Question 970 evo NVMe vs. WD Blue 3D M.2 SATA

[CtrlAltDeluxe]

The title says it all.

I'm looking to upgrade my 64gb SSD + 1tb HDD. I'll keep the HDD as storage if needed, but will mostly use the new SSD.

There's a shortage of SSDs where I live so no need to recommend me anything. I've only got these 2 to choose from unless I want to wait for a month and pay more since these 2 are on sale.

The WD is $127 while the 970 is $187 (Europe). I know $60 isn't much but frankly, even $1 is too much if I'm not going to see or feel a difference.

I use my PC for gaming, browsing and a lot of MS Office for work. That's about it. The only file transfers I do is from a USB stick to my PC and the other way round.

Both the WD and 970 are 1tb, I of course wouldn't go below that size. The WD is sold by a local store and comes with 2 years store warranty while the 970 is sold by some guy (it's unopened though, brand new), hence it doesn't come with any warranty (other than Samsung's).

Really not sure what to choose. The WD has a warranty (for what it's worth), is $60 cheaper and might be just as good as the evo. The 970 evo is faster (for what it's worth), is Samsung (for what it's worth) and is NVMe (for what it's worth).

There's a lot of "for what it's worth". Not sure whether it makes or will make any difference in the future.

PS I've seen the latest LTT video on SSDs, yet for some reason it doesn't help.



Thoughts?

PPS I've posted this on other forums but had few conflicting inputs. Need more opinions.

PPPS It's not just about the speed though, but the brand name, longevity, sturdiness, future proofing, the fact one has warranty and the other doesn't etc etc etc

 

[UsandThem]

PPS I've posted this on other forums but had few conflicting inputs. Need more opinions.

You're going to get the same answers here as you did on the other forums. The users here will bring up the exact same points/discussions you've had with users on that site.
https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1158392-970-evo-nvme-vs-wd-blue-3d-m2-sata/

It's not just about the speed though, but the brand name, longevity, sturdiness, future proofing, the fact one has warranty and the other doesn't etc etc etc

Both are big brand names. Obviously the NVMe is much faster, so if you want to "future proof" the storage aspect, that seems like an easy decision as SATA is pretty well tapped out in what it can offer. There is even a recent thread in the sub-forum that shows the "real world" speed difference between a SATA and NVMe SSD in many of today's programs, so you'll have to decide for yourself if it's worth it to you (or not).

 

[CtrlAltDeluxe]

You're going to get the same answers here as you did on the other forums. The users here will bring up the exact same points/discussions you've had with users on that site. There is even a recent thread in the sub-forum that shows the "real world" speed difference between a SATA and NVMe SSD in many of today's programs.
https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1158392-970-evo-nvme-vs-wd-blue-3d-m2-sata/

Both are big brand names. Obviously the NVMe is much faster, so if you want to "future proof" the storage aspect, that seems like an easy decision as SATA is pretty well tapped out in what it can offer.

Welp, I guess I'm going to dump the PC in fire then

I'd future proof it, if there's a future to be proofed, aka if someday some app or game will actually take advantage of it.

 

[UsandThem]

Welp, I guess I'm going to dump the PC in fire then

I'd future proof it, if there's a future to be proofed, aka if someday some app or game will actually take advantage of it.

Que?

Obviously computers in the future will be able to take advantage of faster hardware. That's how technology progress works. People either buy hardware that is "good enough" with what they use their computer for, or they build a computer that is way above the recommended specs for the game/program/operating system they use it for, in hopes that it will continue to work well with the next version of the game/program/operating system.

The SATA SSD is tapped out, it is not going to get any faster. A good NVMe SSD is at least 4x faster than a SATA version, so it depends what you believe will happen with games/programs/operation systems going forward.

 

[CtrlAltDeluxe]

Que?

Obviously computers in the future will be able to take advantage of faster hardware. That's how technology progress works. People either buy hardware that is "good enough" with what they use their computer for, or they build a computer that is way above the recommended specs for the game/program/operating system they use it for, in hopes that it will continue to work well with the next version of the game/program/operating system.

The SATA SSD is tapped out, it is not going to get any faster. A good NVMe SSD is at least 4x faster than a SATA version, so it depends what you believe will happen with games/programs/operation systems going forward.

I don't really believe in future proofing, since 5 to 10 years down the road whatever you have bought is more or less obsolete since it's outdated tech, even if it was more expensive and a better model. However, storage is the only thing I might consider future proofable (patent the word) because...well...it's storage. Even then though...in 5 years we might see Optane as a standard, with 100k IOPS 4K Random Read 1QD, making NVMe obsolete

I was joking because you said I won't get a definitive answer here either...and I'm a very indecisive person by nature...which frustrates me.

 

[Kenmitch]

Smaller 970 EVO and a 1TB SSD for storage and games?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, hmm. If BOTH of the SSDs, were sold by a legit store, and BOTH had mfg's warranties on them, I would say it would be worth it to pony up the difference in price, because the 970 EVO really is THAT much faster than an M.2 SATA (which is no different in performance than the 600MB/sec max 2.5" SATA SSD, just in a smaller form-factor).

But if it's from a private seller, and they're not willing to offer you warranty, then ... I'd probably stick with the WD Blue SATA M.2 1TB, and the warranty.

I'm personally not big on warranties, but I'm guessing that since you even mentioned it, that it figures into your calculations.

And as far as gaming loads specifically, there's not a lot of benefit (yet) to having an NVMe SSD, over a regular SATA SSD, for gaming.

For moving around ISO files, to a NAS, etc., then an NVMe is useful. It can also boot up faster, virus scan faster, etc.

Can't you get an A-Data 8100 NVMe SSD? That should be closer in price to the WD.

 

[CtrlAltDeluxe]

Smaller 970 EVO and a 1TB SSD for storage and games?

Don't have that option. Can choose only one of the above. Wouldn't want a smaller SSD anyway, since you lose a lot on TBW and speed going less than 1tb.

 

[UsandThem]

I was joking because you said I won't get a definitive answer here either...and I'm a very indecisive person by nature...which frustrates me.

From reading through your other thread, I can see that.

You want someone to tell you what to buy, but when they do, you say "But what about.....".

Look at the reviews, and most hardware testing sites include a "real world" test of the drives. Then decide if the performance difference is worth it to you (for using now and possibly in the future until the next latest/greatest component is released). Then click buy. There's researching an item to make a smart purchase decision, but then there's taking that decision to an OCD level where you can't decide.

 

[VirtualLarry]

My personal opinion is, and I don't really care about warranties on PC parts much, is that NVMe is really where it's at, with M.2. M.2 SATA was just a stop-gap, and offers no performance improvements over 2.5" SATA, but offers form-factor incompatibilities (if you need to clone a drive, for example), basically dis-advantages and no performance advantages. (Some people prefer the fact that you don't need any cables. Personally, I can do without having to use a magnifying glass to screw in that dang M.2 screw. If I'm going to that great effort, I want it to be worth it, I want it to be a PCI-E NVMe SSD.)

 

[CtrlAltDeluxe]

From reading through your other thread, I can see that.

You want someone to tell you what to buy, but when they do, you say "But what about.....".

Look at the reviews, and most hardware testing sites include a "real world" test of the drives. Then decide if the performance difference is worth it to you (for using now and possibly in the future until the next latest/greatest component is released). Then click buy. There's researching an item to make a smart purchase decision, but then there's taking that decision to an OCD level where you can't decide.

Sorry, I do have a severe problem with making decisions. That's the paradox of choice. Nevertheless, thank you for your input. It's appreciated. I will wing it.

My personal opinion is, and I don't really care about warranties on PC parts much, is that NVMe is really where it's at, with M.2. M.2 SATA was just a stop-gap, and offers no performance improvements over 2.5" SATA, but offers form-factor incompatibilities (if you need to clone a drive, for example), basically dis-advantages and no performance advantages. (Some people prefer the fact that you don't need any cables. Personally, I can do without having to use a magnifying glass to screw in that dang M.2 screw. If I'm going to that great effort, I want it to be worth it, I want it to be a PCI-E NVMe SSD.)

Thanks for your input. I'll ask for a better price and just go with whoever gives me a deal.
EDIT: No deal on either end. Lowest they can go. Meh...