SATA SSDs theoretically have a bandwidth of 6 Gbps, but in practice, they don't reach that speed. What factors limit performance in everyday use? Is this situation more pronounced in DRAM-less models? Is the main benefit of switching to NVMe just speed, or are there other advantages as well?
What is the performance limit of SATA SSDs?
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SATA SSDs' performance limit is actually seen as 6 Gbps in theory, but in practice, it's almost impossible to constantly reach that speed, bro. For example, while I was using the Samsung 860 EVO for a while, I noticed in CrystalDiskMark that read/write speeds stayed within the 500-550 MB/s range, never really getting close to the theoretical 6 Gbps (6000 Mbps ≈ 600 MB/s). Why? Because data density, flash memory quality, the controller, and even cable/connector quality directly impact performance. This issue becomes even more noticeable in DRAM-less models—when I got the Kingston A400 without DRAM, write speeds kept dropping, and I experienced slowdowns in swap files. Frequent GC (Garbage Collection) processes create performance bottlenecks.
Switching to NVMe, of course, brings not just speed but a whole package of advantages. Thanks to the low latency and parallel data transfer provided by the PCIe lane, you escape the place where SATA has been stuck for years in large file transfers, game loads, and multitasking. For example, when loading Baldur's Gate 3 on an NVMe SSD, it's almost instant, whereas on SATA, it's a long wait. The difference is huge, so if your budget allows, I’d definitely say NVMe is a worthwhile upgrade.