I'm putting together my first PC soon and will mostly be using it for gaming, coding, game development, and 3D modeling. I picked up a WD SN7100 2 TB SSD because it was a great deal, but I realized afterward that I didn't investigate the whole Dram-less SSD situation thoroughly. I know a little about HMB technology, and I keep hearing that Dram-less SSDs are better suited as secondary drives while a Dram-equipped SSD is preferred for the boot drive. I'm currently weighing my options: Is HMB enough to make up for the lack of DRAM? Can I use this SSD as my boot drive without issues? Or should I consider buying a smaller SSD with DRAM for booting, even though my budget is tight? Also, would having a 500GB boot drive alongside my 2TB SSD be advisable? I'd really appreciate any insights or advice!
5 Answers
Yes, HMB can adequately compensate for the lack of DRAM in many cases. So, using your WD SN7100 as the boot drive is perfectly fine. There's no strong need to buy a DRAM-equipped SSD, especially if you're on a budget. Save your money!
It really depends on the model. The WD SN7100 is a decent choice. Just keep in mind that if you choose a lower quality SSD, you might experience performance issues. Make sure not to fill it to the brim, as that can slow it down noticeably when you do large transfers. But overall, you probably won’t notice any significant differences in typical usage.
Unless you're dealing with outdated operating systems or using the SSD externally, HMB should work well for you. You can definitely find benchmark results that show its effectiveness if you want to dive deeper into those specifics.
It's worth noting that since the SN7100 is an NVMe drive, the lack of DRAM is less of a concern than it would be for SATA SSDs. The speed of NVMe drives means you'll likely be fine using it as your boot drive, even without DRAM.
For what you're looking to do, there's a good chance you won't notice any difference between a Dram-less SSD and one that has DRAM. Your SSD should keep up with your needs without causing issues.
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