Is gen3 M.2 Ssd good enough for gaming?
Posted by Timely_Platypus4986@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 41 comments
Hey, I was going to build a pc and im in a budget. So,I was thinking of going with a gen3 Does it matter or will it compromise in my fps?. I mean i know not to expect too much. PLEASE HELP
Siliconfrustration@reddit
Yes
KingZarkon@reddit
I'll be honest. I have the one of fastest pci-e 4.0 drives you can buy. I have an older 3.0 drive and a raid 0 array with three SATA drives. If I'm being honest, I really can't see a noticeable difference in performance or load times on any of them. Like maybe if I did a side-by-side comparison I would see a difference but none of them stands out as a worse performer.
RememberTooSmile@reddit
we’re at the point people are asking if m.2’s are enough, how far we’ve came haha
Sentoh789@reddit
My “how far we’ve come” moment is always Internet speeds. People will talk about their gig download speeds and I keep thinking back to when it took like 30 minutes to download one song off of Limewire.
RememberTooSmile@reddit
True, one of the most under rated quality of life advances honestly. These 100gb+ games would’ve been horrific to download
FantasticWin436@reddit
Crazy right? These things were a luxury back then. Hahaha glad that m.2's are becoming more accessible to other people. They deserve to be happy.
KillEvilThings@reddit
If it's an SSD that isn't literal garbage (kingston NV tier lol) and is PCIE 3 and faster it's not going to impact game performance in any reasonable way.
Cyber_Akuma@reddit
Majority of games barely show a difference between even SATA and any NVME, you will be fine. Few games support Direct Storage, and the difference between a 3.0 to 4.0 drive won't even be noticeable, even with SATA you will barely add a few seconds of loading if that.
ime1em@reddit
I'm still using HDD and sata SSD lol
soniccdA@reddit
It's plenty fast , unless you want even faster transfer speeds
ASUS_USUS_WEALLSUS@reddit
My brother we played games on old ass HDDs. Yes even the most budget m.2 is more than enough for gaming
nroloa@reddit
Even SATA SSDs are generally good enough for gaming. Average FPS shouldn't be affected all that much but loading times absolutely will.
ggRavingGamer@reddit
Loading times will not be affected lol. Even with SATA there is at most a difference of around 2 seconds or so.
uspdd@reddit
It will definitely make a difference in games that use Direct Storage
ScumbagScotsman@reddit
What games lol
ggRavingGamer@reddit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8taBd7EO2Dc
Yeah, 6 seconds on average for the very very few games that actually use it. And that's pcie 4.0 vs SATA. Which means pcie 3.0 vs 4.0 would be 1-2 seconds MAX, if that.
uspdd@reddit
Yes, I meant the difference between SATA and pcie, because Direct Storage requires nvme to work correctly.
SickBurnerBroski@reddit
Euro Truck simulator truly a defining element in PC gaming ;)
skyfishgoo@reddit
gen4.0 ssd are cheaper per GB of storage and faster (even on a gen3.0 bus) than anything gen3.0
just buy a crucial p310 ssd.
DarthWeezy@reddit
A regular sata SSD is enough for gaming, compared to an HDD.
noiralter@reddit
Yep. Anything is better than a Hard drive. I have one M2 ssd and one SATA ssd and i see just a minor difference between them
d34dlyftw@reddit
no impact on FPS.
Windows boot time and loading between maps will be affected. usually fps games load everything when joining.
lLoveTech@reddit
It's more than sufficient for gaming with the load times minimally slower than a gen 4 or even a gen 5 drive!
drowsycow@reddit
i dont think directstorage is a big enuff gain to justify needing above gen 3
definitlyitsbutter@reddit
Absolutely enough. Very safe to buy used if a brand name like samsung, as the lifespan of a ssd is usually defined by tbw (terrabytes written) and not by age or startups. Look also for oem models like samsung pm961 or pm981.
Pcie 3.0 vs 4.0 vs 5.0 matters more for work tasks like video editing. Or will matter when maybe maybe in the future direct storage will become important for games. Right now you will propably not even notice a difference between a sata ssd and an nvme ssd in games.
sillycritersenjoyer@reddit
Even a sata is good enough. My windows drive is gen 3 and has been as smooth as it gets
_RM78@reddit
Yes.
firey_magican_283@reddit
A pcie gen 3 ssd is perfectly usable, the difference in load times is minimal for most games. and if you where to buy a pcie gen 4 SSD it would be limited to gen 3 speeds due to your CPU.
sadclownguy@reddit
But the price difference between gen3 and 4 is so small. And next time you upgrade your nvme can use it's gen4 potential.
firey_magican_283@reddit
Op isn't running a discrete graphics card so is likely on a slim budge, but yeah no reason to go 3.0 if you can afford a 4.0 drive as storage is very easy to reuse in new builds.
Currently for me the difference between a 1900 mbs read and 7400 mbs drive is pretty small for gaming at least although I heard that in the future SSD speed might matter more for gaming.
CeriPie@reddit
Even my MX500 Sata III SSD offers practically instant loading times in games. Crazy that someone is asking if an m.2 is enough. How spoiled we've become.
chizburger999@reddit
Its definitely good enough. I'm using gen4 on a gen3 slot. You'll be fine
japespszx@reddit
Yes. Even SATA SSD's are good enough. Any average M.2 is going to be pretty good at gaming.
fuzzynyanko@reddit
FPS is often more related to your VRAM and System RAM. Most of the performance parts of your game will be loaded into there.
Agitated_Position392@reddit
if youre using integrated graphics, a slightly slower ssd will not be what slows down your fps
sebmojo99@reddit
no, it's fine.
Need_a_BE_MG42_ps4@reddit
That's more than fine
sadclownguy@reddit
My board only supports pcie gen3 but I went for a gen4 nvme anyway because it was only like 20 bucks more expensive. Keep in mind that you'll probably have your ssd for a long time so I'd go for a gen4 nvme if I were you. The price difference between gen3 and gen4 is so small and eventually you'll have a pcie gen4 or gen5 board anyway. Since they're up and downwards compatible, there's really nothing you can do wrong if you think ahead a little.
GonstroCZ@reddit
Even SATA is great enough... also good to know that since Gen 4 is so popupar now, it is common to see that a Gen 4 drive is even cheaper than older Gen 3
SickBurnerBroski@reddit
any m.2 is gonna be fine. you wouldn't even be able to detect a difference unless you were installing an extremely large game and like, decided to comparison reinstall it on another drive to count the seconds, or i guess theoretically it could affect direct storage, if direct storage was even really a thing for pc games.
it's fine, don't worry about it. get a nice warranty.
PM-Your-Fuzzy-Socks@reddit
yes. plenty good. ssds like the mp33 are great budget ones for builds. it will not affect fps, loading, or anything.