• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Advice: Real Benefit from Faster SSD?

Joined
Jun 25, 2015
Messages
173 (0.05/day)
Location
The Wasteland
System Name 4K Master
Processor AMD 5950x
Motherboard MSI Creation x570
Cooling Black Ice Nemesis 360GTX+480GTS, Dual Pumps
Memory TridentZ DD4 64GB 3600Mhz
Video Card(s) MSI RTX3090
Storage OS: Optane 900p 480Gb, Games: Samsung 860 EVO 4Tb x3 + 970 EVO Plus 2Tb x2
Display(s) LG OLED 55C9
Case Phantecs Enthoo 719
Audio Device(s) Hyperx Cloud Orbit S
Power Supply Corsair HX1200i + CableMod Full KIt
Mouse Razer Mamba Elite
Keyboard Razer Huntsman Elite v2
VR HMD HP G2 v2 + Quest 2
Software Windows 11Dev Preview
Guys,
Im thinking of getting Samsung SM951 M.2 128GB SSD (as Win10 OS only drive) for my next build. (This is so called new Generation of SSDs, 600MB Write, 2000MB Read)
right now I use Samsung 840EVO 128GB.

Basically what im asking if this upgrade is going to be felt in day to day not just benchmarks.
My boot cant get any faster because I have encryption password on boot and after that it takes like 2 second and its already windows password screen.


Thanks
 
Last edited:

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast
Supporter
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
13,909 (2.42/day)
Location
Louisiana -Laissez les bons temps rouler!
System Name Bayou Phantom
Processor Core i7-8700k 4.4Ghz @ 1.18v
Motherboard ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax T40F Black CPU cooler
Memory 2x 16GB Mushkin Redline DDR-4 3200
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 2080 Ti Xc
Storage 1x 500 MX500 SSD; 2x 6TB WD Black; 1x 4TB WD Black; 1x400GB VelRptr; 1x 4TB WD Blue storage (eSATA)
Display(s) HP 27q 27" IPS @ 2560 x 1440
Case Fractal Design Define R4 Black w/Titanium front -windowed
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster Z
Power Supply Seasonic X-850
Mouse Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)
IMO, all SSD's are fast enough for your real world use, and you'd hardly notice. The one area you might notice a difference is in large file write speeds.

Really though, you're best off buying a higher rated SSD and as large as you can. Then buy the one of those that is on sale.

Others will differ of course, but that is how I view it.
 
Joined
Jun 25, 2015
Messages
173 (0.05/day)
Location
The Wasteland
System Name 4K Master
Processor AMD 5950x
Motherboard MSI Creation x570
Cooling Black Ice Nemesis 360GTX+480GTS, Dual Pumps
Memory TridentZ DD4 64GB 3600Mhz
Video Card(s) MSI RTX3090
Storage OS: Optane 900p 480Gb, Games: Samsung 860 EVO 4Tb x3 + 970 EVO Plus 2Tb x2
Display(s) LG OLED 55C9
Case Phantecs Enthoo 719
Audio Device(s) Hyperx Cloud Orbit S
Power Supply Corsair HX1200i + CableMod Full KIt
Mouse Razer Mamba Elite
Keyboard Razer Huntsman Elite v2
VR HMD HP G2 v2 + Quest 2
Software Windows 11Dev Preview
IMO, all SSD's are fast enough for your real world use, and you'd hardly notice. The one area you might notice a difference is in large file write speeds.

Really though, you're best off buying a higher rated SSD and as large as you can. Then buy the one of those that is on sale.

Others will differ of course, but that is how I view it.


I dont really need the size, its OS only SSD and right now I have 42.5GB free out of 128GB.
for game installs I have another SSD and thats the one size is where balance of size and read speed important

What i want to know if ithe speed difference compared to 840EVO will be "feelable", im not a programer nor I compress music or videos, im sort of hardware geek that likes to buy fast hardware but not to show-off, only what its really needed and I dont need to take a loan for.
Also I like my browser to keep 120-150 tabs open, I also like when I click an icon to have an instant effect, 'one click one load' but if the new SSD is faster but I have to use a benchmark to know it is not really worth the money investment. what do you think?
 
Joined
Nov 1, 2008
Messages
4,213 (0.75/day)
Location
Vietnam
System Name Gaming System / HTPC-Server
Processor i7 8700K (@4.8 Ghz All-Core) / R7 5900X
Motherboard Z370 Aorus Ultra Gaming / MSI B450 Mortar Max
Cooling CM ML360 / CM ML240L
Memory 16Gb Hynix @3200 MHz / 16Gb Hynix @3000Mhz
Video Card(s) Zotac 3080 / Colorful 1060
Storage 750G MX300 + 2x500G NVMe / 40Tb Reds + 1Tb WD Blue NVMe
Display(s) LG 27GN800-B 27'' 2K 144Hz / Sony TV
Case Xigmatek Aquarius Plus / Corsair Air 240
Audio Device(s) On Board Realtek
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex III Gold 750W / Andyson TX-700 Platinum
Mouse Logitech G502 Hero / K400+
Keyboard Wooting Two / K400+
Software Windows 10 x64
Benchmark Scores Cinebench R15 = 1542 3D Mark Timespy = 9758
I run 3 machines with SSDs of varying age and capacity. I see no difference in day-to-day usage between the 3.
 
Joined
Feb 21, 2008
Messages
4,985 (0.84/day)
Location
Greensboro, NC, USA
System Name Cosmos F1000
Processor i9-9900k
Motherboard Gigabyte Z370XP SLI, BIOS 15a
Cooling Corsair H100i, Panaflo's on case
Memory XPG GAMMIX D30 2x16GB DDR4 3200 CL16
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 2080 ti
Storage 1TB 960 Pro, 2TB Samsung 850 Pro, 4TB WD Hard Drive
Display(s) ASUS ROG SWIFT PG278Q 27"
Case CM Cosmos 1000
Audio Device(s) logitech 5.1 system (midrange quality)
Power Supply CORSAIR HXi HX1000i 1000watt
Mouse G400s Logitech
Keyboard K65 RGB Corsair Tenkeyless Cherry Red MX
Software Win10 Pro, Win7 x64 Professional
Also I like my browser to keep 120-150 tabs open,

That is some serious browsing. I wouldn't think the upgrade would be noticeable unless your current SSDs are degrading. Also some of the 840 EVOs had a new firmware that came out to fix read speed degradation from repetitive error checking building up. You should read about it if you haven't. It was a strange but easily fixed issue.
 
Joined
Apr 29, 2014
Messages
4,180 (1.15/day)
Location
Texas
System Name SnowFire / The Reinforcer
Processor i7 10700K 5.1ghz (24/7) / 2x Xeon E52650v2
Motherboard Asus Strix Z490 / Dell Dual Socket (R720)
Cooling RX 360mm + 140mm Custom Loop / Dell Stock
Memory Corsair RGB 16gb DDR4 3000 CL 16 / DDR3 128gb 16 x 8gb
Video Card(s) GTX Titan XP (2025mhz) / Asus GTX 950 (No Power Connector)
Storage Samsung 970 1tb NVME and 2tb HDD x4 RAID 5 / 300gb x8 RAID 5
Display(s) Acer XG270HU, Samsung G7 Odyssey (1440p 240hz)
Case Thermaltake Cube / Dell Poweredge R720 Rack Mount Case
Audio Device(s) Realtec ALC1150 (On board)
Power Supply Rosewill Lightning 1300Watt / Dell Stock 750 / Brick
Mouse Logitech G5
Keyboard Logitech G19S
Software Windows 11 Pro / Windows Server 2016
Well I have messed around with different speed SSD's, raid, etc and here is what I have seen.

You really get to a point that the difference is so unnoticeable that it won't make a difference especially where the OS is concerned. I have two machines now that run Raid 0 SSD's and comparing them when they did'nt run raid SSD's is showing very little differences even though their read and write times are significantly higher.

The differences I have noticed are in games like bf4/hardline where the load times are a bit lower and some apps like Adobe are a little faster. But on a day to day basis the OS does not show any differences.

So for your situation, I doubt you would see much if any difference.
 
Joined
Jun 25, 2015
Messages
173 (0.05/day)
Location
The Wasteland
System Name 4K Master
Processor AMD 5950x
Motherboard MSI Creation x570
Cooling Black Ice Nemesis 360GTX+480GTS, Dual Pumps
Memory TridentZ DD4 64GB 3600Mhz
Video Card(s) MSI RTX3090
Storage OS: Optane 900p 480Gb, Games: Samsung 860 EVO 4Tb x3 + 970 EVO Plus 2Tb x2
Display(s) LG OLED 55C9
Case Phantecs Enthoo 719
Audio Device(s) Hyperx Cloud Orbit S
Power Supply Corsair HX1200i + CableMod Full KIt
Mouse Razer Mamba Elite
Keyboard Razer Huntsman Elite v2
VR HMD HP G2 v2 + Quest 2
Software Windows 11Dev Preview
That is some serious browsing. I wouldn't think the upgrade would be noticeable unless your current SSDs are degrading. Also some of the 840 EVOs had a new firmware that came out to fix read speed degradation from repetitive error checking building up. You should read about it if you haven't. It was a strange but easily fixed issue.

yep the new firmware is awesome. I always liked the EVO series but right now its perfect
 
Joined
Jun 25, 2015
Messages
173 (0.05/day)
Location
The Wasteland
System Name 4K Master
Processor AMD 5950x
Motherboard MSI Creation x570
Cooling Black Ice Nemesis 360GTX+480GTS, Dual Pumps
Memory TridentZ DD4 64GB 3600Mhz
Video Card(s) MSI RTX3090
Storage OS: Optane 900p 480Gb, Games: Samsung 860 EVO 4Tb x3 + 970 EVO Plus 2Tb x2
Display(s) LG OLED 55C9
Case Phantecs Enthoo 719
Audio Device(s) Hyperx Cloud Orbit S
Power Supply Corsair HX1200i + CableMod Full KIt
Mouse Razer Mamba Elite
Keyboard Razer Huntsman Elite v2
VR HMD HP G2 v2 + Quest 2
Software Windows 11Dev Preview
Well I have messed around with different speed SSD's, raid, etc and here is what I have seen.

You really get to a point that the difference is so unnoticeable that it won't make a difference especially where the OS is concerned. I have two machines now that run Raid 0 SSD's and comparing them when they did'nt run raid SSD's is showing very little differences even though their read and write times are significantly higher.

The differences I have noticed are in games like bf4/hardline where the load times are a bit lower and some apps like Adobe are a little faster. But on a day to day basis the OS does not show any differences.

So for your situation, I doubt you would see much if any difference.


Thanks thats sound logical.
BTW the SSD i was talking about has 600MB (all the other models in this series have 1200Mb write) Write and 2000MB Read. Its new generation of SSDs,
 
Joined
Nov 4, 2005
Messages
11,688 (1.73/day)
System Name Compy 386
Processor 7800X3D
Motherboard Asus
Cooling Air for now.....
Memory 64 GB DDR5 6400Mhz
Video Card(s) 7900XTX 310 Merc
Storage Samsung 990 2TB, 2 SP 2TB SSDs and over 10TB spinning
Display(s) 56" Samsung 4K HDR
Audio Device(s) ATI HDMI
Mouse Logitech MX518
Keyboard Razer
Software A lot.
Benchmark Scores Its fast. Enough.
Well I have messed around with different speed SSD's, raid, etc and here is what I have seen.

You really get to a point that the difference is so unnoticeable that it won't make a difference especially where the OS is concerned. I have two machines now that run Raid 0 SSD's and comparing them when they did'nt run raid SSD's is showing very little differences even though their read and write times are significantly higher.

The differences I have noticed are in games like bf4/hardline where the load times are a bit lower and some apps like Adobe are a little faster. But on a day to day basis the OS does not show any differences.

So for your situation, I doubt you would see much if any difference.


I second this after having a SSD array and now just a single drive. It takes about 1 second longer to start windows and that is about the extent of what I notice in difference.
 
Joined
Apr 29, 2014
Messages
4,180 (1.15/day)
Location
Texas
System Name SnowFire / The Reinforcer
Processor i7 10700K 5.1ghz (24/7) / 2x Xeon E52650v2
Motherboard Asus Strix Z490 / Dell Dual Socket (R720)
Cooling RX 360mm + 140mm Custom Loop / Dell Stock
Memory Corsair RGB 16gb DDR4 3000 CL 16 / DDR3 128gb 16 x 8gb
Video Card(s) GTX Titan XP (2025mhz) / Asus GTX 950 (No Power Connector)
Storage Samsung 970 1tb NVME and 2tb HDD x4 RAID 5 / 300gb x8 RAID 5
Display(s) Acer XG270HU, Samsung G7 Odyssey (1440p 240hz)
Case Thermaltake Cube / Dell Poweredge R720 Rack Mount Case
Audio Device(s) Realtec ALC1150 (On board)
Power Supply Rosewill Lightning 1300Watt / Dell Stock 750 / Brick
Mouse Logitech G5
Keyboard Logitech G19S
Software Windows 11 Pro / Windows Server 2016
Thanks thats sound logical.
BTW the SSD i was talking about has 600MB (all the other models in this series have 1200Mb write) Write and 2000MB Read. Its new generation of SSDs,
That is pretty high but still for just OS use you will probably not see much if any difference. Its great for programs where they take forever to load (Like games) but the OS run into their own limitations (Which include the systems themselves at times) which will cause the system to not feel like much of a difference.

In my opinion, 400 is about the sweet spot on performance for read when your just using the OS and the startup apps. Beyond that speed I cannot see much differences or enough to matter like @Steevo said even though my new Raid 0 array on my desktop can read up to around 800 (Up from 500) except in loading games/apps.
 
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Messages
1,618 (0.29/day)
i was hoping to read about SSD benefits as a mechanical user, but you're already on an SSD... not sure how this is much of an upgrade other than taking up a lot less space
 

AsRock

TPU addict
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Messages
18,875 (3.07/day)
Location
UK\USA
Processor AMD 3900X \ AMD 7700X
Motherboard ASRock AM4 X570 Pro 4 \ ASUS X670Xe TUF
Cooling D15
Memory Patriot 2x16GB PVS432G320C6K \ G.Skill Flare X5 F5-6000J3238F 2x16GB
Video Card(s) eVga GTX1060 SSC \ XFX RX 6950XT RX-695XATBD9
Storage Sammy 860, MX500, Sabrent Rocket 4 Sammy Evo 980 \ 1xSabrent Rocket 4+, Sammy 2x990 Pro
Display(s) Samsung 1080P \ LG 43UN700
Case Fractal Design Pop Air 2x140mm fans from Torrent \ Fractal Design Torrent 2 SilverStone FHP141x2
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V677 \ Yamaha CX-830+Yamaha MX-630 Infinity RS4000\Paradigm P Studio 20, Blue Yeti
Power Supply Seasonic Prime TX-750 \ Corsair RM1000X Shift
Mouse Steelseries Sensei wireless \ Steelseries Sensei wireless
Keyboard Logitech K120 \ Wooting Two HE
Benchmark Scores Meh benchmarks.
I found raid pointless with them, just try to get a good drive to start with and all should be good. I my self would get another Samsung 850 evo and even if i had a M.2 slot i don't believe i would bother with it as it's more hype than any thing.

Even SATA 2 SSD's are good enough for the most part you wont notice shit unless running benchmark crap. My 2 Intel x-25m sata 2 G2 drives are just as good as all the other i use and only real difference is in benchmarks.
 
Joined
Jun 25, 2015
Messages
173 (0.05/day)
Location
The Wasteland
System Name 4K Master
Processor AMD 5950x
Motherboard MSI Creation x570
Cooling Black Ice Nemesis 360GTX+480GTS, Dual Pumps
Memory TridentZ DD4 64GB 3600Mhz
Video Card(s) MSI RTX3090
Storage OS: Optane 900p 480Gb, Games: Samsung 860 EVO 4Tb x3 + 970 EVO Plus 2Tb x2
Display(s) LG OLED 55C9
Case Phantecs Enthoo 719
Audio Device(s) Hyperx Cloud Orbit S
Power Supply Corsair HX1200i + CableMod Full KIt
Mouse Razer Mamba Elite
Keyboard Razer Huntsman Elite v2
VR HMD HP G2 v2 + Quest 2
Software Windows 11Dev Preview
i was hoping to read about SSD benefits as a mechanical user, but you're already on an SSD... not sure how this is much of an upgrade other than taking up a lot less space

The benefit vs mechanical is obvious, just ask any SSD user. I will never go back to installing an OS on mechanical drive, that feels like antiquity.
Same with games, if you play and dont like long loading times, SSD is a must.

Everything just loads up
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Messages
7,180 (1.18/day)
Nah you'll get slightly faster speeds when copying files but that's about it, the general snappy feeling is just about the same unless its a really older model SSD. Would think having faster and enough ram to have 150 tabs open in a browser would be more beneficial.

Im pretty curious though as to what sites you have open as 120 tabs, i just bookmark shit and open it as i need too.
 
Joined
Jun 25, 2015
Messages
173 (0.05/day)
Location
The Wasteland
System Name 4K Master
Processor AMD 5950x
Motherboard MSI Creation x570
Cooling Black Ice Nemesis 360GTX+480GTS, Dual Pumps
Memory TridentZ DD4 64GB 3600Mhz
Video Card(s) MSI RTX3090
Storage OS: Optane 900p 480Gb, Games: Samsung 860 EVO 4Tb x3 + 970 EVO Plus 2Tb x2
Display(s) LG OLED 55C9
Case Phantecs Enthoo 719
Audio Device(s) Hyperx Cloud Orbit S
Power Supply Corsair HX1200i + CableMod Full KIt
Mouse Razer Mamba Elite
Keyboard Razer Huntsman Elite v2
VR HMD HP G2 v2 + Quest 2
Software Windows 11Dev Preview
Nah you'll get slightly faster speeds when copying files but that's about it, the general snappy feeling is just about the same unless its a really older model SSD. Would think having faster and enough ram to have 150 tabs open in a browser would be more beneficial.

Im pretty curious though as to what sites you have open as 120 tabs, i just bookmark shit and open it as i need too.


I bookmark but then i forget about them, so i everything I visit often i keep in tabs, also sometimes I read something and it has a link i click on it and read and then it has another link and so i chain open 10-30 tabs :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Joined
Sep 4, 2011
Messages
133 (0.03/day)
Location
Portugal
System Name Klean
Processor Ryzen 5 1600 @ 3.8GHz
Motherboard Asus ROG Strix B350-F
Cooling be quiet! Dark Rock 3
Memory 16GB (2x8GB) GSkill Rispjaws V 3066Mhz CL15 1T
Video Card(s) Saphire Pulse RX 560 4GB
Storage Crucial MX300 M.2 525GB - Western Digital Elements 2TB
Display(s) LG 29UM59-P - Freesync 21:9
Case Raijintek Thetis Window (Tempered Glass)
Audio Device(s) SupremeFX S1220
Power Supply Seasonic FOCUS Plus 550 Gold
Mouse A4Tech Bloody V5
Keyboard Alfawise V1 Mechanical
Software Windows 10
Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
13,791 (1.93/day)
I still think the best and most affordable option for casual users who want a bit more is:

Some cheap but fast SSD (basically any 128GB drive) + eBoostr program

It shouldn't cost more than $100 total and it'll give you SSD like performance with capacity of the HDD. I have a 32GB SSD paired with 2TB HDD and the performance is amazing. Super fast boot and super fast games loading.
If you're going for SSD, you either go full SSD or don't even bother. Plus, when you go full SSD you can simply use the SSD as boot drive and the second SSD for data/apps/games/everything else.
 
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Messages
1,618 (0.29/day)
The benefit vs mechanical is obvious, just ask any SSD user. I will never go back to installing an OS on mechanical drive, that feels like antiquity.
Same with games, if you play and dont like long loading times, SSD is a must.

Everything just loads up
but... why should i care about a few seconds loading times when i'm trying to get the most fps in game as possible? with limited budgets, that makes the gfx card more important... i have to see it to believe it of course, maybe one day (i am actually interested in M2 so i dont have to deal with case/cables, but that has to wait until i get a mobo with M2)

but anyway the point is i was surprised that this thread is about a good SSD to another SSD, it's not even a crappy SSD or a malfunctioning one (that recent samsung issue) so it caught me off guard
 
Joined
Feb 23, 2015
Messages
186 (0.06/day)
System Name $580 Ebay Deal Abomination
Processor Intel Xeon W3680 (3.33GHz 6-core)
Motherboard HP Z400
Cooling 92mm exhaust, 92mm intake
Memory 12GB ECC DDR3 (triple channel)
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 760
Storage 2x Crucial M500 240GB (RAID 0)
Display(s) BenQ XL2720Z
Case HP Z400
Audio Device(s) X-Fi Titanium HD
Power Supply HP Z400 (475W)
Mouse Razer DeathAdder
Keyboard Logitech Illuminated
but... why should i care about a few seconds loading times when i'm trying to get the most fps in game as possible?

Because while spending $80 extra on a video card speeds up games by maybe 5-10%, putting that $80 into an SSD makes everything noticeably faster, game load times included. You truly do not know what you're missing out on. :D

My $.02 on the OP's question is that any 280MB/s+ read SSD will be already orders of magnitude faster than a mechanical drive, so as long as you have the capacity you're in a good place.
 
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Messages
1,618 (0.29/day)
Because while spending $80 extra on a video card speeds up games by maybe 5-10%, putting that $80 into an SSD makes everything noticeably faster, game load times included. You truly do not know what you're missing out on. :D.
which games? the TPU reviews show no difference between different SSDs even though there are variations in windows/photoshop/etc loading times (in fact, the games TPU has are several times longer than the whole OS! makes me conclude they are cpu+gpu intensive while loading)

5-10% permanent framerate increase is a lot... you're playing a game, it only loads once (or sporadic map load)
 
Top