Install Win10 on M.2 SSD 256 GB or on SSD 2.5" SATA III 1TB

[full_on1]

Hello.
I purchased a new HP ENVY 17 that came upgraded with a Sandisk Z400s M.2 SSD 256 GB (sold on Amazon by Computer Upgrade King). I also bought a Samsung 850 EVO 1 TB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD.

I will replace the mechanical drive for the Samsung 850 EVO.

The question is:
Should I install Windows 10 on the Sandisk Z400s M.2 SSD 256 GB or in the Samsung 850 EVO 1 TB 2.5" SATA III? What choice will leave me with faster boot times and better performance?

Specs:
Intel Core i7-6700HQ
16GB DDR3 1600MHz
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M 4GB
17.3-inch diagonal Full HD WLED-backlit IPS Display (1920x1080)

Thank you.

 

[nerp]

For overall performance, put it on the M.2 SSD for sure. You might have slower Windows boot times, though, depending on on your motherboard's implementation.

 

[Hellhammer]

Both are SATA 6Gbps drives, so it really doesn't matter. The 256GB M.2 might be better from data management perspective as you can have the OS and apps there and then use the 1TB EVO for data.

 

[frowertr]

^

Yup, it doesn't really matter. The M.2 is just the physical connector. Whether you can use that connector for a PCI-E SSD depends on both the drive and the motherboard. Since that Sandisk is SATA only then there won't be a difference between that and the Samsung.

 

[full_on1]

Thanks for the answers.

If both M.2 and SATA III provide the same performance, wouldn't it be better to install the OS in the EVO because it is faster? Or the difference won't be noticeable?

 

[frowertr]

It won't be noticeable would be my guess. SSDs are so damn fast to begin with.

I'd use the smaller 256 GB for the OS and the Evo for games/programs.

 

[shabby]

Thanks for the answers.

If both M.2 and SATA III provide the same performance, wouldn't it be better to install the OS in the EVO because it is faster? Or the difference won't be noticeable?

Sell the sandisk and keep the evo, the sandisk is a cheap and slow tlc drive.

 

[Coup27]

I would install the OS on the 256GB and then run benchmarks on the two. if the difference is minor then I would install the OS + apps on the 256GB and have the 1TB for data.

 

[full_on1]

Thanks for the detailed info.
Here is how I dealt with the situation.

After some benchmarks I decided to run both Windows 10 and Ubuntu 16.04 on the Samsung 850 EVO 1 TB. Since I was going for a dual boot system using GRUB as the boot manager, my reasoning was that things would be easier if both OSs were on the same SSD. The system is working very well.

Here are the beanchmarks:
Sandisk Z400s 256GB

Samsung 850 EVO 1TB

I needed a partition about the size of the Sandisk to run crystallography programs and large data sets on linux, so the Sandisk will be dedicated to that. Also the Samsung EVO presented a better performance on the benchmarks, and it is supposed to have better endurance.

Please let me know if these benchmark results are within the expected. Info on how to perform better benchmarks are welcome too.
Feedback is welcome.
Thanks!

 

[full_on1]

More benchmarks, this time with AS SSD:

Sandisk Z400s 256GB

Samsung 850 EVO 1TB

Old intel 80GB:

Thanks.

 

[h9826790]

850 Evo, because the much better 4k read performance.

 

[bonehead123]

SATA is SATA, regardless of the connector....and therefore performance should be adequate on either drive, however, like the others here, I too prefer the evo drives, both because of their better performance overall as well their reliability.

BUT PCIE M.2 drives are a whole other beast entirely......and those beasts literally screeeem when compared to regular SATA III drives

Take those benchmark numbers above and multiply them by ~3-4, and thats what you can get from them....

lookie here:

http://imageshack.com/a/img921/6060/vZ3Ccm.png

I know this because.......I put 2 of the evo 950 pro's in my recent skylake build and am still amazed at how fast it is

 

[shabby]

BUT PCIE M.2 drives are a whole other beast entirely......and those beasts literally screeeem when compared to regular SATA III drives

Not entirely true, there's m2 versions of a few popular sata3 ssd's like the evo 850 and they're still limited to around 550mb/sec.

 

[mnewsham]

Not entirely true, there's m2 versions of a few popular sata3 ssd's like the evo 850 and they're still limited to around 550mb/sec.

Yeah but then you have the 950 Pro M.2 which crushes almost anything else besides RAID arrays or other NvME drives.