Talking about next generation.
It’s an exciting time in the PC hardware space.
What follows is an interview with Tony Hollingsbee, EMEA Business Manager - SSD at Kingston.
Can you speak to what those transitions were like from your perspective?
Are drives optimised towards different use cases - e.g.
enterprise vs content creation vs gaming?
This clearly depends on Microsoft’s future Xbox strategy, but there is no reason we would not.
Is that likely to change any time soon?
NVMe isn’t simply about improved performance and throughput.
As a more modern, more advanced specification than SATA, it is fast becoming the dominant SSD technology.
DirectStorage is a great example.
Do you foresee any changes to future storage standards beyond increases in raw bandwidth?
How does faster storage influence game design -load times, asset streaming, level design?
Modern games are designed to offer seamless experiences that are as immersive as possible thanks to breathtaking visuals.
Optimising games to make full use of NVMe technology and APIs such as DirectStorage helps achieve this.
How many PC gamers have PCIe 3.0 drivers or faster?
How about PCIe 4.0?
So we think gamers will move quickly to PCIe 4.0 technology in a similar way.
What is the normal upgrade cycle for PC gamers - how often do they buy new drives?
We see different buying behaviour depending on the classic segmentation of budget vs enthusiast gamers.
For those who are more conservative, a storage upgrade is usually part of a full PC upgrade.
Does PCIe 4.0 make a meaningful difference to load times now vs PCIe 3.0?
Does Kingston test its new/upcoming drives with games to quantify their real-world performance.
If so, what games/tests does it use?
You mentioned using real-world tests and emphasising user experience in your internal storage testing.
Has this testing strategy changed over time?
Do you speak to game devs about storage speed being a limit on game design, e.g.
Beyond the faster connection, presumably you use faster NAND and a faster/better controller?
That’s a pretty accurate summary.
Are there other factors that affect real-world performance?
Which are the most important, e.g.
The easiest comparison here is simply between a SATA HDD and SATA SSD.
Is there any benefit to doing this purposefully - e.g.
PCIe 5.0 has now been released.
Is there even sufficiently fast NAND and/or controllers right now?
Thanks to Tony for his time answering our questions.
For more Digital Foundry storage content, check out our current recommendations forthe best SSDs for gaming.
