M.2 SSD


The real leap, for the OS, is going from SATA protocol to NVME. Any improvements in the the speed are hardly noticeable.
That explains why my previous machine which was on Samsung 980Pro 2TB 2.5" SSD's that were SATA connected was way slow compared to the Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV1T02 1TB NVMe M.2 used in the Dell XPS 15 9570 as the time it took updating Windows 10 Sprint 2019 update was like night and day in time and also in-place windows repair installs.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP/7/8/8.1/10/11, Linux, Android, FreeBSD Unix
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 15 9570
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-8750H 8th Gen Processor 2.2Ghz up to 4.1Ghz
    Motherboard
    Dell XPS 15 9570
    Memory
    32GB using 2x16GB modules
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD 630 & NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with 4GB DDR5
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC3266-CG
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" 4K Touch UltraHD 3840x2160 made by Sharp
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba KXG60ZNV1T02 NVMe 1024GB/1TB SSD
    PSU
    Dell XPS 15 9570
    Case
    Dell XPS 15 9570
    Cooling
    Stock
    Keyboard
    Stock
    Mouse
    SwitftPoint ProPoint
    Internet Speed
    Comcast/XFinity 1.44Gbps/42.5Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft EDGE (Chromium based) & Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender that came with Windows
Didn't read entire thread, so forgive me if I repeat.

I have installed Windows to an NVME drive. The problem was/is I have to physically remove all other (SATA) drives before installing or Windows will either refuse to install to it, or spread it's system/boot files onto other drives.

I did not find the NVME (the speed of using Windows on it) to be any faster than installing to my M.2 SATA drive. Not in any way I could notice anyway. Windows itself is just slower than either of the SSD drives, so no visible difference in performance. So now I use the NVME to store games and files and the SATA drive to boot Windows from. I figure if Windows is going to thrash and kill one, I prefer it to be the older M.2 SATA SSD. If anything is going to take advantage of the NVME speed, it would be the loading of games and the like, not clunky old, spaghetti code, Windows.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 21H1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Ryzen 5 2600
    Motherboard
    Asrock B450 Gaming K4
    Memory
    2x8 GB 16-18-18-36 tRC-56 DDR4 3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTC 1660 Super
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 NVME, 1 SATA M.2 SSDs
    PSU
    Antec TP750
    Antivirus
    nope
I had 3 NVMe drives, 2 SATA II SSDs and 2 SATA II HDDs installed in my system when I installed Windows 10. And the 2 clean installs (for a total of 3, including the initial install) since I built the machine last year.

You do not necessarily have to remove all your other drives at all.

TBH, I've almost never had to remove other drives for Windows install - the exception being when I've tried to set up fully independent dual booting, using hte BIOS to swap the boot drive, so each OS had it's own MBR and boot loader.

But I've definitely seen that advice given out to people left and right - and it seems to work.

As for speed - it's going to depend upon a lot of things, including (but not limited to) your hardware and your UEFI fw / BIOS settings if there will be a speed difference at all. The Chipset, the CPU, the number of other devices you already have in your system (PCIe lanes matter), the speeds of the drives themselves, the actual interface, the hardware used on the drives....

I mean, here is an example of a typical Bait and Switch that drive manufacturers have been doing for a while now....


There are lots things to consider.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    NZXT KRAKEN Z73 73.11 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (3x 120 mm push top) + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Microsoft Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI MS-7D98
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-13490F
    Motherboard
    MSI B760 GAMING PLUS WIFI
    Memory
    2 x 16 Patriot Memory (PDP Systems) PSD516G560081
    Graphics Card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 WINDFORCE OC 12G (GV-N4070WF3OC-12GD)
    Sound Card
    Bluetooth Аудио
    Monitor(s) Displays
    INNOCN 15K1F
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    WD_BLACK SN770 250GB
    KINGSTON SNV2S1000G (ELFK0S.6)
    PSU
    Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 1000W
    Case
    CG560 - DeepCool
    Cooling
    ID-COOLING SE-224-XTS / 2 x 140Mm Fan - rear and top; 3 x 120Mm - front
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 RGB TKL
    Mouse
    Corsair KATAR PRO XT
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender Antivirus
    Other Info
    https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/66553205

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 22631.2861
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    homebuilt
    CPU
    Amd Threadripper 7970X
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte TRX50 Aero D
    Memory
    128GB (4 X 32) Kingston DDR5 5200 (RDIMM)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte RTX 4090 OC
    Sound Card
    none (USB to speakers), Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 27E1N8900 OLED
    Screen Resolution
    3840 X 2160 @ 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Crucial T700 2TB M.2 NVME SSD
    WD 4TB Blue SATA SSD
    Seagate 18TB IronWolf Pro
    PSU
    eVGA SuperNOVA 1600 GT
    Case
    Lian Li 011 Dynamic Evo XL
    Cooling
    Alphacool Eisbaer Pro Aurora 360, with 3 Phanteks T30 fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech K120 (wired)
    Mouse
    Logitech M500s (wired)
    Internet Speed
    1200 Mbps
  • Operating System
    windows 11 22631.2861
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    homebuilt
    CPU
    Intel I9-13900K
    Motherboard
    Asus RoG Strix Z690-E
    Memory
    64GB G.Skill DDR5-6000
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte RTX 3090 ti
    Sound Card
    built in Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Asus PA329C
    Screen Resolution
    3840 X 2160 @60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WDC SN850 1TB
    8 TB Seagate Ironwolf
    4TB Seagate Ironwolf
    PSU
    eVGA SuperNOVA 1300 GT
    Case
    Lian Li 011 Dynamic Evo
    Cooling
    Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE CAPELLIX Liquid CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech M500s (wired)
    Keyboard
    Logitech K120 (wired)
Buyer's guide for M2 SSD.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Microsoft Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI MS-7D98
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-13490F
    Motherboard
    MSI B760 GAMING PLUS WIFI
    Memory
    2 x 16 Patriot Memory (PDP Systems) PSD516G560081
    Graphics Card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 WINDFORCE OC 12G (GV-N4070WF3OC-12GD)
    Sound Card
    Bluetooth Аудио
    Monitor(s) Displays
    INNOCN 15K1F
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    WD_BLACK SN770 250GB
    KINGSTON SNV2S1000G (ELFK0S.6)
    PSU
    Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 1000W
    Case
    CG560 - DeepCool
    Cooling
    ID-COOLING SE-224-XTS / 2 x 140Mm Fan - rear and top; 3 x 120Mm - front
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 RGB TKL
    Mouse
    Corsair KATAR PRO XT
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender Antivirus
    Other Info
    https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/66553205
I'm still using an old HP envy laptop from 2016 that has this type of device in it -- not sure which model - but it's definitely "faster" than a newer roughly comparable laptop where an old 2.5 SATA 2.5 inch spinner was replaced with a "classic" SSD.

I haven't tried any "external SATA->USB" adapters yet as I've quite a few spare classic SSD's for experimentation and testing -- I'm sure also these are on the way out now as the NVMe devices become standard, are cheaper to make and should consume less power (although power consumption from an SSD is pretty minimal anyway).

cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP,7,10,11 Linux Arch Linux
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    2 X Intel i7
You do not necessarily have to remove all your other drives at all.

There are lots things to consider.

I absolutely had to remvoe the non-nvme drives, but now that I think about it...it may be because I was also using MBR and not GPT on everything. Maybe when using GPT, then Windows is happy to install on the 4 GPT partitions it creates rather than spread its boot files to other drives?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 21H1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Ryzen 5 2600
    Motherboard
    Asrock B450 Gaming K4
    Memory
    2x8 GB 16-18-18-36 tRC-56 DDR4 3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTC 1660 Super
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 NVME, 1 SATA M.2 SSDs
    PSU
    Antec TP750
    Antivirus
    nope
Quite possible. I didn't have NVMe when I was using MBR, and I didn't try to use MBR when I moved to my rig with NVMe, so I cnnot say one way or another -but that might very well be it.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    NZXT KRAKEN Z73 73.11 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (3x 120 mm push top) + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
I have both on this machine. I didnt have any difficulty installing to a gpt disk without affecting the mbr disk.

I dont know what windows setup does if you have multiple gpt disks attached.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5-8400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    2x8gb 3200mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    benq gw2480
    PSU
    bequiet pure power 11 400CM
    Cooling
    cryorig m9i
  • Operating System
    win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    pentium g5400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    1x8gb 2400
    PSU
    xfx pro 450
I have both on this machine. I didnt have any difficulty installing to a gpt disk without affecting the mbr disk.

I dont know what windows setup does if you have multiple gpt disks attached.
can't say I've ever had problems with W10 and later with multiple GPT HDD's/SSD/s

cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP,7,10,11 Linux Arch Linux
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    2 X Intel i7
I'm betting it was an MBR thing, and that Windows just really does not like all it's "eggs in one basket" especially on NVME, at the time anyway (they were still pretty new), maybe improved by now. So I had to give it no other choice.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 21H1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Ryzen 5 2600
    Motherboard
    Asrock B450 Gaming K4
    Memory
    2x8 GB 16-18-18-36 tRC-56 DDR4 3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTC 1660 Super
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 NVME, 1 SATA M.2 SSDs
    PSU
    Antec TP750
    Antivirus
    nope
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