I'm choosing a secondary 2TB NVMe SSD mainly for storing and playing games. My budget is around $300, although local pricing is different. I care more about consistent performance and a long usable lifespan than maximum benchmark speeds. I've heard that SSDs with dedicated DRAM may last longer, so I'm comparing a Lexar NM620 2TB for about $270 with an Acer Predator GM6 M.2 drive for roughly $320. Is the extra $50 worthwhile, and are there better options in this price range?
3 Answers
For a secondary game library, dedicated DRAM isn’t necessary. Also, neither of the two drives listed appears to have dedicated DRAM, so the difference may not be what you expected. Modern NVMe drives can use Host Memory Buffer, borrowing a small amount of system RAM for mapping data, and that works well for typical gaming use. Drives with dedicated DRAM generally cost more because they target sustained heavy workloads such as professional content creation, not ordinary game storage.
For gaming, the cheaper drive should be perfectly adequate. Game loading is usually limited by the CPU and game engine rather than the SSD’s peak sequential speed, so moving from an older PCIe generation to a much faster one often makes little noticeable difference. The bigger gains from high-end drives show up when copying hundreds of gigabytes or doing other heavy workloads. Gaming also involves far more reading than writing, so endurance is unlikely to be a practical concern; you’ll probably replace the drive because 2TB is no longer enough before wearing it out.
That makes sense. I’ll probably go with the less expensive option.
Exactly. Most games have nearly identical load times across PCIe generations because the CPU and game engine are the bottlenecks.
A higher-end option such as the WD Black SN850X could be worth considering if it’s available locally, but availability and regional pricing matter. If it costs significantly more, the gaming benefit over the cheaper drive will still be minimal.
I must have misread the specifications. In that case, the cheaper drive seems like the better choice.