Inspiron Desktops

[omj]

I just ordered a Inspiron 5680 with just the 1GB HD. Now I'm debating whether to add a 128/256 M.2 SSD or leave the OS on the 1GB HD & add a Intel Optane module. I don't know much about Optane, been doing some research to see how effective it would be.
any advice?

[Med Reda]

2 pieces of advice. Whatever m.2 ssd you go for. I recommand you boot your os from It. It's a night and day difference. Since you have much faster load times you'd want to load your all games from it. 128 gb might not be enough. So go at least 250gb. Or do you math and see. 128gb could be enough.

[Tesla1856]

That's easy.

Windows should be on bootable SSD. (period)

SATA SSD is about 5 times faster than spinning HDD

M.2 PCIe/NVMe is about 5 times faster than even a SATA-SSD

Set BIOS to UEFI and AHCI.

Leave that spinning HDD disconnected for now.

Install M.2-PCIe/NVMe SSD in that motherboard slot. I suggest a 240gb-512gb one. 

Clean-Install Windows. Do NOT install Intel-RST.

Enjoy you fast computer :Smile:

[omj]

Thanks, so it sounds like there's no comparison between m.2 SSD vs Optane, SSD is much faster?

[Med Reda]

The intel Optane is used as a Booster (Accelerator) to the HDD. In terms of write/read speeds :

From slowest to fastest : 

1-HDD only

2- SATA SSD only ( size ; m.2 or 2.5in)

3-Optane + HDD

4- SSD NVME(m.2)

Some prefer the optane as it's a fast/cheap/easy way to upgrade an existing HDD. it is intended for Business/gamers users looking to upgrade and match/exceed SSD speeds.

Some prefer SSDs are they are more future-proof, can boot from it and can be used/swapped on practically all motherboards

you can pair the optane with SSDs but you will have approx same write/speeds than the when it's paird with an HDD.

So the question is : what team are you in :) ?

[omj]

Thanks for the response.

The 5680 only has (1) m.2 port so I'm trying to decide which route to take, either add a 32gb Optane module or a 256gb m.2 SSD NVME. This pc is for my son, so I know a 256gb SSD will not be sufficient for all his games, so I thought keeping everything on the 1tb HDD with the Optane module might be easiest, but I will go with what performs the best, unless it's very close.

Performance wise, how does the Optane module compare to a m.2 SSD NVME?

According to this web page, Optane is technically runs faster than SSD but I think they're referring to sata SSDs, not NVME.

https://www.urtech.ca/2017/07/solved-intel-optane-optane-run-faster-ssd/

[Med Reda]

Performance Wise. M.2 NVME is much faster than Optane+HDD. But at this stage, the NVME is a bit of an overkill. He'd likely not notice the difference if the intended usage is gaming.

The advantage of the optane ( main selling point) is that you'd be able to utilize the full 1TB HDD instantly. it costs less , you'd have a better performance/$ for now with it.

in your situation i'd go for :

1-Optane (for now) - you'd have to run the games a couple of time to start noticing the difference.

2-SATA SSD (mid term) / + sell the optane.

3-M.2 NVME.

[omj]

Thanks again for the response...I guess one reason I was considering M.2 SSD NVME is so it would be more future proof, and being a fresh pc I wouldn't have to mess with down the road. On the flip side, it sure would  be nice to just add the Optane module & be good to go.

just curious, if his main usage is for gaming & M.2 SSD NVME is much faster than using Optane, why wouldn't there be a noticeable difference?

[Med Reda]

From what i understood about this question, it's related to the CPU and the memory themselves.

You can throw 800mb/s to A CPU or 1800MB/s, it is limited to X MB/s of processing. thats why loading times (boot, gaming) wil be similar. the CPU/memory  will not handle more than what it can.

to exploit the full capacity of m.2 NVME you need a Faster CPU (more threads) and higher Memory.

Back to the Overkill situation, the M.2 NVME is worth it only if you upgrade/match it with a CPU/memory capable of handling its speeds/performance.

[omj]

Thanks again! I think I need to do some more research to get the actual numbers for comparison... ie, the mb/s for each component: cpu, ram, ssd, hdd, optane.