, or smaller data files that are loaded very frequently.

Rather than buy a single large NVMe drive for all user data it may be more cost effective to buy a smaller NVMe drive for that data which really needs that speed and a SATA SSD drive for everything else - even including a SATA HDD for music, videos, and archive (stuff you need to keep but which you rarely use).

One size rarely fits all.

Accepting this... although my post did not specify a purpose or requirement.

It was a technical query, not sales, in that I wanted to try and understand if there was any technical limitation in having a secondary M.2 NVMe drive on a presumably PCIe 3.0 instead of 4.0 slot on my motherboard, which would in fact change the balance of a cheap M.2 NVMe being favourable over a good SATA SSD.

 

[Rbaut]

Which is the conclusion I was hoping we would come to

Thank you again for all the input on this.

 

[ubuysa]

Accepting this... although my post did not specify a purpose or requirement.

It was a technical query, not sales, in that I wanted to try and understand if there was any technical limitation in having a secondary M.2 NVMe drive on a presumably PCIe 3.0 instead of 4.0 slot on my motherboard, which would in fact change the balance of a cheap M.2 NVMe being favourable over a good SATA SSD.

And you got a technical (not a sales) answer....