Reddit reviews Samsung 950 PRO 256GB SSD (MZ-V5P256BW) V-NAND, M.2 NVM Express

The Macbook has 8 hours of battery life, while the Cube has less than 6. Also, the Apple laptop doesen't use an M.2 SATA III SSD, the uses a PCIe SSD based on the NVMe standard. To give some perspective, Here's the Samsung 950 Pro 256 GB SSD which, at 180.99, nearly doubles the price of the Trascend drive you linked.

Also, I wouldn't expect the quality from the Cube to be very good and neither its customer support.

IMHO all AfterEffects computers should have 4 hard drives.

1. OS Drive: 512GB Should be reasonably fast.
   
2. Source Drive: Keep all of your source files on this. I have mine in a RAID with an additional drive for stability.
   
3. Export Drive: This is a relatively quick small drive that you render to. a 256GB SSD would be great for this.
   
4. Cache Drive: A very fast SSD that is 4x the amount of ram you have. Look into getting a motherboard that supports NVMe
   Samsung NVMe
   
   You'd be suprised how much this alone can speed up renders.
   You'll want to put your Windows pagefile on your cache drive, which, if is Windows managed, will be 64GB.
   
   I'm going to agree with the first build in this thread, but look into adding these drives.
   

The current M.2s aren't really any faster than a standard SSD but they cost more so it really isn't cost effective at the moment. That's why you don't hear about them much on this forum.

The latest and greatest SSDs are built to the NVMe standard and are at least twice as fast as a standard SSD and plug into the M.2 ports but are really pricey. Look here: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Series-256GB-PCIe-NVMe/dp/B015SOI392

Your motherboard does support the NVMe standard but needs an adapter to plug the drive into. A note from your motherboard specification sheet: Supports PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe Mini-SAS SSD with Turbo U.2 Host Card

And really...What is the advantage to having an SSD that is twice as fast as a standard SSD at the moment? A standard SSD will load almost anything in under a second or two so if you had one that was twice as fast it would load in less than a second, but is all that extra money worth it to you?

If you were working with large files all the time like video editing then an NVMe SSD would make sense.

> Imo choice 2 and 3 are pretty much identical except for the design and the screen (glossy and matte), but lacks a tiny, tiny bit of graphics with the 960M Nvidia graphics card, which I still think is good.

There is a new model with a 970M, the GL502VT.

Asus ROG GL502VT-DS71

> For the Razer Blade, I think it is one of the best out there in terms of gaming laptops, but I kinda think that the hard drive is a bit slow in reading speed, (am I right?)

It's also a PCIe SSD. According to this review only a tad slower compared to the UX501 (1200 MB/s vs 1500 MB/s in CrystalMark).

> Will I be able to get the exact same one and hopefully replace the one in the Razer Blade?

You can get a similar one. The UX501VW from Asus comes with a Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL. You can get this one from Samsung which should be as fast.

> Or will I be able to open the Asus laptops and replace the 960M graphics into 970M ones?

No.

> I think the processing power is quite the same in all of the choices but I do not know the price of the video cards.

There is a noticeable performs difference between a 960M and 970M. A 970M is about 60 to 80% faster compared to a 960M.

> and I think the razer blade as 1200 writing speed with 200 reading speed

It's 1200/300. Personally I think this is good enough. How often are you going to copy very large files that you would notice the performance difference to the Asus UX501VW with 1500/1500.

> Will Razer Blade make a new model next year with the new pascal graphics driver? I am planning to get a laptop next year and if so, I am planning to get that one I guess (If it is under 2500 bucks)

I think so.

> If you know the hard drive in the asus zenbook pro UX501 series or have any other fast SSD drives to recommend ...

See above.

I have a 6700k MSI Z170 krait motherboard, just to tripple check, this SSD would fit and be compatible right? Would be great to get an NVMe drive!

Not even sure what's up with your form:

> Do you prefer a 2 in 1 form factor, good battery life or best specifications to your requirements for the money? Pick or include any that apply.

>Best Requirements

Wtaf man. GET IT TOGETHER CHARLIE.

> Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.

>Look at last question

Last question says you prefer Windows..

I get the feeling this question is a troll but nevertheless, I'm going to give you a nice answer.

Programming doesn't usually require a hardware intensive machine, it doesn't need a GPU or a penisvery powerful CPU but since you asked for such a high budget laptop in which weight doesn't matter I'm going to offer you a high-budget laptop and a low-budget laptop. The high budget lappy will last you approx 6 years and the low budget will last you 4 years approx.

I shall, from this point onwards, assign nicknames to the laptops:

1500 USD ASUS ROG G751JY-VS71(WX) shall now be called "That popular fat guy in college"

The 800 USD Dell Inspiron 15 7599 shall be called "good guy greg" because it's great value.

Processor: Both of these guys have incredibly powerful processors but note that a high end notebook processor is equal to a mid-range gaming processor. The fatty can easily spit out 2.6 GHz with it's i7-4720HQ however the good guy can push out a very respectable 2.3 GHz with it's powerful i5 6300HQ.

I want to give you a tip, NEVER buy a laptop based on it's processor solely. Most people are fooled buy the fact that one processor is an i7 and the other is an i5, well here's a fact, the most powerful model of the i7 can push out only 3% more than the most powerful i5.

Both of these processors can run heavily processor intensive games like "Total war: Warhammer" and can compile code equally fast because the algorithm is usually bottle-necked.

Graphics Card: They both have very powerful graphics cards but the fatty wins this battle hands down. It comes with a Nvidia GTX 980M which has 1536 CUDA cores, versus the good guy which only has approx 640 CUDA cores, respectable but the 960M is no match. VRAM is not a limiting factor, in either of them, the only game that requires more than 4 GB of VRAM is The Witcher 3, which can still be run at high and only consumes about 3 GB. Even GTA V only requires 3.8 GB at it's highest settings. Both of these can run Overwatch at max with 50-60 FPS, though the 980M can probably push out 80 FPS.

The fatty is definitely much better in this regard if you plan on doing very hardcore gaming.

Storage: I know for a fact that coders lover SSD's, the good guy comes with a pre-installed 256 GB M.2 SSD, M.2 SSD's are some of the most powerful SSD's and 256 GB is more than enough. The ASUS (popular fatty) has an optional SSD slot, goes upto 512 GB in both of the laptops. You can get a 256 GB M.2 SSD for 200 USD or a 512 GB M.2 SSD for 320 USD.

When getting an SSD only opt for Samsung, they make the best SSD's with 0 flaws.

Other than that they both have 1000 GB HDD's (no, not 1024) but that should be plenty.

RAM: NEVER BUY A LAPTOP BASED ON RAM YOU FUCKING DIMWIT, IT'S UP-GRADABLE. JESUS CHRIST.

But yeah they both have DDR3 RAM. The ASUS has 16 GB while the Dell has 8 GB

Screen size: Coders ALWAYS prefer large screens so I got the ASUS with it's 17.3 inch 1080p display, you know the ladies love a big screen ;), though the dell has a comfortable 15.6 inch 1080p screen. But as a coder I think you will prefer a large display.

Extra: The dell has thunderbolt 3

Sorry if I hurt your feelings during the review. Pansy.

Youtube videos you should watch:

[SSD's vs HDD's](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQEjGKYXjw8)


[CPU vs GPU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kypaBjJ-pg)

[i3 vs i5 vs i7**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLSPub4ydiM)

Good luck.

it will run at the fastest speed that disk goes. It is just a regular SSD that is in the M2 size. If you want the crazy fast kind you need something like this

What does the 950 pro offers compared to the others?

Edit: was looking into it. It looks like a ram stick. I have no experience at all with ssd

Is this it? https://www.amazon.fr/gp/aw/d/B015SOI392/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?__mk_fr_FR=%C3%85M%C3%85Z%C3%95%C3%91&qid=1479632452&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=samsung+950+pro&dpPl=1&dpID=51cJkRd4mmL&ref=plSrch

I am waiting to order my 15 r3 until Black Friday because it will 1,299 and its config is i7, 1tb, 1060, 8gb ram. I am going to order: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015SOI392/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A17MC6HOH9AVE6
and: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BIWKP58/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

So you could plug n' play with something like the Samsung 950 Pro NVME SSD and get that 2000mb/s read and 1000 mb/s write?

Thank you very much, I think Im sold on the alienware after thrashing it out. Last time I bought a gaming laptop (10ish years ago!) it was all so much simpler. But I think Ive narrowed it down to the 6700 with 1070, and then the 1080p IGZO screen. Because apparently the G-Sync absolutely savages the battery life...

Was also thinking of getting one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-NVMe-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B015SOI392/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1479132864&sr=8-4&keywords=512gb+ssd+m2

It looks like a giant ram chip but its apparently an SSD. Im assuming it fits?

I remember when the disk drive was massive and 10mb haha

Would this be compatible with my motherboard? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-NVMe-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B015SOI392/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1479153670&sr=1-2&keywords=m.2%2Bssd&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-950-PRO-Internal-MZ-V5P256BW/dp/B015SOI392/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1483220660&sr=1-1&keywords=samsung+950+pro+m.2

those but no i dont think they go in the pcie slot, havent installed one myself though so im not sure.

Im selling the exact same thing with a controller. The controller is 50 bucks. I offered to sell for 230, but actually I ended up swapping for a used https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-950-PRO-Internal-MZ-V5P256BW/dp/B015SOI392 + $50 Paypal

below are the model names and the actual prices that I have paid several years ago with the actual links some of which may be obsolete now.
I guess you might find appropriate recent alternatives.

main board 114$
Gigabyte LGA1151 Intel H170 Mini-ITX DDR4 Motherboard GA-H170N-WIFI
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015CQ8D9Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

cpu 298$
Intel Boxed Core I7-6700 FC-LGA14C 3.40 GHz 8 M Processor Cache 4 LGA 1151 BX80662I76700
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0136JONG8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

ssd storage 190$
Samsung 950 PRO Series - 256GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V5P256BW)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015SOI392/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

hdd storage 104$
Samsung Seagate Spinpoint M9T 2TB 2.5-Inch SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache Internal Hard Drive(ST2000LM003)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MPWYLHO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

ram 127$
G.SKILL 32GB (2 x 16GB) Aegis DDR4 PC4- 17000 2133MHZ For Intel Z170 Platform And Intel X99 Platform Desktop Memory Model F4-2133C15D-32GIS
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BXGSEPM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

external power unit 38$
12A/144W AC to DC Switching Power Supply 110-240vAC to 12vDC PicoPSU Compatible
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007XVD452/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

internal power converter 40$
Mini-Box picoPSU-150-XT High power, 24 pin mini-ITX power supply in a small package
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005TWE578/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

case 40$
MITXPC MX500 Industrial Fanless Mini-ITX Case w/ WallMount Bracket & VESA Screws
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B575EMA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

cpu fan 45$ - noctua nh-l9i
https://www.amazon.com/NOCTUA-NH-L9i-chromax-Black-Low-Profile-Cooler/dp/B07Y3M88QF/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=noctua+nh-l9i&qid=1573525347&sprefix=noctua+n&sr=8-1

950 Pro that i have. in an asus ROG https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-950-PRO-Internal-MZ-V5P256BW-x/dp/B015SOI392

If you're set on that graphics card then you're better off with a freesync compatible monitor the ASUS-MG279Q is probably the best one you can go for at the moment.

Also the board you chose has native M.2 support (bottom right of the board). So you can essentially just get a Samsung 950 pro make sure your bios is updated and plug it in.

It's not a huge step up in price, but will increase the speed quite a bit. For the volume of storage he's talking about, it's going to be maybe an extra hundred dollars
edit:
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E250B-AM/dp/B00OAJ412U/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1458066790&sr=1-2&keywords=850+evo $88

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-950-256GB-PCIe-NVMe/dp/B015SOI392/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1458066797&sr=1-2&keywords=950+pro $182

price difference is under $100 for read speeds ~4x faster than the 850 evo. If money is plentiful, without being ridiculous about it, that's a decent upgrade

tbh i'd just go with this, it's the same price as m.2 SSD from Samsung and it works right out of the box with close enough speeds(USB 3.1 caps out at 500MB/s ish), if you need more than 256GB, just get an external SSD

edit:
also, why not just go with an HDD? It's not like PS4 has SSD in it...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-NVMe-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B015SOI392/ref=sr_1_9?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1495129693&sr=1-9

Samsung 950 Pro, NVMe M2 SSD.

According to the person below(or above) your comment, there is no SSD slot, i thought its the same laptop as this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FFRD220/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_DxDyxbJF510B2

Which does have ssd slot and more ram by default. I'm not sure if the one from bestbuy does have one.

For the ssd, i would personally recommend this, even though its a little expensive but its worth it tbh, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015SOI392/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_.CDyxbYGN99KD the read and write speeds are MUCH better than ones you would get for $150, which will make the PC feel a lot smoother.

I just got this motherboard

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5496#ov

Can I use This m.2 chip with it?

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-950-PRO-Internal-MZ-V5P256BW/dp/B015SOI392/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1467315199&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=m.2+picie+gen+3+x2

Thanks for the detailed reply. I'm inching more and more towards the X1 Yoga by the day.

My use case looks almost identical to yours (IntelliJ/CLion) plus a little light photo editing when I'm on the go (Lightroom) which my Surface handled fine, so I don't think I'll have regrets in terms of power.

Self-upgrading the SSD will be ~$180 on Amazon link here to Samsung 950 PRO 256GB NVMe so I might as well, since Lenovo is charging $150 to upgrade to a 256GB SATA SSD.

I definitely agree with your scaling issues (devmgmt.msc and other built in Windows utilities don't even support HiDPI? come on!) and I'm sure battery life would see an increase with an FHD panel since there are less pixels to drive.

Lastly, which charging adapter did you receive with your X1 Yoga? In this video YouTube link here it seems like the smaller one is bundled but other videos on the web make it sound like the larger one is standard.

I think you're looking for the MSI GS40 Phantom.

It's portable, powerful, and has a Thunderbolt port. There are a lot of configuration options available to you, but you'd be best off just getting the cheapest one and putting your own Samsung 950 Pro in it at some point if you want more storage. I'm really glad that it has the NVMe SSD interface rather than SATA III.

However, the stock SSD's in these are actually especially fast. They come with the Samsung MZFLV128 NVMe SSD which benches incredibly well.

M2 are ssds which plug directly onto the motherboard. Such as the Samsung 950 PRO - 256 GB

I'm limited to the pro series

Samsung 950 PRO Series - 256GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V5P256BW) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015SOI392/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_K.lFxbPFP9B5X

forget the dell SSD options. get these instead as I've read they are faster anyway (and cheaper no doubt). Just get the cheap 7200rpm drive as a backup to your 256 or 512 m.2 ssd. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015SOI392

The sm951 is an oem variant of the 950 pro. The 950 pro is a "consumer" product, and I think includes a bit more of a warranty.

The SM951 runs about 13-15% cheaper substantially cheaper:

Amazon: 128GB SM951: $70

Amazon: 256GB SM951: $114

Amazon: 256GB 950 PRO: $184

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/3p5mu6/m2_samsung_950_pro_vs_sm951/