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The 7 Best GTX 1660 Graphics Cards for Your 1080p Gaming PCNvidia’s GeForce GTX 1660 has taken a back seat to its slightly more powerful and expensive sister model. But the GTX 1660 shouldn’t be overlooked by PC builders looking to build a cost-effective gaming system. It directly replaces the GTX 1060 6GB and offers better performance at a lower price point. In some games, it […] The post The 7 Best GTX 1660 Graphics Cards for Your 1080p Gaming PC appeared first on Gaming PC...
Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1660 has taken a back seat to its slightly more powerful and expensive sister model. But the GTX 1660 shouldn’t be overlooked by PC builders looking to build a cost-effective gaming system.
It directly replaces the GTX 1060 6GB and offers better performance at a lower price point. In some games, it even delivers better frame rates than AMD’s power-hungry RX 590. And it’s not unreasonably priced compared to the Ti model either – it’s actually right where it’s supposed to be in the price/performance calculation.
As for performance, this is how the GTX 1660 stacks up in the 3DMark DX12 Time Spy benchmark (averages from different systems):
This is just one benchmark and all games are a bit different but for the most part, it is quite representative of what you get. Nvidia has also furthered its lead in terms of power-efficiency compared to the Radeon lineup and previous generations of Nvidia cards. All in all, the card is a great choice for 1080p gaming, and it’s also viable in 1440p if you can get by with somewhat lower settings.
Without further ado, these are our top picks from the current crop of 1660-based cards.
Last update on 2019-10-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Our choices are based on professional and/or user reviews, as well as pricing, boost clocks and other features. Right now the Gigabyte GTX 1660 Gaming OC 6G is a clear winner. There are two reasons why: 1. A great triple-fan cooling solution with OC headroom, and 2. The price is still very reasonable. As our favorite board for small form factor/mITX builds is the Zotac AMP. This is a very compact card that comes with dual fans and a sizeable factory overclock nonetheless.
Of course, there are other options as well. Check them out and click through to our product pages for more information and reviews. The daily price fluctuations may well make one of them the best choice.
The 7 Best-Rated GTX 1660 Graphics Cards
So, let’s have a look at some of the best GTX 1660-based video cards from different manufacturers. Since this is a mid-range card, there won’t be any souped-up water cooled custom designs. Most manufacturers use tried and tested designs that are used for other mid-range GPUs.
With this in mind, we’ve sorted the cards based on professional reviews and user opinions. If none are available, we may look sideways at other GPUs from the same manufacturer that uses an identical cooling solution. You can find links to reviews and additional information in our database entries for the specific models.
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 Gaming OC 6G
First on our list is the Gigabyte GTX 1660 Gaming OC 6GB. The card’s design is somewhat uninspiring, but it does have an RGB-lit logo on top. More importantly, it is likely the best in terms of cooling, thanks to its triple-fan Windforce 3X cooling system. Not only does it have three fans, but also uses a system with an alternating rotation that supposedly improves airflow.
With that, the card should give you some overclocking headroom. At the very least you get a sizeable factory overclock, to 1860 MHz from 1785 MHz. In spite of having one of the best cooling options and a nice overclock, it’s actually quite reasonably priced – well below e.g. the Asus Strix.
On the downside, this is a big card and will not fit in small form-factor builds.
In terms of performance, the card will perform slightly better than the category average thanks to a 4% higher boost clock out of the box. For the time being, we consider this the best GTX 1660 card out there. Read more about the card, including professional reviews here.
- Excellent triple-fan cooling
- Sizeable factory overclock
- Fair price
- Slightly more expensive than average
MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Gaming X 6G
True to their habit, MSI offers a factory overclocked Gaming X version of the GTX 1660. However, if you prefer to experiment yourself – or don’t want to pay extra – there’s also a non-X model available (if you manage to find one).
The Gaming X has a boost clock of 1,875 MHz out of the box, and it might be possible to further stretch those values using MSI’s excellent Afterburner overclocking tool. To keep performance consistent and temperatures low, MSI has equipped this card with the Twin Frozr 7 Thermal Design, which consists of two fans that continuously cool a heatsink, which is also designed for good aerodynamics.
This identical cooling solution with RGB accents is also used on other, considerably more expensive cards. It takes up a little bit more than two PCI slots, so it might be a tight fit for small form factor PC builds.
Performance-wise, this card has some of the highest out-of-the-box clocks and therefore performs above average. On the downside, it’s also a bit more expensive. Read more about the Gaming X, including professional reviews, here.
- Very attractive cooling system
- Sizeable factory overclock
- RGB accents
- More expensive than some competitors
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 OC 6G
We are already returning to Gigabyte and the manufacturer’s dual-fan version our favorite GTX 1660. This one also comes with an OC’ed boost clock speed of 1,830 MHz out of the box, which is only just barely behind the aforementioned cards.
The tried-and-tested Windforce cooling solution is present here, too, but in a shorter dual-fan variety. Two fans spin in opposite directions to maintain good airflow (apparently, it seems to work well enough). And like its bigger sibling, the card comes with a protective backplate that ensures rigidity and provides some additional heat protection.
All in all, the end result is a package that we believe makes it a smart choice for anyone looking for a good performance-to-cost ratio. It’s perhaps not as sophisticated as the cards from Gigabyte’s premium brand Aorus, but this is the closest you will come as there are no Aorus GTX 1660s.
- Small factory OC
- Tried and tested cooling solution
- Includes backplate
- No dual BIOS like other Gigabyte cards
ZOTAC Gaming GeForce GTX 1660 AMP
Compact, ITX-sized cards with two fans instead of the usual one have become relatively common. This is a good thing since it promises better cooling efficiency even in small form factors, which could otherwise be a problem.
Zotac is so confident in its petite Gaming GeForce GTX 1660 AMP that they have added a decent factory overclock to the mix. The card’s core boost clock is up from 1785 MHz to 1845 MHz, which is on par with or even better than some of its full-size competitors.
In our view, that makes it a solid choice for any small form factor, mid-range PC build. The Zotac 1660 should fit in most cases – even those that normally only allow for a short mITX-oriented card. And it wouldn’t be a bad choice for a standard mid-tower build either. Another positive aspect of this card is that it’s very reasonably priced.
- Dual fans in a tiny form factor
- Reasonably priced
- Decent factory OC
- Not much of a looker
MSI GTX 1660 Ventus XS 6G OC
Another interesting and similarly compact alternative to the Zotac is MSI’s Ventus XS 6G OC. It’s slightly bulkier overall than the Zotac overall, but actually a bit shorter. In any event, it should be a good fit for most gaming machines – and not just physically.
Like most of the best GTX 1660 cards, the Ventus comes with a factory OC. In this case, MSI has increased the boost clock to 1830 MHz, which isn’t the highest overclock though the difference is hardly noticeable.
What makes this card an interesting option in our view is the competent cooling solution in spite of its small measurements. MSI has also included a backplate to improve durability.
- Two fans and factory OC
- Will fit into most builds
- Comparatively cheap
- Not quite as compact as other ITX options
ASUS Phoenix GTX 1660 OC 6GB
Nvidia’s GTX 1660 chip is quite efficient and well-suited to small form factors. It’s also one of the more affordable GPUs, which makes it more likely to be used with low-key designs. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it helps keep the prices down without necessarily sacrificing much.
This card is part of Asus’ latest Phoenix lineup, which was also used for Pascal GTX cards. Like other cards in the series, it’s a short, single-fan card, but this one has a bit more height to it than some other “mini” GTX 1660s. Asus ships this card either with stock clocks or with a minor factory overclock (indicated by OC in the name). At 1800 MHz (instead of 1785 MHz), this is an OC of less than 1% and definitely not something you should pay extra for, in our humble opinion.
One of the more interesting features of this card is that it’s dust resistant. The card comes with an IPX5 rating, which means resistant and not fully dust-proof (that would probably be impossible for a graphics card). But it does have some protection that should be useful for a long life span.
- Good single-fan cooling
- Fits in most ITX cases
- IP5X dust resistant
- Insignificant factory OC
Great Value: EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 XC Black Gaming
The next board on our list is the EVGA Geforce GTX 1660 XC Black Gaming. This card won’t win any awards for out-of-the-box overclocks (there is none) or fancy design. However, it still competes for a win in the price/performance category.
It comes with the standard specs and performs as advertised by Nvidia (boost core clock is the default 1,785 MHz). The card features a single fan design and a short, thick heatsink that appears to be more than sufficient to cool the GPU under full load.
EVGA manufactures these cards using a so-called plate-punched design which improves the baseplate’s contact with all components and the heatsink. While this might sound like regular-old marketing talk, Linus Tech Tips tested the XC Black and found out that it runs at 23 degrees C (idle), and just 63 degrees C on load.
Another positive aspect for some PC builders is, of course, the card’s compact size. It keeps with the dual-slot form factor and is short in all directions. On the downside, the design is not exactly attractive. Considering its price and cooling performance, it’s still a great choice for small form factor and/or budget builds.
- Efficient cooling
- Very compact
- Attractive price point
- Default clock speeds
- Bland design
Summary and Buyer’s Guide
With that, let’s summarize the pros and cons of these different GTX 1660 models.
- If you care about aesthetics as well as performance – and don’t mind paying a bit more for features such as attractive RGB lighting – then the MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Gaming X 6G is one of your few choices. What might make it a tough sell is the narrow price gap between this card and entry-level Ti cards that offer better performance.
- If you want the best possible combination of low cost and good (cooling) performance, we will stick with our recommendation of the triple-fan Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 Gaming OC 6B.
- In cases involving compact builds using an mITX or mATX case, a full-size card might be out of the equation. In that case, the Zotac and MSI Ventus would be good choices. In fact, these cards are good choices in the category either way.
- Single-fan designs like the EVGA or ASUS Phoenix will also work as advertised, even if these cards’ design may not do as well in a transparent case. Provided that you get a good price, either of these cards is a solid option.
All of these cards use trusted designs from major manufacturers, so reliability should not be an issue unless you are exceptionally unlucky. In terms of real-world performance, the difference between the cards will be small, but you may have more success overclocking cards with additional/more efficient fans. And last but not least: Also compare the GTX 1660 with other affordable cards to see which GPU offers the best price/performance ration today. At the time of writing, one to compare with is AMD’s RX 590.
The post The 7 Best GTX 1660 Graphics Cards for Your 1080p Gaming PC appeared first on Gaming PC Builder.
SSD Ranking: The Fastest Solid State Drives
A fast SSD is one of the few hardware upgrades that can instantly improve how you experience your PC. This is especially true when upgrading from a mechanical hard drive, but moving between generations (e.g. from SATA to NVMe/PCIe) may also make a noticeable difference. This aim of this page is to provide a rough […] The post SSD Ranking: The Fastest Solid State Drives appeared first on Gaming PC...
A fast SSD is one of the few hardware upgrades that can instantly improve how you experience your PC. This is especially true when upgrading from a mechanical hard drive, but moving between generations (e.g. from SATA to NVMe/PCIe) may also make a noticeable difference.
This aim of this page is to provide a rough guide to the best and fastest solid state drives on the market. We base our rankings on an average of read/write speeds. However, for real-world performance and durability reasons, we give preference to DRAM-equipped, MLC-based drives.
We will dive into the details shortly, but first, these are the drives that we consider leaders in their respective form factors. They don’t necessarily represent the best value but are definitely some of the speediest storage devices that you can put in a consumer PC today.
Last update on 2019-10-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Note that our choice of M.2 drive currently requires an X570 motherboard and a Ryzen 3000 CPU to run at full speed over the PCI Express 4.0 interface. If you run any other system, we recommend the excellent Samsung 970 PRO instead.
For our more complete list of SSDs, we’ll start with 2.5″ SATA drives. Today’s high-end SATA SSDs are all bandwidth-limited compared to more modern interfaces/protocols such as PCI-express/NVMe (M.2 or add-in card form factors). So if your computer has an available PCIe M.2 slot, this is the form factor you should be looking at first.
Quick links
Top 10 SATA SSDs
Top 10 M.2 PCIe/NVMe SSDs
Top 10 PCI-Express (add-in card) SSDs
Consumer Drives (2.5-inch SATA, 6 Gbps)
1. Samsung 860 Pro
Available Capacities: 256GB – 4TB
Interface: SATA III 6Gbps
560MB/s read (256GB)
550MB/s write (256GB)
This list has been maintained for many years now and Samsung has been on top since late 2012, starting with the somewhat legendary 840 Pro. Today you need to move on from the aging SATA interface to get noticeably better performance, but Samsung hasn’t stopped improving on its flagship SATA product.
The result as of 2019 is the impressive 860 Pro, which not only performs exceptionally well but has an endurance rating that is at least double that of its predecessor. And if previous Samsungs are an indication, the 300 TBW (terabytes written) rating for the 256 GB model up to 4,800 TBW for the 4 TB model (all use MLC NAND), might be conservative estimates. This, coupled with a 5-year warranty and great overall performance, makes the 860 Pro look very attractive indeed. If SATA is your only option, that is.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
Reviews: AnandTech, NotebookCheck, Tom’s Hardware
2. SanDisk Extreme Pro
Available Capacities: 240GB – 960GB
Interface: SATA 3 6Gbps
550MB/s read
520MB/s write
SanDisk’s Extreme Pro has been around for several years but is still one of the best options in the SATA space. It’s a direct successor to the Extreme II and is slightly ahead of its predecessor in most areas. Sequential read speed is 550 MB/s and write speed 520 MB/s (4K random read/write 100K/90K IOPS).
More importantly, though, SanDisk is confident enough to offer a 10-year warranty with the Extreme Pro – a unique offer in the consumer (or prosumer) segment. The 19nm MLC NAND is allegedly good for writing 22 GB of data per day for 10 years. Consequently, when this drive finally wears out in the average system built today, the SATA interface will be long since obsolete. Although the Extreme Pro is not particularly recent, it is still widely available and should definitely be on your shortlist when evaluating high-end SATA 6 Gbps drives.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
3. Crucial MX500
Available Capacities: 250GB – 2TB
Interface: SATA 3 6Gbps
560MB/s read
510MB/s write
Crucial’s MX500 uses TLC NAND and is a more direct competitor to the Samsung 860 EVO than the 860 Pro. That said, it offers great performance at a very attractive price point and is available in capacities up to 2 TB. Like the 860 EVO it is also backed by a 5-year warranty, but its endurance rating is lower than both the 860 Pro and EVO. It starts at 100 TB for the 250 GB model and ranges up to 700 TB for the 2 TB model, which is still more than sufficient for the average user.
The MX500 can compete with the 860 series in many areas, but rarely (if ever) surpass it. However, the price/performance ratio is excellent so this drive is a good choice for most SATA-limited systems.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
4. Samsung 850 Pro
Available Capacities: 128GB – 1TB
Interface: SATA III 6Gbps
550MB/s read (256GB)
520MB/s write (256GB)
The 860 Pro’s predecessor is still an excellent drive, but due to pricing and availability it is probably no longer the best option, but still good if you can find it at the right price. The 850 Pro series uses its own MEX controller in combination with 3D NAND (V-NAND) like its successor, which increases density without compromising performance. And it’s still ahead of today’s competition in many areas.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
5. ADATA Ultimate SU900
Available Capacities: 256GB – 2TB
Interface: SATA 3 6Gbps
560MB/s read
525MB/s write
Taiwanese manufacturer ADATA may have a smaller marketing budget compared to tech giants such as Samsung and SanDisk, but it’s a company known for putting out well-performing, reliable products. The SU900 is not entirely on par with the speediest SATA drives but should be quick enough for most use cases. Neither should endurance be an issue, since it uses MLC (3D) NAND and ships with a 5-year warranty.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
Reviews: Storagereview
6. Samsung 860 EVO
Available Capacities: 250GB – 4TB
550MB/s read
520MB/s write
The 860 EVO is Samsung’s follow-up of its incredibly successful 850 EVO. Now the difference between these two will be very slim due to the aforementioned interface constraints, but that matters little – the 860 EVO still replaces its predecessor in this price range. And it will still be a great choice given Samsung’s track record.
It performs very well considering it’s a TLC-based SSD. Moreover it offers excellent endurance numbers at precisely half those of the 860 Pro at equivalent capacities (which is still much better than most competitors), as well as a 5-year warranty.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
Reviews: Tom’s Hardware
7. OCZ Vector 180
Available Capacities: 120GB – 960GB
550MB/s read
530MB/s write
As you may have noticed, there are plenty of older products in this list of SATA drives. The reason is something of a shortage of new SATA SSDs in the high-end (as in MLC) segment. So even though the Toshiba OCZ Vector 180 was released in 2015, it’s still a viable option in 2019.
The Vector 180 uses 19nm Toshiba MLC NAND in combination with an OCZ Barefoot controller (formerly Indilinx). It is not quite on par with Samsung’s top drives in terms of performance, but it’s close enough. Also, the warranty is a very attractive five years or 50GB of writes per day.
Check prices: Amazon, Amazon UK
Reviews: Bit-tech
8. Transcend SSD370
Available Capacities: 120GB – 480GB
Interface: SATA 3 6GBps
560MB/s read (256GB and up)
460MB/s write (512GB and up)
The SSD370 uses a Transcend TS6500 controller (a rebranded Silicon Motion SM2246EN controller) with Micron 128Gbit 20nm MLC NAND. The random 4KB read reaches 75K IOPS and the random 4KB write goes up to 75K IOPS as well. Its incompressible sequential read performance is excellent, while write performance is not as great overall. However, the drive has other advantages than pure speed.
Transcend bundles it with a custom firmware which enables encryption. While DevSleep is supported, slumber power modes, particularly HIPM and DIPM, are not. The drive comes with a 3.5″ desktop adapter for older machines, as well the cloning utility SSD Scope. It also features “StaticDataRefresh”, which is similar to what other drives do to correct data errors due to cell degradation.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
Reviews: PCWorld, TomsHardware.com
9. SanDisk Extreme II
Available Capacities: 120GB – 480GB
Interface: SATA 3 6Gbps
550MB/s read
510MB/s write
The Extreme II from Flash storage-giant SanDisk delivers excellent performance at a reasonable price point. It’s a predecessor to the Extreme Pro (see above), and likewise pretty old but still going strong as of 2016. Its sequential read speeds of 550 MB/s and write speeds of 510 MB/s are complemented by very good random read/write figures as well (95K/78K IOPS).
SanDisk uses a controller from Marvell in this particular line of SSDs – a chip with the fanciful designation 88SS9187 (also known as Monet) – with SanDisk’s own firmware and 19nm eX2 ABL MLC NAND (also from SanDisk), which makes for a particularly long-lasting combination according to several reports.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
Reviews: HotHardware, AnandTech
10. ADATA SU800
Available Capacities: 128GB – 2TB
Interface: SATA 3 6Gbps
560 MB/s read
520 MB/s write
The SU800 is ADATA’s top-end TLC-based SSDs. It uses a Silicon Motion SM2258 controller and features SLC-mode caching as well as a DRAM write buffer. For a drive based on low-cost NAND, the endurance ratings are more than acceptable, at 400 TBW for the 512 GB capacity. Speaking of which, you can get the SU800 in a wide range of capacities starting from 128GB up to 2TB. The drive’s random read/write figures are up to 90K/80K IOPS.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
M.2 Drives (2280/2260)
Update: Check out our new, up-to-date listing of the best M.2 SSDs here.
1. Gigabyte Aorus Gen4
Interface: PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe
Available Capacities: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB
5,000MB/s read
4,200MB/s write
If you own an X570 motherboard and AMD Ryzen 3rd-gen combo, you can reap the benefits of the PCI Express 4.0 interface. We will likely see more SSDs that take advantage of the increased Gen4 bandwidth soon. But for now, all M.2 PCIe Gen4 devices are based on the same combination of a Phison E16 controller and 96-layer TLC NAND from Toshiba. This includes the Aorus Gen4, Sabrent Rocket 4 and the Corsair MP600.
Since these drives all use essentially the same hardware, performance is similar as well – but no less impressive. Sequential read bandwidth approaches a full 5 GB/s. Peak write speeds are lower, but nevertheless exceed any PCIe 3.0 SSD by a fair margin. As usual, the smallest capacity is slightly slower.
Again, take note that you need a PCIe 4.0-capable setup to reach the advertised speeds. Otherwise, the SSD will still work but be capped by the Gen3 interface.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
Reviews: MMORPG
2. Samsung 970 Pro
Interface: PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe
Available Capacities: 512GB, 1,024GB
3500MB/s read
2300MB/s write
If you want top performance and are willing to pay a bit more for it, then the Samsung 970 Pro is about as good as it gets in this form factor. Although in terms of everyday user experience, you would probably never be able to tell the difference between this an any of the other top contenders in this segment.
But an SSD is the sum of its parts, nothing more and nothing less. What sets the 970 Pro apart from many of its competitors (including the 970 EVO) is that it uses higher-quality MLC NAND, and will, therefore, last longer than its more affordable TLC counterparts. The endurance rating is 600 TBW (twice that of the comparable EVO) or five years (same as the EVO)
It will also perform better and more consistently thanks to the better NAND. This is particularly noticeable in the random write area, with 500,000 IOPS (4K, QD32) in both available capacities.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
Reviews: StorageReview, TweakTown
3. Samsung 970 EVO Plus
Interface: PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe
Available Capacities: 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB
3500MB/s read
3300MB/s write
Instead of launching an entirely new model, Samsung updated its popular 970 EVO lineup (which is still available) with the 970 EVO in 2019. As the name implies, it is basically an improved version of the same SSD, using the same controller but denser, 96-layer TLC NAND and some additional tweaks. The improvements are particularly noticeable in term of write performance. Sequential transfer rates are up from 2,500 MB/s to 3,300 MB/s, meaning that it outperforms the 970 PRO in some cases.
According to Samsung, random write performance with the 970 EVO Plus has been improved by as much as 57% compared to the previous EVO.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
4. WD Black SN750
Interface: PCIe Gen2 x4 M.2
Available Capacities: 250GB, 500GB, 1TB
3470MB/s read (500GB)
3000MB/s write (500GB)
Western Digital has been a giant in the storage industry for decades, but only recently started catching up in the SSD market following the company’s acquisition of SanDisk.
This drive, which is a slight update of the WD Black 2018, uses SanDisk’s 96-layer TLC flash, which brings some performance improvements over its predecessor. Its sequential transfer rates are high but differ quite a bit between capacities. This is particularly true for the drive’s listed write speed, where the 250 GB drive (1,600 MB/s) is considerably slower than the 1TB variation (3,000 MB/s). The random figures are also more impressive in the larger capacities.
WD offers a 5-year warranty with these drives and the TBW rating is up to 600 TBW. All capacities except the 250 GB model are available with an optional heatsink that might help the drive perform consistently during extended high loads.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
5. Samsung 960 Pro
Interface: PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe
Available Capacities: 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB
3500MB/s read
2100MB/s write
While the 970 Pro was an improvement, Samsung’s 960 pro is still a blazing-fast SSD. Like its successor, this m.2 drive supports 4 lanes of PCIe and uses NVMe for maximum bandwidth utilization and increased throughput. It uses Samsung’s own Polaris controller in combination with Samsung MLC V-NAND.
The 960 Pro supports TGC Opal and AES 256-bit data encryption. In the random read/write area, it delivers up to 440K IOPS for 4KB (QD32) random read and 330K IOPS for random writes (also 4KB/QD32). Reduce the queue depth to 1 and it still reaches an impressive 14K IOPS/50K IOPS read/write. These numbers, by the way, apply to the higher-capacity drives, while the 512 GB model is slightly slower.
Samsung offers a 5-year warranty with the 960 Pro as well as impressive endurance ratings of 1200 TB for the 2 TB model, 800 TB for the 1 TB drive and 400 TB for the 512 GB version – higher numbers than the 970 EVO but lower than the Pro.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
Reviews: AnandTech, ArsTechnica, Guru3D
6. Samsung 970 EVO
Interface: PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe
Available Capacities: 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB
3400MB/s read
2300MB/s write
As usual, Samsung’s EVO series offers a feature set that is almost on par with its more expensive Pro counterpart but uses cheaper TLC NAND in combination with the same Phoenix controller. For most of us, the price/performance equation is more important than pure performance, and that makes the 970 EVO a solid option. Again, the difference between the top drives in the NVMe PCI-express segment will not be noticeable for most users.
The 970 EVO is actually, on paper, slightly faster than the 960 Pro in some areas, but it’s slower in a few others due to the TLC NAND.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
Reviews: StorageReivew, TweakTown
7. ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro
Interface: PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe
Available Capacities: 256GB to 1TB
3200MB/s read (480GB)
1700MB/s write (480GB)
Unlike Samsung’s lineup, ADATA’s ‘Pro’ designation does not imply that it’s an MLC drive. It instead uses now-common 64-layer 3D TLC NAND, meaning that – like many similar drives – the listed sequential read and write speeds do not paint the whole picture. These drives normally use an SLC cache keep transfer speeds up, but only until the cache is full.
That doesn’t mean that the SX8200 Pro is not a fast drive, because it is. It surpasses the Samsung 970 EVO in certain areas, with the help of a Silicon Motion SM2262 controller and a DRAM buffer. The warranty is five years and the TBW ratings start at 160 TBW for the 256GB model, which doubles in line with the capacities.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
Reviews: TweakTown
8. Samsung 960 Evo
Interface: PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe
Available Capacities: 250 GB, 500 TB, 1 TB
3200MB/s read
1900MB/s write (1 TB)
One of the strongest competitors to the other TLC-based m.2 SSD – including the 970 EVO – is Samsung’s 960 Evo, which is still available. It is not quite as fast as the new model, although the difference should be small enough not to be noticeable in everyday usage scenarios.
Its durability rating is unsurprisingly lower than the Pro variant, down from 400 TB to 200 TB for the popular 500 GB capacity. The warranty is also reduced from 5 to 3 years. This won’t be a problem for the vast majority of the intended users, but worth keeping in mind.
In terms of raw performance, the 960 Evo is rated at up to 380K/360K IOPS random read/writes (compared to 440K/360K for the Pro) in the largest capacities (QD32).
In short: This is a good choice as the price/performance ratio is very attractive at this point – and if you don’t plan to write copious amounts of data to it too often.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
Reviews: StorageReview, HotHardware, AnandTech
9. Intel Optane SSD 800P
Interface: PCIe Gen3 x2 NVMe
Available Capacities: 58GB, 118TB
1450MB/s read
640MB/s write (1 TB)
This drive is very difficult to categorize as it differs considerably from all of its competitors in more ways than one. While the sequential transfer rates may seem modest, the Optane 800P outperforms Samsungs Pro-series drives in many areas. This might compensate for the comparatively tiny capacities and the high cost, at least in specific use cases.
The reason why it’s so different is that the Optane doesn’t even use NAND Flash. Instead, it’s equipped with Intel’s own 3D X-Point memory, which has other characteristics, making it partly more similar to DRAM.
But at the end of the day, the average PC builder will have to compare NAND and 3D X-Point in terms of price/performance/capacity, and then the 800P may be a tough sell. An exception might be workstation users who put their drives through a heavy load on a daily basis, because no competitor offers the same endurance: 1.7 to 3.4 full drive writes per day for the duration of the 5-year warranty period.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
Reviews: StorageReview, AnandTech
10. Intel SSD 760p
Interface: PCIe Gen2 x4 M.2
Available Capacities: 128GB – 2TB
3230MB/s read (512GB)
1625MB/s write (512GB)
You can usually trust Intel when it comes to PC parts although the chip giant hasn’t been able to keep up with Samsung in the consumer segment recently. This drive is an attempt to change that (again), and so Intel has put together this appealing TLC-based SSD with its own NAND and a custom Silicon Motion controller.
As is often the case, there is a considerable performance difference between the lowest-capacity (128GB) drive and the roomier ones. But it’s a bit more pronounced in this case, with the 128GB model’s sequential transfer rates being 1640/650 MB/s (read/write), compared to 3230/1625 MB/s for the 512 GB capacity.
That said, it seems to be a very capable drive, backed by a 5-year warranty and acceptable endurance ratings (288 TBW for the 512GB model).
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
Top 10 PCI Express Card SSDs (Bootable)
1. Intel Optane SSD 905P
Interface: PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4
Form Factor: Add-in Card, HHHL (CEM 3.0)
Available Capacities: 480GB, 960 and 1.5TB
Up to 2600MB/s read
Up to 2200MB/s write
Random 4K Write: Up to 550K IOPS
Considering the overall performance scores that this drive racks up across various reviews, this may well be the fastest SSD in the world at this time. And it also has an endurance rating in a league of its own compared to other drives aimed at not-necessarily-professional users.
However, for the average user – including most professionals – this drive is probably overkill. But if you really want the best-performing drive, you’ll be happy to learn that Intel has introduced a new endurance metric for it known as PBW, or petabytes written.
The 960 GB capacity has a PBW rating of 17.52, meaning you can write about 17.5 million GB to it before it wears down. Intel’s 3D Xpoint memory, which appears to be practically invincible, is the reason why this drive is difficult to compare to regular NAND-based SSDs.
Check prices: Amazon, Amazon UK, Newegg
Reviews: TweakTown
2. Intel Optane SSD 900P Series
Interface: PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4
Form Factor: Add-in Card, HHHL (CEM 3.0)
Available Capacities: 280GB and 480GB
Up to 2500MB/s read
Up to 2000MB/s write
Random 4K Write: Up to 500K IOPS
Only slightly behind its successor is the 950p’s predecessor in Intel’s Optane 900p-series. These drives also use 3D Xpoint memory, and while it may not show in the drives’ raw sequential transfer performance, it’s a very impressive SSD.
As is the endurance rating, which is 10 full drive writes per day for 5 years. Such characteristics mean that it’s well suited not only for enthusiast builds but also for heavy-duty workstations.
Check prices: Amazon, Amazon UK, Newegg
Reviews: HotHardware
3. Corsair Neutron NX500
Interface: PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4
Form Factor: Add-in Card, HHHL
Available Capacities: 400GB, 800GB and 1600GB
Up to 3000MB/s read
Up to 2500MB/s write
Random 4K Write: Up to 270K IOPS
In spite of its higher theoretical maximum transfer rates (measured with ATTO, according to Corsair), we will rank the Neutron NX500 from Corsair below the Optane 900p because real-world performance is consistently below according to the reviews we’ve seen (links below). It’s apparently tough to compete with 3D Xpoint, but that doesn’t mean that the NX500 is a low-end product. Among the small number of consumer-oriented PCIe drives currently available in the add-in card form factor, it’s an attractive option given that the price point is reasonable compared to the Optane.
Check prices: Amazon, Amazon UK, Newegg
Reviews: AnandTech, Tom’s Hardware
4. Plextor M8Pe
Interface: PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4
Form Factor: Add-in Card, HHHL
Available Capacities: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB
Up to 2000MB/s read
Up to 1400MB/s write
Random 4K Write: Up to 240K IOPS
Thanks to the now-ubiquitous M.2 slot, large PCIe add-in cards, or AIC, have become increasingly rare outside of the enterprise segment. Another one of a mere handful of manufacturers who still make drives for the form factor is Plextor.
The drive series with the less-than-inspiring name M8Pe uses 15nm Toshiba MLC NAND and is available in both M.2 and AIC form factors. There is also a newer version of the drive known as M8Se that uses less durable TLC NAND.
In terms of performance, the M8Pe should have no problems competing with mainstream M.2 drives, making it a potentially cost-effective solution if an AIC is what you need.
Check prices: Amazon, Amazon UK, Newegg
5. OCZ RevoDrive 350
Interface: PCI Express 2.0 x 8
Available Capacities: 240GB – 960GB
1800MB/s read
1700MB/s write
Random 4K Writes: Up to 140K IOPS
The original RevoDrive was released well before the M.2 form factor took off, and was considered exceptionally fast at the time. However, now that it’s not just competing with SATA drives, the RevoDrive will only appeal to a much smaller market.
There have been several SSDs in the series, but the RevoDrive 350 is the only one that’s more widely available (and it’s not particularly new).
Summary and Explanations
We’ve tried our best to compile the most comprehensive list of SSDs available and used this to create the lists you see above. Since there are new drives launched each month, we will update our list and ratings regularly. Also, if you think we’ve omitted something or need correction, don’t hesitate to leave a comment!
Lots of abbreviations and technical terms are used on product pages and SSD discussions. If you are new to them they will, needless to say, be totally incomprehensible. We will attempt to explain some of them here.
What is SLC, MLC, TLC, and QLC?
An SSDs performance, as well as its life span, are to a large extent determined by the quality of the memory cells. Higher-quality memory not only performs better but can also be erased and written to a larger number of times before it wears out.
SLC (single-level cell) NAND Flash memory is more durable than MLC (multi-level cell, two bits per cell), which in turn is more durable than TLC (triple-level cell) NAND. Since recently, QLC (quad-level cell) drives such as the Samsung QVO are also available. Additional bits per cell affect performance negatively because it makes the cells considerably more error-prone. There are clever technologies that compensate for this, but in the end, there’s no substitute for higher-quality NAND.
Unsurprisingly, high-end memory is also much more expensive to produce. There are zero SSDs today in the consumer space based on SLC memory, but some use MLC (like the Samsung PRO lineup).
Most consumer SSDs in 2019 use comparatively affordable TLC memory, but QLC is increasingly common.
SSD endurance: What’s MTBF and TBW – Should I Care?
MTBF is short for “mean time before failure” and is more relevant for conventional hard drives than SSDs, which have no mechanical parts that are prone to failure over time. TBW (terabytes written or total bytes written) is a much more interesting number. This will give you is an indication of how much data can be written to the drive before it wears out. It’s affected by the drive’s capacity, spare capacity (so-called overprovisioning) and the quality of the NAND.
For a drive with a 300 TBW rating, 300 TB is the amount of data that the manufacturer guarantees can be written to it (usually in a mutually exclusive number of years). This is not to say that an SSD will necessarily fail after this amount of TB written. It’s part of the warranty terms and an indication of its relative endurance.
Production Processes
Unlike other parts such as a CPU/GPU, a smaller production process as measured in nanometers (nm), is not a strong selling point, as this results in lower durability, all other things being equal. However, for the average home or office user, durability is rarely an issue, since any SSD will most likely outlive the rest of the computer by a wide margin. Just don’t rely on low-cost drives with cheap NAND in a server or other environment with a high continuous workload
The post SSD Ranking: The Fastest Solid State Drives appeared first on Gaming PC Builder.
Best RX 590 Card Roundup
AMD didn’t pick the best possible time to launch its upper mid-range Radeon RX 590 GPU. Right away, it had to compete with Nvidia’s more efficient GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (and 1660 non-Ti) in the same price range, on top of the discounted Radeon RX 580 cards, which aren’t that much slower. On the plus […] The post Best RX 590 Card Roundup appeared first on Gaming PC...
AMD didn’t pick the best possible time to launch its upper mid-range Radeon RX 590 GPU. Right away, it had to compete with Nvidia’s more efficient GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (and 1660 non-Ti) in the same price range, on top of the discounted Radeon RX 580 cards, which aren’t that much slower.
On the plus side, this segment is really the buyer’s market right now. The strong competition has driven down prices across the board. It’s already possible to find this card at prices that sometimes dip below the magic $200 mark.
And there’s no question that the RX 590 is an attractive GPU. Although it’s based on the same Polaris architecture as the RX 580, the 590 is more than just a simple rebadge with a slight clock increase. It is manufactured with a smaller (12 nm) production process, which has allowed AMD to increase the default boost clock by more than 200 MHz.
Theoretical performance (FP32 float.) is up from 6,175 GFLOPS (RX 580) to 7,119 GFLOPS (RX 590). In comparison, the reference GTX 1660 Ti churns out 5,437 GFLOPS. The bad news is that this usually isn’t reflected in actual games. Also, power-efficiency in the Radeon lineup is still far behind the latest Nvidia cards. However, it’s a relatively close competitor as measured in frames per second – and if the price is right it’s still a great choice for both 1080p and 1440p gaming. It gets better still combined with a FreeSync monitor.
The 7 Best-Rated RX 590 Graphics Cards
So let’s move on to the top cards in the category. Actually, this is about half of the total number of cards with this GPU available at the time of writing. We’ve sorted them based on opinions from both professional and user reviews, as well as our own experiences with Polaris cards. Click through to our database entries of the different models to find links to reviews and other information.
Sapphire Radeon Nitro+ RX 590 Special Edition
Sapphire’s Nitro+ series is the manufacturer’s premium graphics card lineup, with the most advanced cooling solution and often a liberal amount of factory overclocking. The Nitro+ is no exception – even the card’s 8 GB of memory (VRAM) is boosted out of the box, making this card a rarity in the segment (possibly unique).
Compared to the reference model, the Nitro+ GPU boost clock is up from 1545 MHz to 1560 MHz. The VRAM clock is increased from 2000 MHz to 2100 MHz, resulting in an effective 8400 MHz instead of 8000 MHz.
Like other Nitro+ cards, this one also an efficient cooling solution with replaceable fans. It also takes up no more than two PCI slots, whereas most competitors use triple-slot options.
Professional reviews of the Nitro+ are mostly in agreement that it’s one of the best cards, if not the best.
- Efficient cooling solution
- Compact, dual-slot design
- Factory-overclocked GPU and VRAM
- Power-hungry
- Only available in blue
XFX Radeon RX 590 Fatboy OC+
XFX’s Fatboy is one of the best-selling variants of the card, and not without reason.
Like the aforementioned Sapphire card, the Fatboy is factory overclocked. While the memory clock is untouched, the GPU boost clock is actually a bit higher still, at 1580 MHz. This gives you an extra 2% worth of GPU core performance out of the box.
The Fatboy’s dual-fan cooling solution takes up three PCI slots internally. XFX has equipped the card with a Unibody VRM Heatsink, which increases the heat sink surface considerably, according to the manufacturer. The card also has an aluminum backplate to improve rigidity and help with heat dissipation.
XFX has picked up generally favorable reviews of the RX 590 Fatboy.
- Relatively quiet
- A clear improvement on the predecessor
- Factory-overclocked GPU boost clock
- Triple-slot cooler
- Only available in blue
PowerColor Red Devil RX 590 OC
PowerColor’s take on the latest AMD Polaris chip is also overclocked out of the box. The reference model’s 1545 MHz maximum GPU boost clock has been increased to 1576 MHz – higher than the Sapphire Nitro+ but marginally lower than the XFX Fatboy.
Like the XFX model, the PowerColor Red Devil RX 590 OC is equipped with a dual-fan cooling solution that is rather large and occupies three slots. Anyone who enjoys tinkering with their GPUs will be happy to learn that the Red Devil has a dual BIOS setup. A switch on the card lets you toggle between the two presets ‘Ultra Overclocking’ and ‘Silent Overclocking’.
Opinions on the Red Devil are mostly positive, although there are some questions raised regarding how it handles temperatures and power consumption.
- Dual BIOS
- Factory overclocked GPU boost clock
- High power draw
ASUS ROG Strix Radeon RX 590 8G Gaming
Products in the ever-popular ROG Strix lineup from ASUS tend to breathe quality and come with premium features, but also a price tag to match. The Strix checks all of these boxes including the last one, which is why we’re not rating it higher. As a mid-range card based on the Polaris 30 GPU, the ASUS model is simply not competitive at MSRP.
That said, it’s almost certainly a great card. Like its RX 580 predecessor, the Strix 590 is very rare in that it comes in a full-length format with triple-fan cooling
ASUS has also applied a slight overclock of the GPU boost clock, from 1545 MHz to 1565 MHz, but the VRAM is untouched. Considering the extra fan compared to the other models, there’s a potential for more headroom for a user overclock – to squeeze even more performance out of the card.
However, the main selling point for most potential buyers of this expensive card is probably the Aura Sync feature. If you’re building an ASUS ROG-based gaming rig, the RGB lighting scheme will make this one more attractive.
We haven’t seen many reviews of the card, but most users are positive.
- Great cooling
- Aura Sync feature looks great
- Factory-overclocked GPU
- Expensive
ASRock Phantom Gaming X Radeon RX 590
If you don’t want to tinker with the GPU yourself and want the highest possible factory overclocking instead, the ASRock Phantom Gaming X Radeon RX 590 is an attractive option. ASRock has been very generous with the GPU boost clock, and as an added bonus it’s a dual-slot card.
Compared to the reference model, ASRock has pushed the GPU boost clock from 1545 MHz to 1591 MHz in the Phantom Gaming X, in ‘OC Mode’. This also increases the card’s VRAM very slightly, from 8000 MHz (effective clock) to 8032 MHz.
Cooling is handled by two fans in a compact dual-slot solution that doesn’t take up unnecessary space. On the downside, this has also made the card quite loud according to some tester.
- Dual-slot design
- High factory overclock
- Loud fans
Gigabyte Radeon RX 590 Gaming 8G
Gigabyte has used this exact same Windforce cooling solution on several GPUs in the past – and why change a winning formula? The 590 Gaming 8G was late to the party and we’ve found no professional reviews of the card yet. But since it’s practically identical to the RX 580 Gaming we have in the basement, we’ll vouch for it anyway.
In OC mode, the GPU boost clock is increased to 1560 MHz, or 1% compared to the reference design.
Like the card’s predecessors and the ASRock and Sapphire alternatives mentioned above, it’s a comparatively compact, dual-slot card suitable for similarly compact gaming PC builds.
- Dual-slot card
- Very competent cooler for its size
- RGB LED on top
- Not an overly exciting design
MSI Radeon RX 590 Armor 8G OC
Much like Gigabyte’s model, MSI has reused an existing board design and cooler for the 590 Armor. This one is also a relatively simple dual-fan solution in a dual-slot form factor. It’s available in both a factory overclocked model (OC) and without the overclock.
The difference in the OC version is that MSI has increased the GPU boost clock to 1565 MHz, or just over 1% compared to the standard variant.
On the whole, it’s a no-frills card based on a tried-and-tested design from a reputable manufacturer, so there should be few surprises here.
Undervolting the RX 590
Ever since the RX 480, which used the first and less efficient version of the same Polaris chip, undervolting has been a topic of much discussion. A problem with Polaris – especially when compared to Nvidia’s lineup – is poor power-efficiency. Although this is the best version so far, it is still less efficient than the GTX 1060 and even more so than the GTX 1660 (Ti).
Therefore, reducing the voltage to improve the efficiency of the chip used to be a popular tactic among crypto miners. But it’s also useful for gamers. It will keep the temps to a minimum and reduce power draw, often without reducing performance. If you’re interested, take a look at this walkthrough from Wccftech that explains the process.
Summary
The RX 590 may have been launched at a bad time, but it may still be a great choice for a mid-range build. Prices are already down significantly since launch, so it’s still competitive with the Nvidia alternatives. However, the price tag should determine whether it’s the best choice at any given time.
Factory-overclocked cards are generally not worth a premium based on the higher clocks alone but may have other advantages such as better cooling. If this card is not in your price range at the moment, also have a look at our roundup of the best AMD and Nvidia cards below $200.
The post Best RX 590 Card Roundup appeared first on Gaming PC Builder.
The Best AMD X570 Motherboards For Your Next Ryzen 3000 Build
AMD has just launched the AMD Ryzen 3000 series CPUs that support PCIe 4.0. If you are on the verge of getting one of the new Ryzen CPUs, then you are going to need a compatible motherboard. Fortunately for (some) existing Ryzen owners, certain previous-gen boards will be able to house the upcoming Ryzen 3000s. […] The post The Best AMD X570 Motherboards For Your Next Ryzen 3000 Build appeared first on Gaming PC...
AMD has just launched the AMD Ryzen 3000 series CPUs that support PCIe 4.0. If you are on the verge of getting one of the new Ryzen CPUs, then you are going to need a compatible motherboard. Fortunately for (some) existing Ryzen owners, certain previous-gen boards will be able to house the upcoming Ryzen 3000s. Here’s a quick overview:
When or if your particular board will support Ryzen 3000/Zen 2 depends on the manufacturer. While the socket is the same, and AMD claims that you can use any motherboard with the new AMD Ryzen CPUs, a BIOS update will be required at the very least.
If you’re going to build a new system, on the other hand – or just want to get the most out of your new CPU and the benefits of PCI Express 4.0 – an AMD X570 motherboard is the best option for high-end builds. Here we are going to look into some of the best AMD X570 motherboards that you can get your hands on right now.
High-End, Mid-Range, and Budget AMD X570 Motherboards
Motherboard manufacturers have launched a variety of AMD X570 motherboards. Asus alone has 30 variants in the pipeline, and several are available today. Others will become available at a later date, e.g. the water block-covered ASRock Aqua. In this article, we’ll focus on what’s on store shelves now. Unfortunately, it’s a rather demanding platform and none of the X570 boards are bargain-priced. On the plus side, none of them lack essential features such as ultra-fast M.2 slots.
High-end chips such as the new Ryzen 3900X that comes with 12 cores and 24 threads will need more power (105W TDP). You should go for a high-end motherboard in order to take full advantage of that powerful chip, especially if you’re going to overclock. As for other features, a good rule of thumb is to only pay for the features that you plan on using, now or in the near future.
Even after examining all currently available X570 motherboards in detail, it’s hard to pick a winner. But some of them will likely come close enough depending on your requirements. Based on their specs and averages from all professional reviews in our database, these are the boards that we feel comfortable recommending in the E-ATX (super premium), ATX (enthusiast) and ATX (value) categories.
Last update on 2019-10-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
MSI’s Godlike will deliver more than enough stable power for your overclocking needs, while also including a vast range of connectivity options and nice-to-haves – including a built-in OLED display and a couple of add-in cards for additional M.2 slots and 10 Gbit LAN. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly affordable.
The Asus ROG Strix X570-E is more reasonably priced and looks like the best X570 motherboard in the standard ATX form factor. It has received top scores from professional reviews and users alike – and its feature set doesn’t leave much to be desired.
As there are no particularly cheap X570 boards, our “budget” pick is the quite competent Asus Prime X570-P. While opting for the MSI X570-A PRO will shave off around $10, we definitely feel that you get better value with this Asus board. It has a better overall feature set, including RGB headers and what appears to be a better VRM (8+4 DrMOS).
Now for a more detailed look at the top X570 motherboards currently on the market. We’ll start with the big ones. Feel free to skip to your preferred section using the quick links on the right.
Top Enthusiast E-ATX X570 Motherboards
MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
We’ll start with a full-featured motherboard from MSI in the super-premium segment. The board is designed for the AMD Ryzen 3000-series CPUs and features a 14+14+1 digital power design that does not compromise on performance or features. You can expect the motherboard to provide ample power to the CPU even when overclocking.
It comes with the M.2 Shield Frozr for keeping the temperature in check and allowing your storage to perform as it should. There is a double bearing Frozr heatsink on the motherboard as well. The MSI MEG X570 Godlike also comes with a display that highlights important information and errors that you should know about. You can customize it to display any visuals that you would like to view through the transparent case of your high-end monster build.
It also features Wi-Fi 6 for fast internet and gaming, as well as 10 Gbps wired LAN via an included add-in card. There are three high-speed M.2 storage slots (with fans) and yet another add-in card that lets you add two more SSDs.
If you are looking for a new motherboard that has all the latest features and looks great too, then the MSI MEG X570 Godlike is an option that you should look into.
- Superb power delivery
- Lots of fast storage slots
- Complementary add-in cards
- Built-in OLED panel
- Very expensive
Links: Reviews and details | Manufacturer’s product page
X570 AORUS Xtreme
The X570 AORUS Xtreme is a Gigabyte’s answer to MSI’s Godlike in the ultra-premium segment. It comes with a 16-phases Infineon Digital VRM Solution with 70A power stage. This should be more than enough even for the top-of-the-line 3900X. The motherboard features three ultra-fast NVMe PCIe 4.0/3.0 x4 M.2 for high-speed SSDs. All of these come with thermal guards to keep the temperature in check. Actually, most of the board is covered in heatsinks and it’s one of the few X570 variants without a chipset fan.
The Xtreme also comes with WiFi 6 802.11ax 2T2R & BT 5. RGB is a common trend in 2019 and you have plenty of RGB options on this motherboard. You can add RGB components of your choice to sync with the motherboard and the rest of the hardware and peripherals. If you are looking for the best possible X570 motherboard for you next Ryzen build, then it’s mostly this one and the MSI Godlike you should be looking at.
- Superb power delivery
- Lots of fast storage slots
- Complementary add-in cards
- Built-in OLED panel
- Very expensive
Links: Reviews and details | Manufacturer product page
MSI Prestige X570 Creation
The MSI Prestige X570 Creation is another high-end E-ATX board for the 3rd generation (and 2nd generation) AMD Ryzen chips. Like most others of its kind, it has 4 RAM slots and supports up to 128 GB of dual channel DDR4 memory running at blazing-fast speeds. More importantly, it also features Dual LAN, including 10Gbit Super LAN and WI-FI 6 onboard. You also get to take advantage of 64GB/s bandwidth using up to four Gen4 PCI-E M.2 SSDs.
The Frozr Heatsink on the motherboard is there to keep the thermals in check even when under load. The MSI PRESTIGE X570 CREATION also comes with an integrated I/O shield that will allow you to install the motherboard in your case easily. (Speaking of the case, don’t forget that this is an Extended ATX board and will require more space than some compact cases will provide.)
Dual 8-pin power supply and IR digital power design provide the power needed to run the AMD Ryzen 9 CPU and enough headroom to overclock. Audio Boost 4 provides high-quality audio when gaming or consuming content.
While the Prestige X570 Creation is aimed at content creators, it will serve you equally well as a gaming motherboard depending on your PCIe and M.2 slot requirements.
- Outstanding quality and performance
- Four high-speed PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots
- Onboard 10 Gbps Ethernet
- Costly
Reviews and details | Manufacturer’s product page
The Best Premium ATX X570 Motherboards
For the vast majority of gaming PC builders, a solid motherboard in the standard ATX form factor is the best starting point for a new build. Unless your requirements are very specific, these boards are more than sufficient for providing a great Ryzen 3000-based gaming experience for years to come. Most of them offer plenty of overclocking headroom, while also being future-proof thanks to the PCIe 4.0 interface.
Asus ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Formula
The Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Formula is a premium motherboard for enthusiasts, with features and a price tag to match. It is liquid-cooling ready courtesy of a Crosschill EK III water block for the VRM, and it comes wrapped in armor. There is armor on the back as well to provide additional support and cooling. In addition, there is a small OLED display that will show information and code if needed. Naturally, you also get plenty of RGB lighting options and also a 5 Gbit Aquantia Ethernet controller.
Being a motherboard targeted at overclockers, the power solution with 14+2 IR3555 PowIRstages should be more than sufficient. Asus claims that it can handle even more cores and threads than what AMD has announced at Computex 2019, which might mean that it’s ready for a putative 16-core AMD CPU that might be in the works. Other motherboards in the Crosshair series include ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero (see below) and ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Impact.
If you are looking for a motherboard in the ATX form factor with all the bells and whistles, then the Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Formula is a strong contender.
- Ready for VRM liquid cooling
- All high-end components
- Onboard 5 Gbps Ethernet
- Considerably pricier than the Hero edition
Reviews and details | Manufacturer’s product page
Asus ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Hero
If you don’t intend to need a liquid-cooled VRM, an OLED panel – and will settle for 2.5 Gbit Ethernet instead of 5 Gbit – then the ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Hero offers much better value than the Formula. And you still get a premium ATX board with all high-end components, just like with the Formula flagship.
Other than the features we just mentioned, the Crosshair Hero is nearly identical to the Formula version but priced much lower. The same power solution is included, but the whole thing is cooled by plenty of heatsinks and a fan instead.
The Hero has received several glowing reviews by experts and users alike, so we have won’t hesitate to recommend this board over many other premium offerings. If there’s one negative aspect, it’s that the Crosshair VII Hero is still rather pricey compared to some competitors in the premium range of X570 boards.
- Mostly identical to the Formula, minus water cooling
- Onboard 2.5 Gbps Ethernet
- Great overall performer
- Still a bit expensive compared to other premium boards
Reviews and details | Manufacturer’s product page
MSI MEG X570 ACE
If you’re looking for an enthusiast-grade ATX board – but prefer MSI over Asus – the MEG X570 ACE is in the same price range as the Crosshair Hero. It has a similar feature set and a sophisticated VRM (12+2+1 IR digital power) that should enable some serious tweaking.
In addition, the MEG ACE is equipped with fast Wi-Fi 6 MU-MIMO (non-optional) as well as a 2.5 Gbit LAN controller. With this motherboard, you also get an additional PCIe 4.0-enabled M.2 SSD slot for a total of three.
The MSI MEG ACE sits just below the previously mentioned E-ATX X570 Godlike. It costs considerably less, and you’ll have to get by without the add-in cards and some other bling, but the component quality is still top-notch.
- Superb VRM solution
- Onboard 2.5 Gbps Ethernet and Wi-Fi 6
- Triple PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots
- Just 4 SATA ports
Reviews and details | Manufacturer’s product page
Gigabyte X570 AORUS Master
The X570 AORUS Master is another high-end motherboard from Gigabyte that sits right below the flagship Xtreme model and above the Ultra in the manufacturer’s lineup. The mobo comes with three M.2 slots for high-speed data transfers – and all leverage the new PCIe 4.0 standard. The motherboard has a clean Black and Silver theme that should blend in well with the rest of your build.
The PCI slots have metal shields to protect your graphics card and provide better support. The M.2 slots also have shields as well as heatsinks for better SSD cooling. Needless to say, the board has RGB lighting, but there’s also a small display that will show you important information such as error codes and system temperature.
As usual, the board supports the 3rd and 2nd generation AMD Ryzen chips and comes with 4 RAM slots (max. 128 GB). What’s less usual compared to lower-end motherboards, however, is the high-end Direct 14 Phases Infineon Digital VRM Solution with PowIRstage, so the power delivery is not going to be an issue even with high-end AMD Ryzen CPUs such as the 3900X.
An integrated USB TurboCharger can be used to charge devices that support fast charging. The integrated I/O shield is going to make installing the motherboard much easier compared to motherboards that do not come with this feature.
- Excellent power delivery solution
- 2.5GbE and Wi-Fi 6 included
- Three PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots
- Rather expensive
- Using all M.2 slots means losing 2 SATA ports
Reviews and details | Manufacturer’s product page
Asus ROG Strix X570-E Gaming
We will now once again return to Asus and one of the hardware editors’ favorite: the ROG Strix X570-E Gaming motherboard. While the Crosshair has some additional premium features, this is a solid upper midrange motherboard that has most of the features that a gamer needs. You still have great performance and the ability to overclock so you are not missing out on much.
Like all the other motherboards that we have looked into so far, this one comes with RGB lighting as well. The logo and cybertext light up and you can plug in additional RGB fans and lighting strips.
This is not Asus’ top-of-the-line model, so you can save some money but still get all the features that you need. You have two M.2 slots for high-speed PCIe 4.0 storage and the usual 4 RAM slots to populate. In addition, this board has plenty of PCI slots. It comes with highspeed Wi-Fi, 2.5 Gbit LAN and an integrated I/O shield for easy installation.
If you are looking for a premium X570 motherboard for gaming then the Asus ROG Strix X570-E Gaming is a great option to consider. FYI: there is also a scaled-down version of this board know as the Strix X570-F, which we can’t recommend at this point. The reason is not that it’s a bad motherboard, but it’s not much cheaper than the E model and lacks key features such as Wi-Fi 6 and 2.5 GbE.
- All the ROG features at a lower cost
- 2.5GbE and Wi-Fi 6
- Excellent build quality
- Only two M.2 slots
Reviews and details | Manufacturer’s product page
ASRock X570 Taichi
The X570 Taichi is part of ASRock’s premium lineup for Ryzen 3000 and competes directly with the just mentioned Strix X570-E from Asus. What sets these boards apart is mainly their varieties of slots and ports.
Much lite its rival, the Taichi comes with Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax (2.4Gbps) + BT 5.0, but no 2.5 Gigabit LAN. Instead, you get an extra PCIe 4.0-enabled M.2 slot.
The Taichi supports CrossFireX as well as SLI, which is common for high-end motherboards. Something that’s a lot less common, however, is that you can get Thunderbolt 3 with this board. Unfortunately, that requires a separate, proprietary add-in card that you attach to the board’s TB3 header.
Another unique ASRock feature is a flexible integrated I/O shield that should simplify installation. The Taichi’s full-coverage heatsink on top of the M.2 slot area is not making waves among reviewers, on the other hand, as it appears to be rather impractical to handle. Issues with a noisy fan have also been reported.
- Excellent VRM
- Ax Wi-Fi included
- Thunderbolt 3 header
- Fan is noisy unless turned down manually
- Impractical large heatsink
Reviews and details | Manufacturer’s product page
Small Form Factor Alternative: Strix X570-I Gaming
This is another board that supports PCIe 4.0 but it is smaller as compared to the other boards that we have looked into. Asus claims that the Strix X570-I Gaming is proof that the best things do perhaps come in small packages. The Strix X570-I is a mini-ITX board for people that are looking to build a small form factor build.
The motherboard features 8+2 power stages and features a heatsink that has its own fan. This allows you to overclock your CPU while keeping the temperature in check. The motherboard does come with an AIO header with the hybrid fan header if you are interested in liquid cooling your CPU.
It also has diagnostic LEDs that let you know what went wrong when an overclock crashes your system. There are only has 2 RAM slots, but that is not an issue for most users, as you can get 16 GB DIMMs and get 64 GB of RAM in total.
Other features include HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4, Intel Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.0. The RGB lighting is a staple for Asus products and you get that in this small motherboard a well. Not only does the logo light up but you get headers for connecting fans and lights. You can sync the lighting of the motherboard with other hardware components and peripherals that support it.
If you are looking to build a mini-ITX gaming PC that does not compromise on performance then the Strix X570-I Gaming will be a great place to start.
Summing Up
The new AMD X570 motherboards support the AMD Ryzen 3000 series chips that are based on the 7nm process. All of them offer support for the key feature of this generation – PCIe 4.0 – and an X570 mainboard is going to be the best way to access this feature from day one. A great thing about PCIe 4.0 is that it’s backward compatible with legacy hardware, but PCIe 4.0 gear that utilizes the doubled bandwidth of the new standard is underway.
Here we have looked into some of what will likely be the best AMD X570 motherboards that you can buy in 2019. If you are looking for a premium motherboard that is designed for enthusiasts then the Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Formula is a great option to consider. If you need something that is a bit mainstream then you should check out the ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming X. If you are building a small form factor build that does not compromise on performance then you should look into the Strix X570-I.
Let us know what you think about these AMD X570 motherboards and whether or not you are interested in buying one for your next build or system upgrade!
The post The Best AMD X570 Motherboards For Your Next Ryzen 3000 Build appeared first on Gaming PC Builder.
Fastest M.2 NVMe SSDs
Moving to faster storage can shave seconds off most of your PC activities – from booting up your OS to loading apps and games. If you are currently booting from a hard drive, there is simply no other component that will have a comparable effect on your user experience than an SSD. But not all […] The post Fastest M.2 NVMe SSDs appeared first on Gaming PC...
Moving to faster storage can shave seconds off most of your PC activities – from booting up your OS to loading apps and games. If you are currently booting from a hard drive, there is simply no other component that will have a comparable effect on your user experience than an SSD.
But not all solid state drives are created equal. If you have an available M.2 slot on your motherboard (desktop or laptop), then this is most likely this type of SSD you want as a system drive. Preferably, it should also be compatible with PCI Express and the modern storage interface protocol NVMe.
Table of Contents
- What is NVMe and do I need it?
- Fastest VS best value M.2 SSD
- Best M.2 NVMe SSDs 2019 (January)
- What drive is the best for gaming?
- Will it work in my desktop/laptop PC?
- How to choose the right capacity
What is NVMe and is it necessary?
Image credit: Intel
What SSD speed boils down to is how fast you can move data from storage (non-volatile, slow) to DRAM (volatile, fast).
NVMe – short for non-volatile memory express – was created to make the most out of solid state drives in combination with the PCI Express interface. Its predecessor was and is AHCI (paired with SATA), which was originally intended for mechanical hard drives. The newer protocol includes lots of efficiency improvements when dealing with parallel transfers and the low-latency nature of SSDs.
If you want to learn more about NVMe, start by checking out this introduction by Intel. It’s aimed at Intel’s data center customers but is accessible to anyone who wants a quick overview of the NVMe advantages.
When shopping for a new SSD, it’s important to know that M.2 is just a form factor that says nothing of performance. Some M.2 SSDs operate over the SATA interface, making it no different from a 2.5″ drive in terms of performance. Other drives instead use PCI Express (PCIe), which is a considerably faster interface.
Fastest Vs. Best Value M.2 SSD
The short version is that if you want an M.2 SSD that is consistently fast during long-term, heavy use – and don’t mind paying a bit more – you should opt for one that uses MLC Flash (or 3D XPoint) memory chips. But if you don’t work with storage-heavy applications you will probably won’t notice the difference compared to a drive based on 3D TLC memory. TLC-based drives are more affordable but can be as fast as MLC-based SSDs in shorter bursts.
MLC, or Multi-level cell NAND, generally offer better endurance and overall performance than its triple-level cell counterpart. But for a vast majority of users, TLC endurance will be more than enough, and the difference in performance is barely noticeable.
Last update on 2019-10-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Fastest PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD: Gigabyte Aorus Gen4
If – and only if – you have a motherboard that supports PCI Express 4.0 (at this point only AMD X570 boards with Ryzen 3000-series CPUs), then here’s a suitable SSD. All current PCIe 4.0-capable SSDs are based on the same Phison PS5016-E16 controller and 3D TLC Toshiba BiCS4 memory. For this reason, they offer about the same performance.
Apparently, PCIe 4.0 SSDs run hot, so a model with a heatsink is recommended. When combined with the right motherboard, there is no question that you get amazing transfer rates of up to 5 TB/s. Again, this is only with a compatible motherboard/CPU combo – otherwise, these drives will max out at PCIe 3.0 speeds.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
Best PCIe 3.0 NVMe M.2 SSD: Samsung 970 PRO
No single drive will take home the crown as the fastest M.2. SSD in every benchmark or practical use case. However, our choice as the best general performer in the PCIe 3.0 segment of 2019, is still the versatile Samsung 970 PRO – a drive that currently tops many performance charts in the M.2 PCI Express category.
It’s also considered one of the most reliable. Actually, Samsung’s performance and reliability track record in the SSD segment has been almost flawless for nearly a decade, so it’s a very comfortable recommendation.
The 970 PRO comes with Samsung’s proprietary controller and MLC chips, as well as an excellent endurance rating. Unfortunately, the 970 PRO is only available in two capacities: 512 GB and 1 TB, which limits your choices. It may also be a questionable choice when looking at the performance/$ equation because the cost per GB is above average.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
Read more about the 970 PRO in our SSD database >>
Best Value: Samsung 970 EVO Plus
This will ultimately depend on today’s prices for the best M.2 SSDs on the market (scroll down for a full list). Nevertheless, Samsung’s 970 EVO Plus is cheaper than the PRO and very close in terms of raw performance. Although it uses less durable TLC NAND, this drive is among the very best – and will likely remain so until we see more competition in the PCIe 4.0 segment.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
Read more about the 970 EVO Plus in our SSD database >>
On the same note, also check out the affordable yet well-rounded MyDigitalSSD BPX Pro, which is normally a nice mix of value and performance. MyDigitalSSD might not be one of the big names in storage, but the company has successfully released a relatively wide range of SSDs based on well-known third-party components. This particular drive uses Toshiba 3D TLC NAND memory in combination with the recent Phison E12 controller. The result is a lot of fast storage for the money.
12 of the Fastest M.2 PCIe NVMe SSDs in 2019
There are alternatives to all of the above of course. Some of which could be better options if the price is right, so don’t stop reading just yet. In the following list we’ve put together some of the best-performing, recently released drives. They are ordered by sequential performance first, random second. Because of the drives’ different controllers and memory types, these numbers are only an indication of actual performance.
| # | Name | Max. sequential read/write (MB/s) | 4K random read/write performance (IOPS) | Endurance rating (terabytes written) | Store link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | | Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 (500GB) | 5000/2500 | 550K/400K | 850 TBW | View on Amazon |
| 1 |  | Sabrent Rocket Gen4 (500GB) | 5000/2500 | N/A | N/A | View on Amazon |
| 3 |  | Corsair MP600 Gen4 (500GB) | 4950/2500 | 550K/420K | 850 TBW | View on Amazon |
| 4 |  | Samsung 970 PRO (512GB) | 3500/2700 | 370K/500K | 600 TBW | View on Amazon |
| 5 | | Samsung 970 EVO PLUS (500GB) | 3500/3200 | 480K/550K | 300 TBW | View on Amazon |
| 6 |  | WD Black SN750 (500GB) | 3470/2600 | 420K/380K | 300 TBW | View on Amazon |
| 7 |  | Adata XPG SX8200 Pro (512GB) | 3500/2300 | 390K/380K | 320 TBW | View on Amazon |
| 8 |  | MyDigitalSSD BPX Pro (480 GB) | 3400/2100 | 600K/600K* | 800 TBW | View on Amazon |
| 9 |  | HP EX950 (512GB) | 3500/2250 | 390K/370K | 320 TBW | View on Amazon |
| 10 |  | Intel SSD 760p (512GB) | 3230/1625 | 340K/275K | 288 TBW | View on Amazon |
| 11 |  | OCZ RD400 (512GB) | 2600/1600 | 190K/120K | 296 TBW | View on Amazon |
| 12 |  | Intel Optane SSD 800P (118GB) | 1450/640 | 250K/140K | 365 TBW | View on Amazon |
Remember that the Gen4 SSDs on top of the list requires a PCI Express 4.0-capable motherboard (X570 chipset) to run at full speed. In other words: don’t pay extra for a Gen4 SSD unless you own a suitable motherboard or plan on upgrading.
High-End Alternative: Intel Optane 800p
The last drive on our list should also be considered a high-end option. Although its sequential performance might not sound like much, Intel’s Optane 800p will be faster than all other M.2 SSDs in certain areas. Its extremely low latency makes random performance at low queue depths particularly good, which is an advantage in a system drive. The reason why it’s hard to compare to other SSDs is that it uses Intel’s proprietary 3D XPoint memory instead of ‘normal’ NAND Flash.
Unfortunately, it also comes with a much higher cost/GB than competing drives and is only available in two tiny capacities – 58 GB and 118 GB. Read more about it here, or head straight to AnandTech for what is likely the most detailed review online.
Check prices: Amazon, Newegg, Amazon UK
Which is the Best M.2 SSD for Gaming?
For the average user, the difference between an SSD and a hard drive – in terms of user experience – will be very clearly noticeable. The effect of shifting from one type of SSD to another will not be as dramatic.
All storage-intensive tasks that move lots of files around will be affected by an SSDs capability. However, a faster SSD will not necessarily shorten loading times in games by large amounts. Here’s an interesting test from the web, comparing an M.2 PCIe SSD (970 Pro) versus an older 2.5″ SATA SSD (plus a mechanical hard drive) when loading various games:
Here’s a summary of the data:
| Game | Loading from mechanical HDD | Loading from 2.5" SATA SSD | Loading from 970 Pro (M.2 NVMe) | Decrease/Increase, (NVMe Vs SATA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 325s | 161s | 151s | -6% |
| Destiny 2 | 45s | 31s | 29s | -6% |
| Deus Ex: Mankind Divided | 71s | 27s | 21s | -22% |
| DOOM | 65s | 49s | 47s | -4% |
| Civilization 6 | 27s | 18s | 17s | -6% |
| Far Cry 5 | 25s | 10s | 11s | +10% |
| Path of Exile | 23s | 3s | 3s | +0% |
| World of Warcraft | 36s | 7s | 6s | -14% |
| Skyrim Special Edition | 20s | 9s | 12s | +33% |
| Witcher 3 | 13s | 7s | 5s | -29% |
Source: YouTube user Alexandr iuneWind
With these results in mind, it is probably safe to assume that a comparison of individual high-end M.2 PCIe SSDs will result in small differences as far as gaming is concerned. The usual price/performance calculation will serve you well. Of course, all seconds saved add up to minutes and hours in the long run, so a fast NVMe is still a key component in a high-end PC. But in most cases, you can not expect the sort of radical performance gains that you see when coming from a traditional hard drive.
Will it Work in my Laptop/Desktop PC?
For the listed drives to work in your computer, it must have the proper slot and support for PCIe/NVMe. But there may be exceptions: Even without an M.2 slot on your (desktop) motherboard, you may still be able to use one in a full-size PCIe x4 slot via an adapter. But if you want to run your OS from the drive, your motherboard still must support booting from PCIe, which is not a guarantee with older motherboards.
Most recent, high-end ATX-size motherboards include at least one M.2 slot and will most likely be able to run a modern SSD at the full supported speed. With an older or entry-level board, you might not be so lucky. In any event, it’s always best to check the manual before buying a new drive.
Keying and Sizes
M.2 SSDs (and other M.2 cards) come in different sizes and some motherboards – particularly in laptops – will only hold a drive up to a certain size. They also have different sets of notches (keying) that will prevent you from installing it the wrong way.
M.2 Keying and Size
Three different key types or ‘notch styles’ may be used by M.2 SSDs: B, M or B&M. The socket can be either B or M, but not both.
High-end SSDs, as well as recent motherboards, will have to use an M-key slot, as this is the only type that provides four lanes of bandwidth, or 20 Gbit/s, also known as PCIe x4. B-key supports ‘only’ PCIe x2, or 10 Gbit/s.
On many motherboards, the connector itself or the PCB next to it will be labeled with the keying. Otherwise, check the specs or manual. Likewise, M.2 card length might be stamped on the board, looking something like this:
High-capacity drives have additional memory chips mounted on the card and may require more space. The M.2 standard allows for cards of five different lengths, with the number format meaning width-length in millimeters. All sizes are the same width, so the two most common, 2280 and 2242, are 80mm and 42mm long, respectively (and so on). All sizes:
- 2230
- 2242
- 2260
- 2280
- 22110
Not all motherboards – and much less all laptops – can accommodate the longest cards and some might not even support the common 2280 size (the format used by most of the drives listed above). So make sure to check before buying.
Also, don’t confuse M.2 and mSATA, which is another, older standard. These slots may look similar on the motherboard, but they’re not compatible. M.2 SSDs may also use the SATA interface, but that doesn’t mean it’s an mSATA drive.
Checklist Before Buying an M.2 SSD
- Check the drive’s interface and M.2 keying, e.g. B+M-key/M-key (all PCIe x4 SSDs are M-key).
- Make sure it matches the slot on your motherboard or in your laptop. You can usually find this information on the specs page.
- Also ensure that the length of the drive is supported, e.g. 2280 or 2242 (numbers in bold are millimeters).
To sum things up about keying and interfaces: it might sound complicated, but really isn’t. If you are building a high-end PC based on a Z170, Z270, B350/B450, X370/X470 chipset, it will likely have an M-key slot. And if so, most of the popular M-key or B+M-key drives will work. But there are a few exceptions, so it’s best to double-check.
Choosing the Right Capacity
You can hardly ever have too much storage space, but all of it doesn’t have to be super fast. There is no reason to use an expensive, high-end SSD to store family photos, backups, or your entire Steam library.
Using myself as an example, my main PC has a primary 256 GB SSD that contains the stuff I use on a regular basis. That includes the OS, all work-related apps and a couple of games – basically what I want quick access to on a regular basis. The rest is mostly distributed on some affordable terabytes of hard drive space (local and NAS). On the local SSD, what takes up most of the space right now are those two games, both of which take up a lot of space.
In other words, what capacity you need will be very personal. If you just want a really fast computer for work (and who doesn’t?), you can probably get by with as little as 128 GB and use hard drives for the rest. If you’re an avid gamer, on the other hand, 512/500 GB is probably a minimum.
Most importantly, you want to boot from your fastest drive. That means it must be able to store the OS and all of its associated files (such as caches and swap). And it’s not that much:
- Windows 10 (64-bit): 20GB
- MacOs Mojave: 12.5GB
- Ubuntu 17.04: 25GB
- Manjaro 18 (Arch): 30GB
- Linux Mint 19.1 (Debian/Ubuntu): 20GB
- Elementary OS 5 (Debian/Ubuntu): 15GB
- Fedora 29: 10GB
- OpenSuse 42.3: 5GB
Those numbers may or may not be a minimum requirement, but also add – at the very least – the amount of RAM in your system to be on the safe side (to make room for the swap file). Office apps are usually not that demanding either, with MS Office taking up about 4 GB of space on your SSD. Games tend to use a lot more but can range in size from a few hundred megabytes to dozens of gigabytes, so there is no simple answer. On the other hand, loading games from a slower device (but preferably still an SSD) is still a viable option, as seen above.
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4TB SSD Roundup: All 4 TB+ Solid State Drives
Looking for a place to store your entire Steam library without compromising on performance? For now, 4 TB is the largest amount of SSD storage space you can get your hands on today in a single drive on the consumer market. And even then, availability is very limited. Here we’ve collected every single 4TB SSD […] The post 4TB SSD Roundup: All 4 TB+ Solid State Drives appeared first on Gaming PC...
Looking for a place to store your entire Steam library without compromising on performance? For now, 4 TB is the largest amount of SSD storage space you can get your hands on today in a single drive on the consumer market. And even then, availability is very limited. Here we’ve collected every single 4TB SSD we could find as of late 2019.
It’s fully possible to build high-capacity SSDs – at least in the 2.5″ and Add-in Card form factors – so the major stopping block is a high cost for the end-user. However, the cost of Flash memory has been dropping for some time. And thanks to the arrival of cheaper chips in the form of TLC (triple-level cell) and lately QLC (quad-level cell) NAND, prices should keep falling.
As of now, however, only a limited few manufacturers build 4TB drives. The number of M.2 SSDs with this capacity is zero so far. You’ll be limited to the 2.5-inch SATA, Add-in Card and external form factors.
4TB 2.5″ SATA SSDs
If you are looking for lots of fast internal storage space at a cost that isn’t too exorbitant, a 2.5-inch SATA drive is pretty much your only choice today. You are also limited to just one manufacturer, namely Samsung.
Last update on 2019-10-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Samsung 860 QVO, EVO or PRO?
For several years, many users made only one choice when buying an SSD, regardless of capacity: either the Samsung EVO or the PRO series. Fortunately, for anyone looking for a larger variety, Samsung recently added a more affordable 4TB SSD to the lineup along with the 860 QVO series.
What makes the QVO different – and more importantly cheaper – is the use of quad-level cell, or QLC NAND memory. QLC memory stores an additional bit per cell (compared to TLC), which means higher densities, a more efficient production process, and a lower total cost.
Needless to say, some significant drawbacks are also included in the more moderate price tag. Most importantly, performance and endurance are both reduced. One extra bit doubles the number of charge states in each transistor, making them more prone to voltage drift and other issues that need to be corrected for. Samsung also offers a shorter warranty with the QVO, which is arguably an argument in favor of the EVO.
Bigger Drive – Better Performance
On the other hand, Samsung seems to have the technology well in hand. The QVO series offers impressive performance, particularly in the largest 4 TB capacity. The endurance issue is also compensated by the sheer size of a 4TB SSD. A vast majority of users will never come close to the 1,440 TB of the guaranteed writes ever – and even less so during the warranty period. Most likely, it won’t wear out before all other parts of the computer are already on the scrap heap. So the main drawbacks compared to the more expensive Samsungs would be lower performance and a 3-year warranty (instead of five).
If you’re not comfortable with the warranty terms and performance numbers for the 860 QVO, the 860 EVO might be a more attractive option. It comes with the usual 5-year warranty as well as tried-and-tested TLC memory that will last even longer. And in terms of performance, this SSD is only bested by the 860 PRO.
The bottom line: There’s really no question that the 860 PRO is the fastest and most durable drive out of the three high-capacity SATA SSDs available. However, it’s no less obvious that the price tag on the 4TB 860 PRO is intimidating. In our opinion, the 4TB 860 EVO offers the best mix of value, performance and warranty terms at today’s price levels. The reason why we’d choose it over the 860 QVO is not that the QVO is bad, but that it has to drop further in price to compensate for the negative aspects of QLC NAND.
External 4TB SSDs
If you just want lots of really fast storage to go – in a compact form factor – you actually have more options. Unlike hard drives, solid state drives are not limited by the size of spinning platters, only on how the manufacturers decide to arrange the memory chips and layout of the PCB. Oddly enough, storage giants like SanDisk and Samsung don’t offer 4TB or larger drives in their well-known Extreme and T5 ranges. Instead, several smaller manufacturers have found a niche here.
One thing to keep in mind when shopping for an external SSD is rated performance. What you really need to avoid is ending up with a glorified thumb drive that’s barely faster than a mechanical hard drive. The best-performing drives use either the USB 3.1 Gen2 or Thunderbolt interfaces. Here are some of the leading models right now.
Last update on 2019-10-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Out of these three best-selling 4TB external drives, it’s clear that the Glyph Atom RAID SSD is the best-performing option. It actually consists of two smaller M.2 drives in a RAID 0 array, which nearly doubles transfer rates compared to a single drive. It is also ‘Thunderbolt 3 compatible’, meaning that it should play well with recent MacBook Pros. However, it doesn’t use an actual, full-featured Thunderbolt 3 interface, and neither does Oyen Digital’s U32 Shadow. Both utilize the USB-C 3.1 Gen2 interface, which has a maximum bandwidth of 10 Gbps. The VectoTech Rapid is bound by the limits of the USB 3.0 (or USB 3.1 Gen1) interface and it’s, therefore, slower than its competitors.
Additional High-Capacity Options
There are also a few other high-capacity alternatives on the external SSD market:
Oyen Digital U32 Shadow Dura – This is, unsurprisingly, a close relative to the previously mentioned U32 Shadow from Oyen Digital. The difference is that it comes in a more durable rubber-enclosed case, making it shockproof and somewhat water-resistant. At least according to the manufacturer (we could find no IP-rating though). Check price >>
Oyen Digital MiniPro Dura – The MiniPro Dura also shares many features with the U32 Shadow (Dura) from the same manufacturer. This drive, however, is a bit larger (oddly enough, considering the name) and complies with the military-grade test MIL-STD-810G 516.6. The warranty is only one year instead of three, perhaps reflecting that it’s supposed to be used in the field. Check price >>
Oyen Digital SSD MiniPro RAID V3 – The MiniPro RAID is an enclosure that can be purchased separately or equipped with up to two 4TB Samsung 860 EVO SSDs. A total of 8 GB of fast storage space should be enough for most use cases. For the same reason, it’s much larger than most portable drives and requires external power. As the name implies, you can set up your drives in RAID for striping (performance) or mirroring (backup). There’s also a Dura version of this drive/enclosure. Check price >>
iStorage diskAshur PRO2 – If you value security higher than any other aspect, then – and only then – this might be the drive for you. It comes with a code lock and all the military-grade security certifications you can imagine. You also get AES-XTS 256-bit hardware encryption. Performance is not nearly as impressive at 148 MB/s (read) and 140 MB/s (write). Check price >>
BUSlink Disk-On-The-Go External Slim Portable – Last but not least, BUSlink offers external SSDs in sizes all the way up to 7.68 GB. In other words, they likely use enterprise SSDs from Samsung or Micron inside. The drive uses the USB 3.1 Gen2 interface, offering up to 10 Gbps of bandwidth. Unfortunately, BUSlink doesn’t provide any more detailed performance data. Check price >>
4TB+ Enterprise SSDs
If money is no object, it’s possible to buy SSDs in even higher capacities than 4TB, such as Samsung’s 30.72 TB PM1643. This monster will probably set you back around $12,000. Most enterprise drives are both very expensive and very durable, as they are intended for the server market. Endurance here is usually measured in DWPD (drive writes per day) or petabytes written (PBW) instead of terabytes written (TBW). Enterprise SSDs are a bit outside of the scope for this article, but we’ll take a brief look at a pair of interesting models.
Last update on 2019-10-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
What makes these SSDs from a consumer/enthusiast perspective is that they can actually be used in a consumer machine. The Intel drive is a half-height PCI Express Add-in card, while the Micron 5200 ECO uses the common SATA interface (as opposed to SAS).
Moreover, both drives are built with mostly the same hardware as consumer models, most importantly 64-layer 3D TLC NAND. This keeps the prices in check versus extremely expensive alternatives such as eMLC. Drives that use SLC, or single-level cell memory, are almost impossible to find these days. The production cost has always been prohibitive. Current SSDs, however, often use an SLC-mode cache to speed up transfer rates.
Summary
SSD prices keep dropping at a steady pace. However, the cost per GB is still very high compared to mechanical hard drives. And for most users, combining a low-capacity but fast drive with one or more regular hard drives is still the best value combo.
On the other hand, there are some categories of users that can really take advantage of a 4TB or larger SSD. The fast transfer rates are an advantage for everyone working with large files, like photo- and video editors. The options are still few, but it’s practically certain that we’ll see more high-capacity SSDs in the near future. And at reasonable prices, thanks to the proliferation of QLC NAND.
The post 4TB SSD Roundup: All 4 TB+ Solid State Drives appeared first on Gaming PC Builder.
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