Does all m.2 drives fit in the same m.2 slot?

[FakeNorwegian]

I want to get a faster boot time and load into games faster, so im just wondering if this M.2 SSD fits with this motherboard

Basically does all m.2 drives fit into m.2 slots like a graphics card or is it like CPU where you have to look for a specific type.

Thanks!

 

[USAFRet]

No, not all m.2 slots accept all "m.2" drives.

Yours, however...does.
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-Z170-Gaming-K3-rev-10#sp
1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe x4/x2/x1 SSD support)

It will take either an NVMe drive OR a SATA drive, both in the m.2 format.
The one you've chosen will work.

But if you're just looking for faster boot time...that is not a magical solution.

For instance...boot time
A regular HDD may be 60 seconds
A SATA III SSD may be 30 seconds
An NVMe drive may be 25 seconds.

"boot time" is a total of the drive/OS doing its thing, AND the BIOS.
From the above time examples, the BIOS might be 15 seconds.
So....
15 secs of BIOS, then 45 secs of HDD booting up = 60 secs
or
15 secs of BIOS, then 15 secs of SSD booting up = 30 secs
or
15 secs of BIOS, then 10 secs of NVMe booting up = 25 secs

The NVMe drive is significantly faster (30% faster) than the SATA SSD, but that is not reflected in the overall time, due to the BIOS having to do its thing.

 

[FakeNorwegian]

No, not all m.2 slots accept all "m.2" drives.

Yours, however...does.
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-Z170-Gaming-K3-rev-10#sp
1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe x4/x2/x1 SSD support)

It will take either an NVMe drive OR a SATA drive, both in the m.2 format.
The one you've chosen will work.

But if you're just looking for faster boot time...that is not a magical solution.

For instance...boot time
A regular HDD may be 60 seconds
A SATA III SSD may be 30 seconds
An NVMe drive may be 25 seconds.

"boot time" is a total of the drive/OS doing its thing, AND the BIOS.
From the above time examples, the BIOS might be 15 seconds.
So....
15 secs of BIOS, then 45 secs of HDD booting up = 60 secs
or
15 secs of BIOS, then 15 secs of SSD booting up = 30 secs
or
15 secs of BIOS, then 10 secs of NVMe booting up = 25 secs

The NVMe drive is significantly faster (30% faster) than the SATA SSD, but that is not reflected in the overall time, due to the BIOS having to do its thing.

Ok thanks for the answer. Im using a HDD with only 50 gb left so i just want more storage. And faster loading times. Do you recommend a m.2 ssd, ssd or just a new hdd? I have about 200 euros as a budget.

 

[USAFRet]

No, not all m.2 slots accept all "m.2" drives.

Yours, however...does.
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-Z170-Gaming-K3-rev-10#sp
1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe x4/x2/x1 SSD support)

It will take either an NVMe drive OR a SATA drive, both in the m.2 format.
The one you've chosen will work.

But if you're just looking for faster boot time...that is not a magical solution.

For instance...boot time
A regular HDD may be 60 seconds
A SATA III SSD may be 30 seconds
An NVMe drive may be 25 seconds.

"boot time" is a total of the drive/OS doing its thing, AND the BIOS.
From the above time examples, the BIOS might be 15 seconds.
So....
15 secs of BIOS, then 45 secs of HDD booting up = 60 secs
or
15 secs of BIOS, then 15 secs of SSD booting up = 30 secs
or
15 secs of BIOS, then 10 secs of NVMe booting up = 25 secs

The NVMe drive is significantly faster (30% faster) than the SATA SSD, but that is not reflected in the overall time, due to the BIOS having to do its thing.

Ok thanks for the answer. Im using a HDD with only 50 gb left so i just want more storage. And faster loading times. Do you recommend a m.2 ssd, ssd or just a new hdd? I have about 200 euros as a budget.

Compared to HDD or NVMe, a SATA SSD will be the sweet spot between size and speed.
And that can be either 2.5" SATA III format or m.2. Generally the same price.