Is PCI-E 4.0 compatibility worth having? Or rather is having a PCI-E 4.0 SSD that much faster than a PCI-E 3.0 SSD?

[ZeekAncient]

So this past summer I bought an RTX 3070 Ti. I replaced my aging GTX 1070 Ti and coupled the 3070 Ti with my aging i7 4770K. I was gaming on a 4K TV, so I figured that the i7 4770K would not bottleneck my CPU that much. While it didn't all that much, especially at 4K, it still did enough for me to notice, especially in CPU intensive scenarios.

So, I gathered up some funds and built a new PC around the RTX 3070 Ti. I probably should have went with the 5600X for my CPU but in the back of my mind I really wanted an 8 core, lol, just to say I had an 8 core and the consoles have 8 cores. So I was going to buy a 5800X but then I saw an i7 10700KF on sale for $290. I did my research, and at 4K, I wasn't really going to see much difference in gaming between a 10700K or the 5800X and 11700K. So I decided that having PCIE 4.0 support wasn't all that big a deal but saving over $100 was, so I bought the 10700KF.

For my boot drive I decided to go with a Samsung 970 Evo Plus. While I love my system, I am sort of having buyers remorse and wish I would have went with the 5800X, or even the 11700K, so I could have the faster SSDs.

So my question is to all those that have an 11700K, and/or PCIE 4.0 SSDs, is it really worth it over a PCIE 3.0 SSD?

I went with a Z590 motherboard and I am thinking of buying an 11700K and selling my 10700K. I am hoping that when 12th gen Intel's get released that perhaps the 11700K will go down in price. Maybe to sub 300. But I have also read conflicting benchmarks. Some saying that the 10700K maybe better in gaming than an 11700K. So that is another question?

Is the 11700K better in gaming than a 10700K? And is upgrading to a 11700K from a 10700K worth it to have a PCIE 4.0 SSD?

So what do people think? Should I ditch my 10700K and buy an 11700K? And perhaps a Samsung 980 Pro to keep with my Samsung SSD theme.

Or should I just pass on PCIE 4.0 for now, enjoy my 10700k and 3070 TI(soon to be 3080 as I am in the EVGA step up program) for a few years and upgrade CPU when PCIE 5.0 and DDR5 are out and good?

And do you think that 11700s will go down in price when Alder Lake is released? I was able to get my 10700 for sub 300, so I was kind of hoping the same with an 11700.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

If you have 10th Gen already, stay there. 12th/13th Gen will be the next logical step up, not 11.
Just OC your CPU and beef up your cooling if you need more performance now.
Wait til DDR5 is standard before moving up.

[Illusion of Progress]

While I have neither a Core i7 11700 or a PCI Express 4.0 drive, data is available to answer this. Is PCI Express 4.0 faster than PCI Express 3.0? Sure, but just how having a PCI Express 3.0 NVMe drive isn't much faster where it counts than even SATA, it's unlikely to make a big difference for you unless you already know it will. For workflows that leverage high consistent read and writes, it may make a difference. As a general OS, program, and game drive? You won't notice it. How this changes in the future with DirectStorage and the like remains to be seen, however. There's also the fact that PCI Express 5.0 is set to be a fast turnaround. Again, whether this plays out to seeing faster drives right away will have to be seen.

As for your choices, I wouldn't worry or have remorse too much.

While I think the RTX 3070 Ti is generally a poorer choice, since it's probably the poorest value in the RTX 3000 lineup, it really depends on prices, and given how poor and inconsistent availability of GPUs has been, I don't really say that was a bad choice, unless you actually passed over the RTX 3080 for it. But it sounds like you had plans to step up anyway.

You definitely made the right choice going with the Core i7 10700 over the Ryzen 7 5800X, however. Zen 3 is faster, and I'm absolutely a fan of it, but I similarly skipped on the Core i7 10700 for a Ryzen 7 3700X a bit over a year ago, and back then the pricing gap resembled what it is now between the two CPUs you considered. The Ryzen 7 5800X is just usually a poor value, but sometimes sales show up and makes it a normal value. Zen 3 makes the most sense with the Ryzen 9s or maybe the Rzyen 5 5600X. And the 11700K is similarly a very poor value. Either go with the Ryzen 7 10700K for being a better value, or step up to the Ryzen 5000 series if you're putting less weight on value and more on top of the line performance. If the 11th generation drops in price after Alder Lake comes, it might be an option, but it's not that much faster. Since the 10th generation has been price cut so much, it's unlikely you'll be able to sell it and make it "worth" the cost of replacing it with an 11700K.

I'd sit with what you have an enjoy it. It's easy to worry about every little thing, but most new generations of things on their own aren't wildly different enough to matter to the point of having regret over.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

PCIE 4.0 SSDs don't serve any real world purpose except for those who need to drive alot of data quickly. OS usage in general and Games can't take advantage of it compared to PCIE 3.0 or in most scenarios even compared to SATA SSDs. If you are recording 4K, 5K, 8K video however, yes a PCIE 4.0 SSD will make sense to have. Or as a drive to store assets on when doing 3D Rendering compilations or when doing video editing.

[_I_]

4.0 is only really useful when running lots of pci-e devices
where it will make no impact as running half the lanes to other devices

[ZeekAncient]

Thank you, I appreciate this. And usually when I upgrade or build, I always want to go with the current gen CPU, in this case Ryzen 5000 or 11th Gen Intel, but the 10700 was at such a good price and I was trying to save money, so I couldn't really pass it up. I was saving over $100 going with it over a 5800X or 11700. LOL, in hindsight, I probably should have went with the 5600X or even the 11600K, which were a little cheaper than what I paid the 10700 at $290, especially gaming at 4K where CPU really doesn't matter too much and the 5600X and 11600K will essentially get you the same performance, but in the back of my mind I really wanted an 8 core, just to say I finally had an 8 core CPU, especially coming from a quad core. So when I saw the 8 core 10700KF on sale at $290(I even saw it cheaper before this, but has been higher since) it was kind of a no brainer for me and I pulled the trigger right away.

As for the RTX 3070 Ti, it definitely was not my first choice, value wise. I had been patiently waiting a few months to try to get my hands on an RTX 3080( at a reasonable price, closer to msrp and not scalped prices) with no luck. Everyday joining Newegg shuffle. Constantly eyeing websites, and those youtube channels that update availability. Finally at the end of July, Antonline.com had some bundles at MSRP. They didn't have the 3080 but I was able to get a 3070Ti at MSRP. I just had to buy all the other stuff in the bundles. But still the stuff was at MSRP and much cheaper than just one scalped GPU, so I had to pull the trigger. Compared to my old 1070 Ti though, especially at 4K, I really love my 3070 Ti. It is not a 3080 but thankfully it is an EVGA, so I was able to join the step up program. So hopefully soon I will get an email saying they have one ready for me and I can send them my 3070 Ti.

But overall, I am still very happy with my new PC. To me it is an absolute beast and couldn't be happier. And I know with computer components, second guessing is always gonna be there, especially with new tech always around the corner.

But while I really love the performance of the 10700K, I'll see what happens with the pricing of 11th Gen when 12th Gen releases and see what happens. My mother board is a Gigabyte Z590 Aorus Elite Ax, so in the back of my mind, if I really want that PCIE 4.0 to be closer to the speeds of 5.0, lol, I know I can do a quick, if needless upgrade.

Thank you for the advice.

[ZeekAncient]

Messaggio originale di Bad 💀 Motha:

PCIE 4.0 SSDs don't serve any real world purpose except for those who need to drive alot of data quickly. OS usage in general and Games can't take advantage of it compared to PCIE 3.0 or in most scenarios even compared to SATA SSDs. If you are recording 4K, 5K, 8K video however, yes a PCIE 4.0 SSD will make sense to have. Or as a drive to store assets on when doing 3D Rendering compilations or when doing video editing.

Messaggio originale di _I_:

4.0 is only really useful when running lots of pci-e devices
where it will make no impact as running half the lanes to other devices

Okay, so strictly for gaming, getting a Samsung 980 Pro will not really net me faster load times or performance over a Samsung 970 Evo Plus?

And I know for GPU bandwidth, I've never really seen any performance difference between PCIE gens.

So, basically it would be stupid to replace my 10700K for an 11700K, just for PCIE 4.0 right? So I guess saving that $110 going with my 10700KF was a smart idea.

Well thank you guys for making me feel a lot better. ;) lol

[Bad 💀 Motha]

The CPU alone is not the problem. It would come down to the Motherboard. Z490 does not have PCIE 4.0, but Z590 does. And you can still use 10th gen CPUs on the Z590 boards.

But no, no PCIE 4.0 SSD is really going to help out with game load times. Most games won't even load any faster on any NVME SSDs when compared to decent performing SATA SSDs even.

[ZeekAncient]

Messaggio originale di Bad 💀 Motha:

The CPU alone is not the problem. It would come down to the Motherboard. Z490 does not have PCIE 4.0, but Z590 does. And you can still use 10th gen CPUs on the Z590 boards.

But no, no PCIE 4.0 SSD is really going to help out with game load times. Most games won't even load any faster on any NVME SSDs when compared to decent performing SATA SSDs even.

Well that is why I was asking about the 11700K. I have a Z590 motherboard, so I was wondering if going with an 11700K to get the 4.0 support would be worth it. I know in strictly gaming scenarios, the 11700 is not that much better than a 10700.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

If you have a Z590 then you have PCIE 4.0; you do not need to change CPUs.
If you wish to use PCIE 4.0 SSDs you can, per what each of your M2 slots supports. Refer to the manual for that in-depth info.

[ZeekAncient]

Messaggio originale di Bad 💀 Motha:

If you have a Z590 then you have PCIE 4.0; you do not need to change CPUs.
If you wish to use PCIE 4.0 SSDs you can, per what each of your M2 slots supports. Refer to the manual for that in-depth info.

No, I am pretty sure that Intel, unlike AMD, has PCIE 4.0 support through the lanes on the CPU, and not the PCH or chipset. So thus, while I have a Z590 motherboard, I would still need to get an 11th gen CPU to get the 4.0 support.

Yeah cause my top M.2 slot supports 4.0 but even in the manual it says that I will need an 11th gen CPU to take advantage of the 4.0 speeds.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Oh ok. Yea then best bet would be wait to upgrade until DDR5 comes out. Which is the next step for both Intel and AMD moving forward. Won't make sense to swap out your CPU for an 11th gen one. Not unless you get some sort of really good deal and find a buyer or other use for the current 10th gen CPU perhaps.

[HALO_run]

if you're going to save for a card get the 3090 that'll last longer

[ZeekAncient]

Yea I think that is the best bet as well. I am going to enjoy my current setup for year or two, maybe three, then see what comes down the line for DDR5 and probably PCIE 5.0 by then. The 10700K is still plenty fast to handle anything for awhile.

As for the 3090, I have an EVGA 3070 Ti and have signed up for the step up program. I think a 3080 with 10 GB of VRAM is gonna be plenty fast for 4K. While I would love a 3090, considering current prices, it is most likely out of my budget. By the time I can afford one, we will probably be talking RTX 40 series. Also, 24 GB of VRAM is overkill for gaming. 10 GB from the 3080 or maybe even the 12 GB 3080 Ti might be more reasonable. As far as VRAM, I think AMD nailed it with their 16 GB configuration.

[xSOSxHawkens]

So I run PCIe 4.0 and a 4.0 SSD, and a comparable GPU (RX6800).

Is PCIe 4.0 SSD speed required or a specific thing to go for now? No

Do I (personally) think the writing is on the walls for it to be a major issue on the PC Gaming space within the next 2-4 years, absolutely. Reason: Consoles and Direct Storage et-all style features.

Simply put the idea of being capable of streaming large data live time has finally matched up to hardware ability, and both the next gen consoles are already pushing storage solutions faster than many consumer PC's.

On the PC Side I would not at all be surprised to see minimum requirements in years to come feature min storage access speeds and/or alternative (high) ram requirements for machines lacking sufficient storage space (think 32-64GB to hold the data from the slower drives for actual use).

Some are writing this off, but its evident in how serious all the major industry players are taking it. PC's that dont have fast enough storage pools and also lack enough ram to make up for it will have a hard time going forward. I could be wrong, and kinda hope I am as my Gen4 drive is only 512GB and my main NVMe is gen 3. But I am working under the precaution that though fast, it may not be fast enough for much longer.

[WarBucks]

Messaggio originale di xSOSxHawkens:

So I run PCIe 4.0 and a 4.0 SSD, and a comparable GPU (RX6800).

Is PCIe 4.0 SSD speed required or a specific thing to go for now? No

Do I (personally) think the writing is on the walls for it to be a major issue on the PC Gaming space within the next 2-4 years, absolutely. Reason: Consoles and Direct Storage et-all style features.

Simply put the idea of being capable of streaming large data live time has finally matched up to hardware ability, and both the next gen consoles are already pushing storage solutions faster than many consumer PC's.

On the PC Side I would not at all be surprised to see minimum requirements in years to come feature min storage access speeds and/or alternative (high) ram requirements for machines lacking sufficient storage space (think 32-64GB to hold the data from the slower drives for actual use).

Some are writing this off, but its evident in how serious all the major industry players are taking it. PC's that dont have fast enough storage pools and also lack enough ram to make up for it will have a hard time going forward. I could be wrong, and kinda hope I am as my Gen4 drive is only 512GB and my main NVMe is gen 3. But I am working under the precaution that though fast, it may not be fast enough for much longer.

I agree with this assesment, been saying it myself since Series X specs were announced. And its not been a popular take for sure.

Stalker 2 already has a minimum requirement of "ssd" thats dropping april 2022. I fully expect the big names like GTA6 and Elderscrolls are going to require at minimum the 3GBps and IOPs that the Pcie4.0 x2 console ssds have