SSD comparison for gaming in 2025: PCIe 5.0 vs 4.0 vs 3.0 vs SATA vs HDD
- Thread starter winjer
- Start date
hououinkyouma00
Member
Wasn't this supposed to change with direct storage or whatever it's called?
I have 2 Gen 4 M.2s in my pc, but I probably won't upgrade for a really long time since there's never really any noticeable benefits. Same reason why I still have 16GB of RAM. Unless I upgrade my CPU and therefor motherboard I don't see the benefit.
I have 2 Gen 4 M.2s in my pc, but I probably won't upgrade for a really long time since there's never really any noticeable benefits. Same reason why I still have 16GB of RAM. Unless I upgrade my CPU and therefor motherboard I don't see the benefit.
Lagspike_exe
Member
Games are probably still CPU limited. You need to resolve game logic before loading to SSD, so the bottle neck is the CPU rather than the asset streaming.
Mr Moose
Member
I'm using this
With a WD BLUE SN570 3,500MB/s (so like 950MB/s-ish lol
)
Maybe someday I'll put the SSD in my motherboard.
With a WD BLUE SN570 3,500MB/s (so like 950MB/s-ish lol
)Maybe someday I'll put the SSD in my motherboard.
Topher
Identifies as young
I'm using this
With a WD BLUE SN570 3,500MB/s (so like 950MB/s-ish lol
Maybe someday I'll put the SSD in my motherboard.
Screwdrivers strike again
Gaiff
SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
DirectStorage is trash. We should have all known not to trust a gaming software technology powered by Microsoft.
Mr Moose
Member
winjer
Member
Microsoft really has a talent to screw up even the best of ideas.
Xbox 360 slim
Member
I use a 4TB sata drive
MadchesterManc
Member
My X470 board is only Gen 3 so my Gen4 SSD is limited to that, still seems plenty fast when needed for games. Also got a big SATA SSD for most games and a 5TB HDD for old games and general storage for other stuff. It's usually only big releases or UE5 games where I notice much of a difference between the M2 & SATA SSD.
Magic Carpet
Gold Member
Both of my M.2 slots are Gen 4. got a 1TB and a 2TB. (The Lenovo motherboard book says the slots take up to 2TB? Is that a thing? A size requirement? I can't put anything bigger in those slots? Wha?)
Freelance Yakuza
Member
I've always wondered if it would be worth upgrading my M.2, considering that there will come a point where, even with the new technology being twice or three times as fast, you won't really notice the difference between a Windows that takes 0.5 seconds to load compared to one that loads in 0.2.
On PCs, this has always been a reality...
I think it's a problem with the "IBM-PC" standard, because if it were real software, they could have already created at least a Tech demo on Linux to demonstrate the superiority of NVEm (~7 Gbps) compared to a SATA SSD (500 Mbps).
Again, in my opinion, Microsoft is to blame.
They spent ~100 billion to keep the Xbox getting the same games, but they haven't invested in a solution similar to the PS5 for PC in partnership with AMD and Intel.
Something like Apple, which integrated the SSD controller directly into the CPU, something along those lines.
Microsoft, Intel, and AMD got together and created a standard for this. Microsoft fixed Windows to work well with it, while AMD and Intel integrated "SSD" accelerators into the CPUs.
I think it's a problem with the "IBM-PC" standard, because if it were real software, they could have already created at least a Tech demo on Linux to demonstrate the superiority of NVEm (~7 Gbps) compared to a SATA SSD (500 Mbps).
Again, in my opinion, Microsoft is to blame.
They spent ~100 billion to keep the Xbox getting the same games, but they haven't invested in a solution similar to the PS5 for PC in partnership with AMD and Intel.
Something like Apple, which integrated the SSD controller directly into the CPU, something along those lines.
Microsoft, Intel, and AMD got together and created a standard for this. Microsoft fixed Windows to work well with it, while AMD and Intel integrated "SSD" accelerators into the CPUs.
Well, if the game has a 0.2s stutter with a 500mbps sata sdd and no stutters with a 7gbps nvem, you will notice.
The point of SSD should be streaming data while you play and not so much loading.
delishcaek
Member
I have a 512gig Gen4 for Windows, because it was cheap (Crucial P5 Plus, it was like 40€). Games go on my 2TB Gen3 drive (SN750) which I shucked out of a WD Black P50. Lol
I have been thinking about upgrading to a 2 or 4TB SN850x and use the SN750 as an OS drive, but I don't see any games stuttering, so I just don't feel like upgrading. Lol
I have been thinking about upgrading to a 2 or 4TB SN850x and use the SN750 as an OS drive, but I don't see any games stuttering, so I just don't feel like upgrading. Lol
P:axMagellanic
Member
All that hype for fast storage and it's practically nothing.
metareferential
Member
There's no actual game on the market that takes truly advantage of what Sony was selling at the start of the gen. Some games load faster on ps5, but marginally so.
You're fine even with a normal SSD. Hell, I remember that even old HDD still managed to load modern games just fine.
You're fine even with a normal SSD. Hell, I remember that even old HDD still managed to load modern games just fine.
Topher
Identifies as young
Yep. I fell for Cerny's marketing. I mean....that voice and those eyes, who wouldn't?
LavitzSlambert
Member
For most use cases gen5 drives are just hotter, gen 4 is plenty and gen3 is sufficient. SATA fine for anything that doesn't stutter.
Sardaukarama
Member
I have a gen 5 1tb for games and a 2 tb exterior drive for older games/media /family pics etc ..pretty solid
Corporal.Hicks
Member
There are games where this does matter. For example, in Star Wars: Outlaws on an SSD, it takes a couple of seconds to stream high-resolution textures.
However, I think anything above NVMe 3.0 is uncessary for gaming. My motherboard has PCIe 5.0, but I still bought an NVMe 4.0 drive. A read speed of 7000 MB/s is more than enough for games.
However, I think anything above NVMe 3.0 is uncessary for gaming. My motherboard has PCIe 5.0, but I still bought an NVMe 4.0 drive. A read speed of 7000 MB/s is more than enough for games.
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