New ($3k) gaming pc. M2 drive worth it?

J

Jewelspoint

Baseband Member
Messages
30
Location
All around the world
It's been 9 years since I built my current gaming PC and it's time for a new build (desktop).

I'm a pretty avid gamer and willing to spend the 2-3k dollars for a build that is going to last me. (Because we all know we need a cutting edge 3k dollar gaming pc to play those 2D indie games on steam that suck away 80+ hours of my time, lol)

I'm thinking of getting a new motherboard so I can take advantage of a new M2 drive and was wondering if Tech-forums had an opinion for or against it. The reviews seem to be that the M2 is the future of OS drives, but to wait on it as prices are too high and bugs are too many. It seems that cooling is an issue with M2, also. However, most of those reviews are dated and I'm wondering if it now is about the right time to jump for the M2? I was thinking about something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-960-EVO-Internal-MZ-V6E250BW/dp/B01M20VBU7/?th=1

A 500GB M2 at 5x speed of SATA-3 SSD's for just $220 dollars seems crazy good.

Here's an idea of what I'll be building (but don't have the specifics lined up yet):

Mobo: ?
OS Drive: M2, or SSD. (Windows 10). 250GB minimum.
Storage Harddrive: Probably steal my 6TB seagate from my current PC.
RAM: ? (About 16GB)
CPU: Intel i7 7820x or possibly i9 with an aftermarket (coolmaster) cooler.
GPU: Using my old NVidia card until the new Nvidia line drops in Aug/Sep.
Overclocking: No.
Power: Corsair 850W
DVD/Blu-ray drive: Something cheap with a SATA connection.
Case: Not sure yet. Something with good airflow and cooling.
Cooling: Leaning towards traditional air cooling, but maybe I should consider liquid cooling? Just worried about a leak.
Other: I run 3x (Non-4k) screens. Not going to upgrade them anytime soon.

I am pretty novice when it comes to PC Hardware so I'd love to hear your opinions on my selection and any thoughts on going for the M2. I've found a lot of info online so far but there's always mentions and considerations of things I've never even heard of!

Thanks for your time, you guys are the best!
 
Last edited:
I'm thinking of getting a new motherboard so I can take advantage of a new M2 drive and was wondering if Tech-forums had an opinion for or against it. The reviews seem to be that the M2 is the future of OS drives, but to wait on it as prices are too high and bugs are too many. It seems that cooling is an issue with M2, also. However, most of those reviews are dated and I'm wondering if it now is about the right time to jump for the M2? I was thinking about something like this:
Click to expand...
M.2 is a port, like PCI-E or a SATA port. Sata or NVMe SSDs are what you're referring to, as even wifi modules come in M.2 flavor.

M.2 form factor is a nice fresh take on drives tbh. No cables, and PCI-E storage is the bee's knees. I wouldn't say it's the "future" of storage solutions because we will always need more space but for small form factor speed it's amazing.
Pricing for SATA M.2 drives are basically the same as their 2.5" cousins. What's more expensive are the NVMe PCI-E drives, but you're paying for the speed.
As of the 960 EVO and 970 EVO for at least Samsung there isn't a cooling problem. I haven't heard of or ran into any bugs and I've even modded a P67 board bios to utilize NVMe.

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-960-E...1M20VBU7/?th=1

A 500GB M2 at 5x speed of SATA-3 SSD's for just $220 dollars seems crazy good.
Click to expand...
This is the exact drive I'm running and I love it. As Trotter mentioned, the 970 versions are already out and IIRC they are actually slightly cheaper. I will say this, don't confuse the technologies. SATA and NVMe are not the same thing. You won't see speeds higher than 500MB range on SATA.

The deal with NVMe though is compared to a SATA SSD on regular usage there is a diminishing return problem. For 200 bucks you can get an 860 EVO SATA 2TB SSD or for the same money a 500GB NVMe drive. For normal day to day usage there isn't really a noticeable difference. THe only time you really feel it is when you're doing large file transfers between two NVMe drives. So that worth totally comes down to you.

Here's an idea of what I'll be building (but don't have the specifics lined up yet):

Mobo: ?
OS Drive: M2, or SSD. (Windows 10). 250GB minimum.
Storage Harddrive: Probably steal my 6TB seagate from my current PC.
RAM: ? (About 16GB)
CPU: Intel i7 7820x or possibly i9 with an aftermarket (coolmaster) cooler.
GPU: Using my old NVidia card until the new Nvidia line drops in Aug/Sep.
Overclocking: No.
Power: Corsair 850W
DVD/Blu-ray drive: Something cheap with a SATA connection.
Case: Not sure yet. Something with good airflow and cooling.
Cooling: Leaning towards traditional air cooling, but maybe I should consider liquid cooling? Just worried about a leak.
Other: I run 3x (Non-4k) screens. Not going to upgrade them anytime soon.
Click to expand...
In terms of longevity I'd say forget about the 7820x. I personally run a 7800x and the difference between my 7 year old 3960x and this isn't much. For much cheaper you can get a 2700x Ryzen from AMD and reap the benefits of how long they might utilize that socket. 2 generations are guaranteed for now and if the past is anything to go by future processors might still run on AM4 socket.

With how much you're willing to spend here I would definitely get 32GB of RAM. I know the RAM price fixing is making the pricing a bit ridiculous but if you plan to stick on this platform without an upgrade for 5 or so years then I'd definitely get more than 16GB. 16GB for gaming rigs unfortunately is becoming the norm for minimum.

In terms of practical usage I have to ask what you plan to do with the setup. An 8 core is all fine and dandy but for regular gaming you'd probably be just better off with an 8700k. I game, edit 4k footage, transcode, have SLI Titan Xps, edit audio, create/run scripts, compile, all on a 6 core (7800x). In the end this would save you a lot of cash for a better GPU setup and kind of alleviate some of the hurt from the RAM and GPU cost since those haven't gone down yet. More cores doesn't mean longevity, especially in terms of gaming. If you don't really care about spending loads of money then by all means lol.

DVD/BD do you really need one internal? If anything I'd get an external BD drive and keep it in the closet until you actually need it. If you do.

Cooling: Most don't leak, especially the good ones. If you don't or won't ever overclock air cooling would be fine but in terms of performance a good quality AIO is still superior. EK now even makes AIO loops that are low maintenance just like the boxed stuff that Corair makes. Difference being, copper materials so the cooling is better. Just something to think about.

Lastly, there's no guarantee they're dropping the new Nvidia GPUs. Everything right now is pure speculation. The latest speculation is 1180 specs match the 1080ti with GDDR6. If you planned to go with an 1180 then might as well go ahead and get yourself a 1080ti now.

Edit: Just yesterday you could get an 860 EVO 2TB for 200 bucks. Wtf happened in less than 24 hours??
 
Last edited:
Thanks so much for all that helpful information! While I want to stick with an intel processor, I will probably go for an i7-8700k (6-core, right?) like you suggested. I plan to stick to gaming (I do computer programming but that doesn't require anything from a hardware perspective) so a 4 or 6 core should be plenty. I would prefer to stick with Intel over AMD. Putting the money into a graphics card will definitely pay off :)

I may just spring for a Samsung 970 EVO 1TB for 400 dollars. I'm just daydreaming how nice it'll be to have 1TB working space to put my favorite games on and play at a moments notice online.

Would something like this work for a motherboard?
ASUS PRIME B250-PLUS LGA1151 DDR4 HDMI DVI VGA M.2 B250 ATX Motherboard with USB 3.1
https://smile.amazon.com/H370M-Plus..._rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=0D6435G6NE1GK68C3ZF1
 
Jewelspoint said:
Thanks so much for all that helpful information! While I want to stick with an intel processor, I will probably go for an i7-8700k (6-core, right?) like you suggested. I plan to stick to gaming (I do computer programming but that doesn't require anything from a hardware perspective) so a 4 or 6 core should be plenty. I would prefer to stick with Intel over AMD. Putting the money into a graphics card will definitely pay off :)

I may just spring for a Samsung 970 EVO 1TB for 400 dollars. I'm just daydreaming how nice it'll be to have 1TB working space to put my favorite games on and play at a moments notice online.

Would something like this work for a motherboard?
ASUS PRIME B250-PLUS LGA1151 DDR4 HDMI DVI VGA M.2 B250 ATX Motherboard with USB 3.1
https://smile.amazon.com/H370M-Plus..._rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=0D6435G6NE1GK68C3ZF1
Click to expand...

Bias aside, these days there isn't a whole lot of difference. In fact, Intel is kind of suffering from a slight performance decrease due to all the stupid mass paranoia a few months ago over exploits people forgot about in a couple weeks. Just food for thought. The 8700k is the best gaming CPU available, but just know that with Intel now it's a one and done.

I wouldn't waste a lot of money on NVMe storage for games. They load the same on a regular SATA SSD. I would go with this board instead.
https://www.amazon.com/ASRock-H370M...F8&qid=1529109834&sr=1-2&keywords=asrock+h370

Use a 500GB 970 in the top M.2, and a 1TB or 500GB 860 EVO M.2 in the bottom slot. Same setup I'm using.
 
Jewelspoint said:
Thank you both, this is exactly the kind of info I was looking for!

The 860 M.2 is a SATA connection, something like this right?
https://smile.amazon.com/Samsung-50...id=1529110252&sr=1-2&keywords=samsung+860+EVO

I did some more research on liquid cooling. Yowzer. It seems pretty expensive and a bit of upkeep compared to air.
Click to expand...
Yes it's SATA. It's cheaper for the same speed for games. NVMe is pretty wasted on game loading and texture buffering.

An AIO has same if not less upkeep than an air cooler. Price isn't much different either.

No BS 240 rad cheaper than competitive air (Noctua DH15).
https://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-...=1529117097&sr=1-2&keywords=thermaltake+water

The 360 version of that same cooler will outperform any air tower for slightly more.

Or if you want something a little more stylish.
https://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-Radi...&qid=1529117170&sr=1-1&keywords=corsair+water

For a simple wipe and done setup with an AIO all you need to do is buy a case that supports 240 or 360 mounting to the top that has a magnetic dust filter. Mount rad directly to the top of the case and fans in pull under the rad. It'll pull all air directly through the filter on the top of the case and all the dust gets trapped in the filter. Take a rag and once a week or so just wipe the filter off. Basically 0 maintenance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
Need advice upgrading from, WIN 7 PRO OEM (64bit) to WIN 11 PR0, or HOME?
2
Replies
13
Views
290
PP Mguire
PP Mguire
Runfox
New Build or buy already built?
2 3 4
Replies
30
Views
3K
PP Mguire
PP Mguire
G
Help on how to boot from old SSD on newest Motherboard
Replies
5
Views
1K
apexstoragedesign
A
R
Sticky for gaming optimization tools?
Replies
6
Views
877
Ste
Ste
R
moving system drive from one pc to another possible?
Replies
2
Views
487
raverx3m
R
Back
Top Bottom