How to determine the speed between the mainboard and HDD/SSD?
How to determine the speed between the mainboard and HDD/SSD?
Hello
I’m uncertain if this part is in the right location, but I need to understand the data transfer rate between an HDD or SSD and the mainboard.
My aim is to compare these speeds when using Thunderbolt 3/4/5 via a docking station with an M.2 NvME PCIe card versus an SSD (HDD) and the mainboard. I want to assess how practical it would be to install Linux on a secondary SSD through such a connection.
I recall the following Thunderbolt specifications:
Thunderbolt 1: 10 Gbit/s per channel, or 20 Gbit/s total
Thunderbolt 2: 20 Gbit/s total
Thunderbolt 3 and 4: 40 Gbit/s bidirectional
Thunderbolt 5: 80 Gbit/s bidirectional
If the gap is so significant, I might need to use dual booting, but that would require extra space on the main disk.
Thank you
Many users rely on CrystalDiskMark to assess disk performance. However, I believe the main influence comes from the docking station and the SSD itself, rather than the Thunderbolt port. If calculations are accurate, speeds above Thunderbolt 1 are unnecessary. The fastest SSDs would reach approximately 7Gbit/s according to my understanding. Therefore, a port speed surpassing that wouldn't make a difference. Perhaps I'm miscalculating—please let me know if you notice any variation.
Many people focus too much on PCIe 3/4/5 when discussing NVMe drives.
But if the device in question is slow, then what really matters?
It's about what it actually does.
The amount of files, bits, or bytes being moved is also important.
My setup includes six SSDs—four SATA III and two PCIe 3.0, one PCIe 4.0.
If I were to ask you to pick a drive from my current PC while doing everyday tasks, I’d challenge you to guess which one you were using at that time.
It is about whether there is a significant distinction between Thunderbolt 3/4/5 connected via a docking station with an M.2 NVMe PCIe versus SSD (HDD) and the mainboard. I need to find out if it affects performance when installing and using Linux through an NVMe drive connected via a docking station. Based on my understanding, an M.2 NVMe is considerably faster than an M.2 SATA in direct installation with the motherboard, though for everyday tasks there may be no noticeable difference. Running an OS and working with Java, Spring, Docker, etc., would require a different setup. Appreciate your understanding.
The main difference between NVMe and SATA lies in the sequential transfer speed. OMG! It's 10 times faster!!! However, for everyday use, especially within the operating system, the small Random4k performance is what we typically experience. In this context, NVMe offers only a modest improvement over a SATA III SSD. The key advantage of solid-state drives is their extremely fast access time, which applies to all types of SSDs. With similar pricing, choosing an NVMe drive over a SATA III one seems unnecessary. Don't worry about the claimed speeds—using a Linux OS from an external device won't be ten times quicker with an NVMe drive compared to a SATA III drive.