Is upgrading from a SATA SSD to an M.2 NVMe drive worthwhile for gaming?
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MellowPine42
I currently have a 1TB 2.5-inch SATA SSD, and the capacity is enough for me. I mainly play esports games and some Overwatch. I'm wondering whether the lower read and write speeds of SATA would noticeably affect gaming performance or load times. With current deals available, would upgrading to an M.2 NVMe SSD be worthwhile? If so, are there any particular models or specifications I should look for?
Answers
For gaming, upgrading probably isn’t necessary if your current SATA SSD is working well and has enough space. NVMe drives can offer roughly ten times the peak sequential speeds, but games usually don’t use those speeds in a way you can feel. You might see somewhat shorter load times, but it generally won’t improve FPS or overall gameplay.
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Even a high-end PCIe Gen 5 NVMe drive wouldn’t usually make a noticeable difference in game loading compared with a decent SATA SSD. A small number of newer games support technologies such as DirectStorage, but they’re still uncommon. Unless you’re regularly transferring large files, installing games, or doing other storage-heavy work, keep the money or put it toward another upgrade.
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MellowPine42: That makes sense. Since I mostly play esports games and Overwatch, I’ll probably keep the SATA drive until I actually need more space or replace the rest of the system.