M.2 SDD vs SATA SSD

[Daty]

So I have put together a top of the range gaming pc which i have decided to go with a 1TB baracuda SSD and a 2TB HDD.

Would it benefit me more just adding a 512GB M.2 SSD and using that just for the OS, or would just having the SATA drives be enough? bugget itsnt to much of a problem as the pc is 2.9k in cost already. Thoughts?

 

[SpyderTracks]

So I have put together a top of the range gaming pc which i have decided to go with a 1TB baracuda SSD and a 2TB HDD.

Would it benefit me more just adding a 512GB M.2 SSD and using that just for the OS, or would just having the SATA drives be enough? bugget itsnt to much of a problem as the pc is 2.9k in cost already. Thoughts?

If you post your full specs, what you're using it for and what monitor you're pairing it with (resolution and refresh rate or make and model if you don't know) then we can advise.

It's not really possible to comment on individual components as they all work together.

 

[Daty]

It will be used for streaming and gaming mostly. Monitor is 1440p 144hz refresh rate. With the posibility of upgrading to 4k but not until 144hz refresh rate monitors become more affordable! Also if there is anything else on here you would think would be good to change let me know for that too.

Case
CORSAIR OBSIDIAN SERIES™ 500D SE CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 Eight Core Processor i9-9900K (3.6GHz) 16MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG MAXIMUS XI HERO: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
11GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 Ti - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA 120 2.5" SSD, (up to 560MB/sR | 540MB/sW)
2nd Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H60 2018 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
LED Lighting
50cm Blue LED Strip
Extra Case Fans
1x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card
Asus Xonar AE 7.1-Channel Gaming Audio Card
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language

 

[SpyderTracks]

I'd swap the whole build for an AMD platform. At 1440p, the 9900k will perform exactly the same as any AMD chip for gaming, but you'll have vastly more multithreaded power for streaming.

It's overpowered for 1440p as well, you can save a lot of money without affecting performance.

What's your max budget?

 

[Daty]

Yes after puting this up for build i was reading that AMD builds seem to be more popular these days. I have just been used to intel for every pc i have had so far.

I could probably stretch the budget to 3.5k-4k potentially. I do intend to go to 4k gaming some point next year aswell so it being to powerful for 1440p isnt a problem for me.

Also if i decide to basically change almost everything in the build. how would i go about doing that as i cannot select an AMD processor from teh drop down list only intels.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Yes after puting this up for build i was reading that AMD builds seem to be more popular these days. I have just been used to intel for every pc i have had so far.

I could probably stretch the budget to 3.5k-4k potentially. I do intend to go to 4k gaming some point next year aswell so it being to powerful for 1440p isnt a problem for me.

Also if i decide to basically change almost everything in the build. how would i go about doing that as i cannot select an AMD processor from teh drop down list only intels.

It would be far better to build it for 1440p, as by the time you upgrade to 4k, the 3000 series GPU's will be out which are set to be a 40% improvement over current cards, plus they'll be able to support native Ray Tracing so instead of requiring a 2080ti to just about manage 1080p 60Hz, you'll be able to actually achieve 4k 100Hz with rull ray tracing.

Intel are really really poor CPU's nowadays, not just for performance, but also for security, they're inherently flawed chips with issues at the silicon level that can't be patched via software protections. They're just awful cpu's best avoided.

You're on the intel configurator, you'll need the Ryzen configurator to do an AMD build:

PCSPECIALIST - Configure the AMD Am4 Gen3 PC to your ideal requirements.

PCSpecialist is an award-winning manufacturer of high quality custom PCs & Laptops. Configure the AMD Am4 Gen3 PC to your ideal requirements.

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

If you draw up a proposal and post it we can advise on specifics.

 

[Daty]

As i saw the production times during this unfortunate time were much longer I went ahead and ordered the other one in the hope i could make changes to it. If i wanted to change it almost entirely would It have to start back at the 'processing' stage, it was mainly due to time constraints that I rushed into it.

Here is a possible new proposal:


Case
CORSAIR OBSIDIAN SERIES™ 500D SE CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16 Core CPU (3.5GHz-4.7GHz/73MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® CROSSHAIR VIII HERO (DDR4, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX/SLI) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
11GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 Ti - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
LED Lighting
50cm Blue LED Strip
Sound Card
Asus Xonar AE 7.1-Channel Gaming Audio Card
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 18 to 20 working days
Price: £3,512.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/HBWhfJEKV!/

 

[SpyderTracks]

This would be more suitable:


Case
CORSAIR OBSIDIAN SERIES™ 500D SE CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.6GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2070 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
LED Lighting
50cm Blue LED Strip
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 18 to 20 working days
Price: £2,524.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/pDrdP9vcf4/

 

[SpyderTracks]

As said, it's far better both for performance and value to cater for 1440p now with the RTX 2070 Super, then when you upgrade your monitor in the future, upgrade the GPU at the same time to one of the 3000 series cards. Reason being, you could spend £1200 now on a 2080ti which would be overpowered while you're on 1440p, then underpowered when you move to 4k, or you could get the 2070 Super now for £500 and then upgrade to a 3080 for around £800, that would be only slightly more than you'd pay for the 2080ti, but would be far far superior performance.

 

[Daty]

Yes I do see where you are coming from. Is it possible to make those adjustments on a build that is already in pre-production for a few days or i would need to contact them directly for that?

Also a quick one, in regards to the hard drives. Would having a 2TB M.2 SSD and then a large 4TB HDD be the best way to go comared to what i had linked first? I have never used M.2 SSD's before so not sure how essential they will be to a high end system.

 

[MichaelSmith457]

You will have to cancel the whole order and start again, I did this and it took about a week before my money was back in my bank, if you have finance when you cancel PCS will notify Finance company and you have to re-apply
hope this helps.

 

[SpyderTracks]

You can cancel the order from your main PCS account unless it’s under finance in which case best to phone. But yes, you’d need to cancel the order and start over.

Regarding the drives, m2 is a modern SSD, it’s pretty much essential these days for the OS and games. You would t normally need 2tb though, most people have 500gb for the OS and a few games and then a larger HDD for data.

 

[Daty]

Alright that does help out alot thanks! I just need to decide if to just stick with the i9 9700k or cancel the whole thing completely and go with the AMD processor.

But you would defo recommend an AMD over the i9 9700k. based purely on performance for gaming is the i9 still great for 1440p 144hz?

Cheers for all the great advice tonight!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Alright that does help out alot thanks! I just need to decide if to just stick with the i9 9700k or cancel the whole thing completely and go with the AMD processor.

But you would defo recommend an AMD over the i9 9700k. based purely on performance for gaming is the i9 still great for 1440p 144hz?

Cheers for all the great advice tonight!

Even if you were to stick with Intel, the 9900k isn't the right processor, it's 2 years old and on a dead platform, the newer 10900k would be a much better option, but that would mean cancelling also.

But yes, Intel inherently is a poor option whichever processor you choose. AMD is streets ahead in all the important factors.

 

[Scott]

Have a little look at this for some insight into our reasoning. Completely agree with the proposed build. The only thing I would want would be a separate "game" M2 drive. OS/Programs on a primary 500GB and games on a secondary 2TB, for when it comes time to format/wipe. Saves hassle with moving them about, partitioning and will offer a performance gain with streaming (2 I/O channels for loads/saves/stream).

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A "quick" reference guide to building the perfect system. This is the sort of logic I go through when suggesting systems, so thought I would jot it down on the page. Clearly this is an ever changing suite of options but I'll update periodically as my default go-to's change... I'm noticing the...

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