Question Exploring M.2 PCIe SSD . . .

[kinghq1]

SO another Technology that I have not used is the M.2 PCIe. SO here goes:

What are the Pros v. Cons of PCIe v. SATA?
I assume direct connect is faster over cable. Little interference from other components. PCIe is faster, etc etc etc . . .
I'm assuming they have the same MTF

Can I use the PCIe M.2 as a boot drive? I haven't looked at the BIOS so, here again, assume it's just a BIOS change

NOW, for the actual manufacturer. I usually read the reviews on Tom's Hardware, but it seems since they were bought out the quality has declined.
In their current 2019 Best SSD article, they show the ADATA PCIe M.2 1Tb is the best overall for the size. I currently use a Samsung SSD 840 PRO Series, 256gb for my boot drive. It's probably 2 years old.
I've used ADATA in the past, even still have one I use an external USB drive.

Any suggestions? Don't do it, works great, drives to stay away from, anything will be helpful.
I'm a platters guy, even have 1 of those with my SSD's, I've used SSD's for a couple years, but still REALLY getting into them.

 

[jimmysmitty]

1. Yes you can use M.2 as a boot drive so long as you have anything newer from AMD (think Ryzen) or a Z97 and newer from Intel.

2. Yes they still use MFT as thats a Windows thing more than a drive thing.

3. It is a BIOS setting yes.

4. Pros vs Cons, no cons I can think of. Pros are it is way faster (SATA Gen 3 tops out at about 600MB/s vs most M.2 drives push well over 2000MB/s) and M.2 was designed around NVMe which was designed for SSDs exclusively where as AHCI, which is what SATA uses, was designed for HDDs.

5. I would suggest Samsung or Intel over AData. Cost more but the quality is superior to AData. AData is a more entry level brand that I would not buy. Most people probably go for Samsung with the 960 Evo being the most popular and the 960 Pro being a bit better.

My suggestion is to move OS and some app to a fast SSD and keep HDDs for storage. You could do two SSDs, one for booting and one for local storage then build a NAS for other storage.

 

[J_E_D_70]

Nvme/pcie is faster than sata on paper but translates poorly to real world performance. I have both in m.2 form factor and the nvme loaded a game one whole second faster than sata.

If money is not a factor, nothing wrong with nvme assuming your mobo has the right slot. If looking for bang for the buck would do m.2 sata like 860 Evo or Crucial MX500.