Hey everyone! I'm working with a super tight budget on my old PC, which has a Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 Rev 3.0 motherboard and an FX 8300 processor. Currently, I'm using a hard drive, but I'd love to upgrade so I can run some newer games. I've been reading that SSDs are a must for many modern titles, and I've heard mixed opinions on whether I should go for SATA or NVMe. Given my motherboard's capabilities, can I use a PCIe card to support an M.2 NVMe SSD? Is that a wise decision considering my motherboard only supports PCIe 2.0? Any advice would be really appreciated! Also, I know upgrading my entire setup would be ideal, but living in a third-world country makes that pretty unaffordable for me right now. Thanks!
6 Answers
Using a SATA SSD will serve you just fine, especially since your motherboard doesn't support NVMe. You'll definitely want to install your operating system on it for quicker load times and overall better performance.
You didn’t mention any prices for SSDs, which would definitely help narrow down the best option. Make sure to check local prices before making a decision!
In my local stores, I've noticed that a 1TB SATA SSD costs about the same as a 512GB NVMe, so you might want to go with whichever is cheaper from a decent brand. For budget systems like yours, performance differences are usually negligible, so either option should work well enough for gaming.
If you're leaning towards NVMe, I would suggest looking for a Direct Storage compliant model, even if you go for just 512GB. It generally offers faster IOPS, which could be beneficial for modern games if your budget allows it.
Honestly, whether you pick a SATA SSD or an NVMe is not going to make a huge difference for gaming purposes at this level. Just get the one that fits your budget and has good reviews.
For your motherboard, a 2.5" SATA SSD should fit perfectly and provide the performance you need. Both PCIe 2.0 and SATA are roughly equivalent at around 500 MB/s, so there's no real advantage in going for a PCIe adapter for NVMe.
Related Questions
Lenovo Thinkpad Stuck In Update Loop Install FilterDriverU2_Reload