With the rapid advancement of technology, many computer users find themselves needing to upgrade their storage devices. SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) drives have long been the standard for internal storage, but newer technologies like M.2 and PCIe NVMe SSDs are becoming more popular. This raises the question – are SATA drives still necessary in the modern era? There are pros and cons to consider when deciding between SATA and newer drive types.
What are the differences between SATA, M.2, and PCIe drives?
SATA drives utilize the SATA interface, which has been the dominant hard drive interface since its introduction in 2003. SATA connectors transfer data serially over a cable to the motherboard. Maximum transfer speeds for the latest SATA revision (SATA III) are 6Gbps.
M.2 drives use the M.2 connector, a compact slot on the motherboard instead of cables. There are SATA M.2 drives which still use the SATA protocol and are limited to SATA III speeds. However, M.2 drives can also utilize PCIe lanes for much higher transfer speeds.
PCIe (PCI Express) NVMe drives connect directly to PCIe lanes to enable incredible speeds. While SATA III maxes out at 550 MB/s, PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe drives can reach 3.5 GB/s, over 6 times higher! PCIe 4.0 doubles this to an astonishing 7 GB/s. The performance difference is substantial.
Advantages of SATA drives
Given the speed advantages of newer M.2 and PCIe NVMe drives, why consider SATA drives at all? There are still some benefits to the legacy technology:
- Price – SATA drives are generally cheaper per GB than the newer, faster options. For budget builds or secondary storage, SATA provides a more affordable option.
- Compatibility – The SATA interface is universally supported. Almost any motherboard with storage ports will have SATA ports present.
- Simplicity – SATA connectors are easy to work with. You don’t have to worry about keying with M.2 or dealing with PCIe lanes.
- Capacity – Although M.2 and PCIe SSDs are catching up, the highest capacity consumer drives are still SATA based. If you need a lot of storage space, SATA may be your only option.
For general users who just need a basic SSD or hard drive for everyday tasks and booting, and don’t require blazing speeds, SATA drives can save money while providing sufficient performance and capacity.
Disadvantages of SATA drives
The tradeoffs for going with SATA drives include:
- Speed – With a maximum throughput of only 550 MB/s, SATA III drives are increasingly slow compared to NVMe PCIe options that transfer data over 5x faster.
- No PCIe support – Being restricted to the SATA interface limits performance. M.2 SATA drives don’t take advantage of PCIe bandwidth.
- Limited cable lengths – SATA cables have a maximum recommended length of 1 meter. This hampers case layout options compared to M.2 drives.
- No boot support on some motherboards – A small number of newer motherboards don’t support booting from SATA M.2 drives, only PCIe M.2. Check compatibility before purchasing.
The pace of advancement in storage technology is outstripping interface standards like SATA. For high performance systems focused on tasks like gaming, video editing and production work, SATA drives slow things down. Upgrading to PCIe NVMe can provide massive real-world speed improvements.
Real-world performance comparisons
Synthetic benchmarks provide one perspective, but how do SATA and PCIe NVMe drives compare when running real applications? Here are some examples:
| Task | SATA SSD Time | PCIe NVMe SSD Time |
|---|---|---|
| Windows Boot | 15 seconds | 5 seconds |
| Game Load | 45 seconds | 20 seconds |
| Large File Transfer (10GB) | 150 seconds | 35 seconds |
| Video Export | 380 seconds | 260 seconds |
Across a variety of workloads, PCIe NVMe SSDs can cut completion times by 50% or more compared to the best SATA drives. For productivity and performance, PCIe NVMe is objectively superior despite the higher costs.
Conclusion
SATA solid state drives and hard drives still retain usefulness for budget PC builds, secondary storage, and basic computing needs. The interface is ubiquitous, compatible, affordable, and good enough for entry level usage.
For performance demanding applications though, PCIe NVMe SSDs are taking over. The exponentially higher bandwidth results in real-world speedups of 50% or more across boot times, game loads, file transfers, and production workflows. NVMe drives leave SATA in the dust.
In most cases for new PC builds, especially higher end gaming and professional use cases, PCIe NVMe M.2 drives should be strongly preferred over SATA options. The extra expense is justified by the massive speed improvements. SATA’s reign is ending as NVMe takes over the market.
Is SATA still relevant for secondary or backup storage?
While M.2 and PCIe NVMe handles primary storage needs for improved performance, SATA drives can still serve a purpose as additional mass storage.Spinning hard disk drives (HDDs) are now exclusively using the SATA interface. HDDs provide far more capacity than SSDs at a much lower cost per gigabyte. The mechanical nature of HDDs prevents them from taking advantage of the bandwidth of PCIe. For mass media collections, backups, and cold storage, connecting several SATA HDDs is an affordable way to greatly expand storage.
External hard drives and enclosures also use SATA internally. When connecting storage peripherals via USB or Thunderbolt, an internal SATA HDD is often standard. So SATA retains relevance in the external storage market as well.
While M.2 and PCIe NVMe excel at being high performance primary drives, SATA HDDs are still ideal low-cost, high-capacity secondary storage options. Most PCs can benefit from having a speedy PCIe NVMe system drive supplemented by larger, cheaper SATA HDDs.
NVMe SSD caching to accelerate SATA HDDs
There are also methods to combine the benefits of PCIe NVMe drives with high capacity SATA HDDs. By utilizing SSD caching, NVMe SSDs act as a cache to dramatically speed up access to frequently used files on the hard drives. Storing frequently accessed data on the fast NVMe cache while placing bulk infrequently accessed data on SATA HDDs provides the best of both worlds.
Intel and AMD chipsets support NVMe caching via Intel Smart Response Technology and AMD StoreMI. Software solutions like PrimoCache are also available to enable file and block level SSD caching.
When properly configured, consumers can enjoy lightning quick boots and app launches thanks to the PCIe NVMe cache, while also having terabytes of data storage capacity from SATA HDDs. With caching, SATA HDDs are no longer limited by mechanical speeds.
M.2 SATA versus PCIe NVMe – Which should you choose?
When looking at M.2 drives, there is an important decision between getting a SATA M.2 or PCIe NVMe drive. Here are some tips:
- If your motherboard has an M.2 slot, always choose an M.2 drive over 2.5″ SATA. M.2 mounts directly on the motherboard for a clean build.
- M.2 SATA drives offer no real benefit over 2.5″ SATA drives. Pick based on form factor preference.
- For your primary boot drive, get a PCIe NVMe M.2 drive. The extra speed is worth it.
- Consider SATA M.2 for secondary storage and backups. The lower costs help.
With M.2 drives available in SATA and PCIe NVMe versions, look at your motherboard specs and budget to decide. You want faster PCIe storage for your OS and games, while SATA works for mass storage.
The path forward – PCIe and NVMe are the future
As consumer storage needs continue growing at a rapid pace, SATA is quickly reaching its limits. PCI Express and NVMe are better suited for future high speed solid state storage. Even though SATA retaining usefulness for cost-effective mass storage, superior performance is necessary for primary drives.
Support for PCIe and NVMe is expanding across desktops and laptops. M.2 slots and chips supporting PCIe 4.0 double the throughput. As NVMe SSDs become more affordable at higher capacities, they will continue displacing SATA.
For these reasons, NVMe is the future of primary storage. SATA will gradually be relegated to secondary storage and backwards compatibility. PCIe NVMe SSDs are the preferred choice for new PC builds and upgrades.
Tips for transitioning from SATA to NVMe
Upgrading from a SATA to NVMe boot drive provides a huge real-world performance boost. Here are some tips for transitioning:
- Check motherboard manual to find M.2 PCIe slots and ensure bios is up to date.
- Use cloning software to migrate OS and files from SATA to NVMe drive.
- Clean install Windows on NVMe for best results if cloning is not an option.
- Reassign boot order to NVMe drive as first priority.
- Format old SATA boot drive and repurpose as secondary storage.
With the correct motherboard, migrated software install, and boot order – the system will quickly be running faster than ever thanks to NVMe speeds. The process to go from SATA to NVMe is straightforward.
NVMe drive recommendations
With so many NVMe drive options available, here are some top recommendations across budget and high performance categories:
| Budget NVMe SSD | High Performance NVMe SSD |
|---|---|
| Western Digital Blue SN570 | Samsung 980 Pro |
| Crucial P5 | WD Black SN850 |
| Kingston A2000 | Seagate FireCuda 530 |
The budget NVMe drives provide amazing performance for the money, while the high performance tier offers blazing speeds for intensive workstation use. Any of these NVMe options will vastly outpace SATA drives.
Conclusion
In summary, SATA still maintains usefulness for cost-effective secondary HDD storage and backwards compatibility. But for primary boot drives and optimal system performance, PCIe NVMe SSDs are superior in every way.
The extra expense of NVMe is justified by huge real-world speed improvements in boot times, game loading, transfers, and production workflows. NVMe SSDs are the future, while SATA slowly fades into legacy status.
To experience the performance edge of your PC, upgrade to a fast PCIe NVMe SSD as your primary boot drive. Relegate any old SATA drives to secondary storage duties. Embrace NVMe and never look back!
