Can I use a M.2 NVME SSD with 7-year old motherboard?

[lancery101]

[Updated to point out that the NVME SSD is for storage in current build]

Hello,

I am in the process of gathering parts to build a new PC, and I do so based on deals as they become available.

My most recent purchase is a Samsung 970 EVO 1TB - NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSD, and I'd like to make use of this SSD in my current 7-year old build with decent performance before my new PC is assembled. My current build has a 250GB SATA SSD (OS) and a 1TB HDD (storage). I intend to swap out the 1TB SSD with this.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BN217QG/ref=emc_b_5_t?th=1

My current build's motherboard is a ASRock P67 EXTREME4 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard, and it does not have M.2 slots.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157229

Therefore, I think I have two potential options to use this SSD on my current build:

1. Use it with a 1 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s slot via an adapter
https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-2-5-Inch-Aluminum-Enclosure-EC-M2SA/dp/B01N6PMZLW/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1541275714&sr=1-3&keywords=m.2+2280+adapter&dpID=41W3PBli5EL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch#customerReviews

2. Use it with a 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x8 slot via an adapter
https://www.amazon.com/Ableconn-PEXM2-SSD-NGFF-Express-Adapter/dp/B017JGVTAM/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1541303497&sr=8-13&keywords=m.2+ssd+to+pcie+adapter&refinements=p_72%3A2661618011#customerReviews

Can someone help take a look and let me know if these are two feasible options, or if there's a better solution?

Thanks!

 

[Darkbreeze]

You can use it for storage with a PCI adapter on many motherboards, but it cannot be used for the operating system nor can it be made bootable. Truthfully, it's practically pointless for use in a PCI 2.0 slot because you'll be losing much of the speed which is what makes it valuable in the first place.

I'd use it in a newer system or sell it at a profit if you can unless you simply want additional storage and have no remaining SATA headers to connect to.

Or save it until you upgrade to a board that can support it properly.

 

[lancery101]

Thanks darkbreeze. Does this mean that it's not possible to use the Samsung 970 EVO 1TB SSD with my current build's SATA3 6.0 Gb/s slot via an adapter?

 

[CrazyDingo]

1. I would be a little worried about temperatures with the first option - one user reported the enclosure toasted their drive, the drives do tend to run a little hot.
2. The ableconn is for a PCIE 3.0 x 4 slot, not PCIE 3.0 x 8; your slots are PCIE 2.0. Often these devices are 'backwards compatible' (sometimes with a performance hit), but you might want to check that issue with the vendor(s).
3. Sorry to state the obvious but yes if you want to use that drive in your current board you'll have to use some kind of enclosure / converter, since you just don't have the right slot.
=======================================
oh, just saw darkbreeze's comments (posted while I was writing) so the above is redundant.

 

[Darkbreeze]

You can use a x1 or x4 card in any x4, x8 or x16 slot. As long as the number is the same or exceeds the x of the device, it can be used in that slot. Using a x4 device in a x4, x8 or x16 slot is not a problem.

The problem is that he has 2.0 slots, not 3.0 slots, and I'm not too sure that the PCI card adapters for M.2 NVME drives will even work in a board that doesn't at least have 3.0 slots, and if it does it's likely going to drop a lot of performance off the top end.

As for the SATA slot, not even worth your time even if it worked, as that is even slower than PCI 2.0.

 

[lancery101]

Thanks Darkbreeze.

I am not sure why you mentioned that SATA is not worth my time. This is a SATA III 6.0GB/s slot. Isn't that even greater than the maximum throughput of PCIe 2.0 x 4, which is 2.0GB/s?

In either case, my current storage drive is actually a 1TB HDD, which is about 200MB/s, so either 2.0GB/s or 6GB/s would be a great boost.

Oh, and on the amazon product page for the adapter, it does indicate that it supports PCIE 2.0.

* System Requirement:
- An empty PCIe 3.0 or PCIe 2.0 x4, x8, or x16 slot.
* Convert M.2 NGFF PCIe based SSD to work in main board PCIe x4 bus slot
* Supports PCIe 2.0 and PCIe 3.0 motherboard
...
* Supports industrial operating temperature range: -40 - 85 ºC
* Fully RoHS compliant

Thanks.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Well, I guess all you can do is try it. According to the specs it looks like either of those might work, but unfortunately the specs for those devices don't tell you if the motherboard firmware will support those devices at the BIOS hardware level or not. Unless you can find a confirmation somewhere showing those exact devices have worked on that motherboard model, or at least one close to it in the same family from the same manufacturer on that gen of motherboard, it might be risky.

I'd like to say it might work, but then again, it might not. Not the answer you were looking for I'm sure but I'm afraid it's all I've got as I haven't tried running anything that new on something that old. I'd be a lot more inclined to simply run a SATA SSD via the SATA bus on that board which we know will work.