256GB NVMe SSD is too small, replace or add additional SATA SSD?

I have a 128 NVME for my OS and a few programs. I load my games onto a SSD SATA and notice nothing different from when I had a game on the OS drive. Just pick up the 1TB and call it a day.

SATA SSDs and NVMes are not created equal. A good SATA SSD can rival a bad NVMe. Of course, you're also going to pay a premium for speed. For a 1TB drive, you're looking at $60-$70 for a good SSD, and $80-$90 for a good NVMe.

either way has it's benefits. 1 drive is always nice but it means ghosting or reinstalling. i'm a fan of NVME assuming you get true NVME (pcie) and not a m.2 2280 SSD.

that being said you have a low end NVME (that uses PCIE) but realistically it doesn't matter when you get into that realm.

The Intel 600p isn't a particularly impressive NVME drive. Are you likely to notice the difference? Probably not. But if it were me, I'd swap in something like a 1TB 970 EVO.

Quote from FlashX83 : The Intel 600p isn't a particularly impressive NVME drive. Are you likely to notice the difference? Probably not. But if it were me, I'd swap in something like a 1TB 970 EVO.

Yeah, I think I might. I was comparing the 970 (if I went the replacement nvme route) vs the 860 (if I went the additional sata route) and the 970 totally smokes 860 and my current drive on read speeds if the specs are to be believed.

Quote from glitch13 : Yeah, I think I might. I was comparing the 970 (if I went the replacement nvme route) vs the 860 (if I went the additional sata route) and the 970 totally smokes 860 and my current drive on read speeds if the specs are to be believed.

Most of those benchmarks are theoretical. Add on top of that a lot of multiplayer games these days don't even start for about a minute because it gives everyone a chance to load into the match. If it's a good brand like Samsung I wouldn't worry about going all out and getting the best of the best, even their basic ones are great. NVMe vs SATA isn't even a huge deal unless you are moving huge files around constantly, like transferring a movie around. For me computers are a big deal so I do have a 2TB NVMe SSD. I don't notice a difference between my old Samsung SATA, but it is nice having it directly plugged in MOBO instead of taking up a SATA and power port.

Also, from the little research I did apparently NVMe drives are very susceptible to heat issues and being too hot can slow down their speeds, so I got a heat sink for it. Don't know if you'll have place for it in a laptop. They do offer thin thermal strips (think like Command strips), I can't comment on the performance. I have a desktop so I can add as much heatsink as I want.