0-20k SSD Upgrade advice needed

[scott1391990]

Current Rig.
Ryzen 7 1700 and asus b350 motherboard.
32 gigs RAM, 3070 TI
Samsung 980 500 GB M.2 NVME Drive (OS drive) Bought last year
Crucial MX500 250 GB (Work Drive) Bought in 2017

The crucial drive has worked well all these years but now I need a bigger drive as my work projects are demanding it.
I might be buying a new system later this year or next year and keep this as well, and when I upgrade, I would like to move the 1 TB drive to newer system and put the 250 GB drive back in this system.

Seeing the e-commerce websites, I don't see that big of a price difference between Sata and M.2 drives, so it makes sense to buy a M.2 drive. But my motherboard has only 1 slot. I have seen those PCI-E adaptors that give you extra slot. I know it would perform faster than sata drive but how much of a drop in speeds can I expect when compared to a drive directly installed on motherboard?

Also, any suggestion for PCI-E adaptor cards?

 

[Silent47Assassin]

Hi, I am assuming that you know the difference between a m.2 sata and a m.2 nvme drive. Which type slot do you have on your board will determine what SSD you should get. Try to get something with a DRAM cache although that would mean increased price. The 980 you have uses system memory for cache unless it is a pro model.

I'm unclear on the type of work you do in your machine, but unless you are working with huge files like video editing, you won't benefit much from the nvme speeds. If, however, you do that type of work, go for the pro models from Samsung or the WD black series. They are the best in terms of performance. Also, do keep in mind that MLC/TLC drives will be much better than QLC ones.

The price difference you mentioned depends on the above factors (DRAM cache, flash type, endurance rating, PCIe version, etc.)

 

[scott1391990]

Hi, I am assuming that you know the difference between a m.2 sata and a m.2 nvme drive. Which type slot do you have on your board will determine what SSD you should get. Try to get something with a DRAM cache although that would mean increased price. The 980 you have uses system memory for cache unless it is a pro model.

I'm unclear on the type of work you do in your machine, but unless you are working with huge files like video editing, you won't benefit much from the nvme speeds. If, however, you do that type of work, go for the pro models from Samsung or the WD black series. They are the best in terms of performance. Also, do keep in mind that MLC/TLC drives will be much better than QLC ones.

The price difference you mentioned depends on the above factors (DRAM cache, flash type, endurance rating, PCIe version, etc.)

Thanks man. Your timing could have been better as I already got another 980.

Tbh, I didn't know about DRAM thing as I never looked past the read/write speeds and having a PCI-E 3 board, it didn't make sense to buy PCI-E 4 drive.

When I upgrade to a newer system, I guess, I will just research better next time and get new SSDs for that system.
I still haven't been able to install the newer drive though due to work. Hoping to test it tomorrow morning and move the projects later in the weekend.

 

[Silent47Assassin]

The 980 is a superb drive for it's price. I'd say so not worry too much as the performance difference is negligible and you can always use the old ssd in an external enclosure later on as a backup/portable solution.