I'm having some issues with my current Windows installation and I'm considering reformatting my Gen 3 NVMe drive for a fresh install. Another option I'm exploring is purchasing a new, faster Gen 5 NVMe drive for the installation. However, I'm struggling to find solid information on whether there are any real-world performance benefits when comparing Gen 5 to Gen 4 or Gen 3. Has anyone experienced noticeable differences with a Gen 5 drive?
5 Answers
Using a Gen 5 drive as your OS drive won’t significantly improve your gaming or general performance. It’s pretty situational, so if your workload can leverage the speed, go for it! Otherwise, you're better off saving your cash.
Honestly, I don't see any real benefit to going with a Gen 5 drive just for regular OS use. The performance gains aren't noticeable unless you're running benchmark tests, and even then, it's not huge. Plus, if you're using a Z790 board, be careful because adding a Gen 5 SSD will cut down on the GPU lanes, but I didn’t notice any performance loss from that either.
I'd say yes, but kind of 'meh' about it. It's nice to have a fast drive for your OS, but the difference between Gen 4 and Gen 5 is minimal, with Gen 4 already being super fast. If you're paying a premium for Gen 5 without feeling a considerable upgrade, it might not be worth it.
Nope, Gen 5 isn't really worth it for most people. Unless you're frequently transferring terabytes of data daily, you won't feel the difference. For most users, the speeds of Gen 4 and even Gen 3 are more than adequate.
If you're working with heavy video files, a Gen 5 drive could help as a swap file location, but even then, it's not the best investment for most folks.
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