Samsung 960 Pro M.2 512GB SSD Setup Help

Hi guys,

So I bit the bullet and bought the 960 pro 512gb currently on sale for $311.00: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/329153
I am currently running a scandisk ultra II 120gb ssd for my os and games: https://www.sandisk.com/home/ssd/ultra-ii-ssd

My mobo completely supports this 960 pro and I was wondering what is better. To leave the sandisk 120gb for os + apps and use the 960 pro for gaming and video editing or use the 960 for os + gaming + video. I am wondering if it is more optimal to leave my os on current scandisk ssd or move everything over to the 960 pro?

Will I notice much performance difference putting my os on the 960 pro and is it worth reinstalling my os and apps?

Regards,

Comments

  • +2

    Definitely worth installing the OS to the new drive! Whilst you may not notice the difference in boot/load times (depending on how much stuff is installed/loading at startup etc), the difference in speed is certainly there. I went from a 120GB Sandisk to a 256GB 960 Evo and the speeds of the Samsung drive were about 3x higher than the Sandisk. Again, probably not something I actively notice, but knowing it's there makes me feel a lot better.

    When I stop being so lazy, I'll wipe the 120GB SSD and use it when I'm post-processing my photos and whatnot, instead of how I used to use my 1TB HDD. Dealing with >30MB RAW files can probably benefit from the SSD speeds.

    Also for what it's worth, typically gaming doesn't benefit from SSDs. It will speed up load times, but you'll still have to wait for everyone else to load before the game starts (if online). Won't see any FPS advantage.

    Another point worth considering, I have the Z170 Krait MB, and had to do a BIOS update to get the M.2 drive detected so I could install Windows to it. May want to look into if you have to do that too. =]

    • Good advice. Upgrading the BIOS firmware was the silver bullet for me in getting mine working.

  • Great advice. My only concern with installing the 960 pro as my primary device is i transfer and download a lot of content to my desktop, then move it to my backup hdd, etc. I don't want to shorten the life of my new ssd by transferring gb of stuff from desktop to backup constantly. Any suggestions on that?

  • Anyone used Samsung data migration to move os , apps and files? I generally do clean installs with new ssd's, but people are saying you can do it all in one with this software, no dramas.

    • Haven't personally experienced it. For best results with Windows, always do fresh installs rather than potentially having some strange issue in the future. IMO anyway.

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