A Samsung NVME Pro vs Evo question and a story about a machine that could.

[serious]

Hey folks

I am posting this question and scattering it around the internet on a few different forums in hopes that someone will take it upon themselves to come back with some sort of answer for me.

I am asking this question in terms of a purchasing decision specifically concerning M.2 NVMe 3.0 x4 and Samsung’s EVO and PRO offerings. I am also only interested in capacities over 1TB version 960 or 970 or a combination of them. The motherboard I have purchased has two slots which I will fill as I can afford them so this is not a question of either or but of planning to maximize my systems resources practically without over spending.

https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Motherboards/ROG-CROSSHAIR-VI-EXTREME/

 

Here is what I know or at least pretend to understand. MLC flash memory is better than TLC flash memory because:

1. It’s faster than TLC

2. It’s able to run file transfers without taking a breath. Therefore, it does not bottle neck or stall.

3. Has a better warranty

TLC Memory is:

1. Plenty fast

2. Considerably less expensive

3. Will only sustain transfer as long as its (Frankly huge) buffer will allow.

 

So that known some people need Pro/MLC it’s a no brainer for them. I could see it being a significant advantage in server applications or anytime you want to move huge files. Though I do move big files often I am not sure I am willing to spend an extra grand to transfer data between two work drives. More than likely I will be transferring the biggest of my files though a sata 6 bottle neck to a regular yet fast ssd drive like a 2TB Crucial MX500 or 2TB Seagate FireCuda for back up or for fetching rescources.

 

For me the main focus of this machine is a 3ds Max workstation. As a freelance digital art generalist I do work on a wide variety of projects that include a very wide variety of software and rendering tools. These include but are not limited to:

1. 3DS Max

2. Cinema 4d

3. The whole of the adobe Suite with a focus on After Effects, Photoshop and illustrator

4. Real Flow

5. Cinema 4D

6. Marmoset tool bag

7. Unreal and soon Unreal Studio

8. Unity

9. Zbrush

10. Key Shot

11. Substance designer in all of its forms

12. Marvellous Designer

13. Auto Cad (mostly for fixing things for Import)

14. I use Vray and other renderers depending on the finish I am looking for

15. Davinci resolve

 

I have other machines that I use for everyday stuff like the web bookkeeping and media and a hillbilly network (I am a certified lefty hick so no offence to my neighbors). I am moving toward a NAS based set up but that is a moving target right now. Work can get in the way of best intentions. You get the Idea.

 

Rendering is a huge part of my workflow. I like to pre-render by element then assemble final render in post so I have the most control of the finished product. So think many layers and multiple render passes.

Here is what I am thinking as far how I will set up my system. The boot drive will hold all of my software, two decades worth of custom hand crafted texture maps, my custom animated alpha’s and other render time elements. All of my 3d and 2d kit and reference will sit either on a reference 2TB mx500 or on my media machine and be accessible via network or residentially respectively. The second NVMe drive will be all about Swap or as the kids say cache and as a target for output.

You can be sure that I am interested in hearing about what you think would be the optimum workstation. So feel free to shoot me suggestions

Edited June 5, 2018 by serious