M.2 drive question

[marklcfc]

I'm in pre production and currently I have a 1tb M.2 drive and a 500gb ssd for storage.

I saw a few mentions of using a smaller M.2 for OS and some programs, and then a larger M.2 for games and other storage. Is two M.2 drives recommended or should I stick with 1 M.2 drive and a SSD.

I'm only looking at a £31 increase changing to a 500gb M.2 and 1TB M.2 (both Samsung EVO)

My motherboard is the X570 plus.

 

[Grumpywurzel]

M2 is a SSD but of the newer spec and therefore transfer speeds are miles quicker.

I can only speak from my current usage/machine. I have a 2TB Samsung EVO SSD as my "primary" drive and I have the OS obviously on the SSD along with stuff i use on a daily basis. I've then got a more traditional "secondary" hard drive for music files and backups etc.

Not sure if you have much to gain by having two SSD's, but sure the experts can assist

 

[marklcfc]

Is that the M.2 Drive?
I am unsure whether to go for 2 M.2 drives or 1 M.2 drive and an SSD for general storage/other games that isn't on the main drive.

 

[marklcfc]

You want an M2 drive for the main drive (any of the drives except Intel are fine). Your storage drive can be a basic SATA platter drive as the speeds of it aren't really important if it's just for storage....an SSD for a storage drive is wasted money unless for a specific purpose.

There is my dilemma, I've gone for the 1tb M.2 and 500gb SSD. But I'm thinking the sizes should be the other way round, 500gb M.2 and then a larger storage drive. The storage drive would still utilise games that are not on the M.2 so I thought the SSD would be the best choice.
The problem is, there isn't a 1tb Samsung evo option for the 2.5 ssd for some reason, even though they exist. It seems to go to QVO which are supposedly not as good.

 

[marklcfc]

So I should probably stick with the single 1tb M.2 drive and the 512gb Samsung Evo like you have then, as thats what it is currently.

It confuses me when HDD is suggested as I've always thought of them as slower, and louder devices. Even though I've always had a HDD in my old computer I thought moving both drives to ssd would be an upgrade

 

[marklcfc]

That's what I'd prefer but I wanted the 1TB EVO ahead of the QVO, but isn't an option on PC Specialist.

 

[marklcfc]

As it's only a storage drive, you could always just buy one yourself....just a matter of plugging in 2 cables. Would be about £20 more but you get the Evo not the QVO so would make you happy:

Samsung Evo 1TB

It had crossed my mind but I'd rather it be ready to go than have to mess with cables, when I've never done anything like that before. If its already set up then I could potentially do that in the future.
I was considering going with 500gb M.2 and 500gb SSD and do that in the future should I need more space. But then I read that something about its good to have a larger M.2 drive. Basically I have no idea what I'm doing or what to pick

I've also gone from the 2060 super down to a 1660 super as I only have a 75hz monitor, but then I keep thinking about what happens if I improve my monitor at some point. Its hard to make a decision

 

[marklcfc]

I have a 1080p 75hz monitor so I'm assuming the 1660 super is what I should stick with then. Also using a 3700x processor.

Maybe I will reduce the M.2 drive then and have two 512GB drives, and upgrade the 2.5 SSD to 1TB should I need to in future.

 

[marklcfc]

But then I suppose that leads back to my original question, what benefit is there of doing M.2 + 2.5 SSD vs two M.2 drives

 

[ubuysa]

But then I suppose that leads back to my original question, what benefit is there of doing M.2 + 2.5 SSD vs two M.2 drives

Cost. M.2 SSD drives (whether NVMe or ACHI) are faster than SATA SSDs but they also cost more.

For your OS and programs you want the fastest SSD you can afford and that's usually an M.2 NVMe.

For user data the speed of an M.2 NVMe drive isn't usually justified given their extra cost and a slower and cheaper SATA SSD is typically plenty fast enough.

Its a cost/benefit thing.

Note that for some user data (music and video) an HDD is the most cost effective solution.

 

[marklcfc]

Cost. M.2 SSD drives (whether NVMe or ACHI) are faster than SATA SSDs but they also cost more.

For your OS and programs you want the fastest SSD you can afford and that's usually an M.2 NVMe.

For user data the speed of an M.2 NVMe drive isn't usually justified given their extra cost and a slower and cheaper SATA SSD is typically plenty fast enough.

Its a cost/benefit thing.

Note that for some user data (music and video) an HDD is the most cost effective solution.

I'd prefer the OS and programs/some games to be on a 500gb, and then other games plus storage on a 1tb drive. I'm only considering the additional M.2 because the 1TB EVO ssd I want isn't an option to select. I am happy to stick with two 500gb drives (one m.2 and one ssd) and upgrade the ssd should I need to in future.

I would have more than music and video on the ssd though, some games also as I doubt I would fit everything on the M.2.

 

[marklcfc]

The GPU it depends what monitor you have, whether it's a 1080p or 1440p....1440p 75Hz the 2060S is the one you want. You don't want to be buying a GPU based on "what if I?". You may not buy a new monitor for a couple of years by which time there may be much better GPUs around

Just on this again I’d like something that will last at least 4-5 years, that’s why my mind keeps going back to should I choose the 2060 just incase. But I know both are very new gpu’s so I’m probably overthinking as usual

Also my son likes to play games like Minecraft with mods and roblox and on my current computer it’s so slow so I’d like it to be good to play those type of games for a good while

 

[marklcfc]

I can't decide whether to go for the 1660 super or 2060 super for better longevity. I have a 75hz monitor. Its this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07YN79RJG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1