Today’s games are quite demanding, and while they can be run using subpar components, the experience will be far from optimal. Having a computer that performs far above the minimum requirements for a game makes all the difference in the world. The computer’s drive makes a big difference when it comes to loading times, stuttering, and rendering in-game worlds.
While the fact that SSDs are faster than HDDs has become general knowledge, knowing which type of SSD to purchase isn’t as obvious to everyone. These drives come with different form factors and interfaces – and they’re not equal when it comes to performance.
This has people questioning whether an NVMe SSD is better than a SATA SSD, or not.
An NVMe SSD can reach read-write speeds of 3500MB/s, which is more than five times faster than a regular SATA SSD that’s capped out at 600MB/s. While upgrading from an HDD to a SATA SSD will reduce loading times and stuttering significantly, an NVMe SSDs will improve your gaming experience even further, making it the ideal choice for gaming and video editing.
One of the best NVMe SSDs for gaming is the WD Black SN850, but it is a bit expensive. If you’re on a budget and want the most bang for your buck, the Samsung 970 EVO Plus is the go-to choice for many gamers in 2022.
Before you go ahead and jump to the conclusion that you need an NVMe SSD, it’s important to make sure that you’re well aware of whether or not the drive is compatible with your motherboard, the price range, which drive to pick, and so forth. Continue reading and we’ll have you covered.
What’s the Difference Between SATA SSD and NVMe SSD?
While the difference between the different types of solid state drives is smaller than the difference separating solid state drives and hard disk drives, there’s still a difference. We’ll take a look at the difference between them – but also why SSDs are faster in general.
When compared to an HDD, an SSD is capable of reading/writing at much faster rates. This is mainly because HDDs use moving heads, disks, and motors to read/write, whereas SSDs use a technology that doesn’t depend on moving parts to store and access data – known as flash memory.
Even though HDDs performed quite well, the moving parts created a bit of delay because the actuator arm and writer/reading heads had to locate the proper position on the disk before they could start writing, and even though this was done in the blink of an eye, it was noticeable to the user.
Today, SSDs are the superior alternative because of their improved speed and energy efficiency. All SSDs are not the same, there are different types but the two most commonly found in today’s gaming computers are SATA or NVMe SSDs.
SATA SSD
Most modern computers come with a SATA SSD (Serial AT Attachment) installed. It’s the default storage device for modern computers, and while they’re faster than HDDs, SATA SSDs are limited to about 600MB/s.
They’re more affordable and work well for both general usage and gaming, but will not perform at the level of an NVMe drive. Less demanding applications and games should run smoothly on a SATA SSD, and the difference between an NVMe and SATA is not as remarkable as that between an HDD and an SSD.
SATA SSDs are connected to the motherboard with two cables. The first is the SATA cable and the second one is the power cable from the power supply. The drive is then attached to a designated drive bay (mount slot) in the chassis. The drive’s and drive bay’s form factors will determine if the drive can be attached or not.
The most common form factor for SATA drives is 2.5″. However, if your drive isn’t compatible with your chassis, you can simply purchase an adapter (or install a suitable tray) to mount the drive to.
NVMe SSD
NVME, or Non-Volatile Memory Express is a communication interface used to access a computer’s storage device through PCI Express slots. The interface was designed to be utilized in SSDs with the goal of increasing their speed and efficiency by using the extra bandwidth offered by the PCIe.
Looking at the numbers tells us that they succeeded in creating a solid state drive that could benefit from using the PCIe bus.
NVMe drives are connected directly to the motherboard’s PCI Express slot, unlike SATA drives that are connected to the motherboard via SATA cables. This is advantageous because the drive is faster, and there are fewer cables needed inside your chassis to connect everything. An NVMe drive will keep your computer tidier.
Solid state drives using the NVMe interface are some of the most powerful drives on the market. They’re totally worth the money if you intend to transfer and work with large files on a frequent basis. This includes games, of course.
You should expect to pay a little bit more for an NVMe SSD, but the extra speed can be worth it if you regularly spend time waiting for your computer to finish loading. Time is valuable, and a rapid computer is such a pleasure compared to a slow one.
Do Games Run Better On NVMe SSD?
The actual loading time of the game will be shortened substantially with an NVMe SSD compared to a SATA SSD. But whether or not a game runs better on a computer is a confluence of many factors, not only the time it takes to load the game.
To optimize a game you want to upgrade components such as the CPU, RAM, GPU, and storage drive, but you also want to ensure that you have the latest drivers for each component, the latest updates for Windows or any other OS you might be using, and optimized in-game settings.
With that said, you can definitely expect an improvement in speed with an NVMe SSD, and if you’ve got the extra cash to purchase one, I wouldn’t advise against it. Truth be told, the price difference between the two types of drives isn’t noteworthy.
You’ll always have an edge as your games will load faster, there will be less waiting when the game loads as you enter a new zone, and any in-game stuttering will be reduced or removed completely. You can also expect games to install much faster on an NVMe than they would on a SATA SSD.
Is It Worth Upgrading From a SATA SSD To an NVMe SSD?
If it’s worth upgrading or not totally depends on your current situation and what you intend to use the computer for.
If your current SATA drive doesn’t have enough space for more data, and you frequently play games, especially new (more demanding) games, then you’ll most likely benefit from upgrading to an NVMe drive. If you also do high-resolution video editing, then you’ll benefit even more from an upgrade.
Installing an NVMe SSD doesn’t mean you have to get rid of your SATA drive. Instead, you could opt to use both, which I recommend. However, it’s important that your motherboard supports both types of drives if you intend to do so. Otherwise, you will have to look for a motherboard that can hold both SATA and NVMe SSDs.
This will make the upgrade a bit more expensive and harder to justify if you’ve got a fully functioning motherboard, but I think having a motherboard that supports NVMe is going to become the new norm sooner or later, so you will need to purchase one down the line either way.
Does an NVMe SSD Increase FPS?
Upgrading to an NVMe SSD will grant minuscule improvements in frames per second when gaming. You might notice a slight increase in framerate with the new drive in place but generally, you shouldn’t expect an SSD to impact your framerate.
The framerate is mostly determined by the graphics card. Other components that affect the framerate are often things that affect the graphics card in one way or another. Those components can, therefore, have an indirect impact on the computer’s in-game framerate.
Things you can expect to impact your framerate directly or indirectly include:
- GPU
- CPU
- RAM
- Motherboard
- Drivers
- Background Applications
- Overclocking
- Temperature
- In-game graphic settings
Note that there are plenty of components and adjustments that can improve or degrade your frames per second, but none have much to do with the type of drive you have installed. The drive will reduce the time it takes for the game to launch, load, and remove stuttering – but not your fps.
Read more: Does an SSD Increase FPS?
Should You Install Your Games On the SATA or NVMe SSD?
If you’re upgrading from a SATA to an NVMe SSD, chances are you will keep your SATA connected to the computer for extra storage. This will grant you the possibility to choose which drive to install games, applications, and store files on.
Because the NVMe drive is faster than the SATA, any application installed on the NVMe will load faster than it would on the SATA. It is, therefore, preferable to install highly demanding games and software on the NVMe rather than the SATA.
This will put the more demanding workload on the NVMe, which will handle it at a faster rate, leaving the SATA free for storage of less taxing applications, files, and so forth. Your operating system should be installed on the NVMe, as it will lead to Windows booting faster, and hasten other processes within Windows.
If your NVMe drive is out of storage while your SATA has space left, you can install games on the SATA, even if they’re demanding. You should expect a slight reduction in overall speed, but the game should run well. Remember; SATA SSDs are by no stretch of the imagination bad or slow – NVMe’s are just faster.
I hope this gives you an idea of how you should allocate your resources if you’ve got two drives connected to the computer. If you happen to have an HDD connected to the computer as well, remember it’s still a decent choice for images, videos, etc.
How Long Do SATA and NVMe SSDs Last?
The life expectancy of a solid state drive can be predicted using different factors. The first is the age of the drive and the second is the total number of terabytes the drive has written since it was first used. This is what manufacturers do, and they have proven to be quite accurate metrics.
A solid state drive that has been used frequently for 10 years will enter a zone where signs of failure could start to show. This doesn’t mean that all SSDs last for 10 years, as some will fail sooner and some much later. It’s very case-dependent and there are plenty of factors that play a part in the drive’s lifespan.
Using the second metric, terabytes of written data, can be a bit more accurate for the individual as it provides an idea of the correlation between usage and lifespan. The more space the drive has, the more data it can write.
Your average 1TB SATA SSD has a TBW of 600TB, meaning it can write roughly 600TB of data before it reaches the end. Your average 1TB NVMe has a TBW of 800-1000TB, meaning it will outlast the SATA SSD.