Hard Drive Configuration

Cubase
#1

Hi all,
I’m building my new PC in a few months and am planning. I have a question:
The motherboard has 3 NVME slots
1 ea 4x4
1 ea 3x4
1 ea 3x4
and 6 sata ports
Some have told me to use the 4x4 (faster nvme) to boot. I’m not certain that’s a good idea.
a Sata SSD boots fast enough for me.

Is there any advantage in using the 4x4 for audio recording with Cubase? Perhaps it does not offer much advantage over the 4x4. I could use the 4x4 for loading the larger kontakt/vsl samples.

My proclivity is to use the 4x4 slot for samples since I’m using an older nvme for audio recording and it works fantastic.

I don’t know if having the bandwidth of these drives makes a big difference between the 3x4 vs 4x4.

Any advice would be appreciated.

#2

You really mean PCIe 3.0 vs 4.0, right? That first number is generation and the second is the amount lanes?

All you have to do is to compare the bandwidth of the drives you would use with the bandwidth of the respective versions. Something tells me that there’s absolutely zero difference as far as recording goes since the bitrate for recording is far lower than what the 3.0 generation provides, and the rest is just for loading, correct?

1 Like
#3

Here’s from the manual (Asrock H570 Steel Legend)
• 1 x Hyper M.2 Socket (M2_1), supports M Key type
2260/2280 M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen4x4 (64 Gb/s)
(Only supported with 11th Gen Intel® CoreTM Processors)**
• 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_2), supports M Key type 2260/2280
M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module and M.2 PCI Express module
up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s)**
• 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_3), supports M Key type
2260/2280/22110 M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module and M.2 PCI
Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s)**
** Supports Intel® OptaneTM Technology
** Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks
** Supports ASRock U.2 Kit

#4

Mattias, that’s my inclination but I’m merely basing that on a hunch. I’m favoring putting samples on the 4x4 for faster loading.

#5

Don’t waste a single more minute on sorting this out.
Any of these slots is insanely fast and you will never notice a difference in real life.
It’s like choosing between your Ferrari or you Lamborghini to go to the grocery store…

Buy good quality SSDs from a reputable company, and enjoy the ride…

2 Likes
#6

Thanks Y. I’ve been thinking that could be the case which is why I posted the question. Sort of like when a kid says my ram is .0000000000001 ms faster than yours.

1 Like