[SOLVED] Help Buying a M.2 SSD. Motherboard supports PCIE 3.0x4.

[stebobibo]

Hi,
My motherboard says it "supports up to PCIe 3.0 x4" for its two M.2 slots.
First, I want clarification on what the "x4" means. There wasn't much info about it online. I think it had to do with # of lanes it uses. Could anyone explain that more? Do I have to match that number with the SSD, or can the SSD have a higher or lower #?
Secondly, about the PCIe 3.0 vs 4.0. I've read that it's backwards compatible, so a 4.0 will work, but at lower speed. However, how am I supposed to determine what speed any given 4.0 SSD will have when in a 3.0 slot? They don't give this info in the specs (that I could find). And all SSDs have different speeds (so it's not like there's a standard speed it'll downgrade to).
I've noticed a lot of 4.0 units have comparable prices to 3.0 ones. So, should I get a PCIe 4.0 SSD, even if I won't know how fast it'll be?
I've looked up lists for best M.2 SSDs. Almost all lists were comprised of entirely PCIe 4.0 models. One list had a good section on 3.0 models, though. These are the ones he recommended:

• ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB
• Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB
• Western Digital Black SN750 1TB

Lastly, I'd love to hear what you would recommend for me. I want 1TB or more. My target price range is around $150 Canadian or lower (so any of the 3 above work). Thanks for your help!

 

[Bob.B]

Hi,
My motherboard says it "supports up to PCIe 3.0 x4" for its two M.2 slots.
First, I want clarification on what the "x4" means. There wasn't much info about it online. I think it had to do with # of lanes it uses. Could anyone explain that more? Do I have to match that number with the SSD, or can the SSD have a higher or lower #?
Secondly, about the PCIe 3.0 vs 4.0. I've read that it's backwards compatible, so a 4.0 will work, but at lower speed. However, how am I supposed to determine what speed any given 4.0 SSD will have when in a 3.0 slot? They don't give this info in the specs (that I could find). And all SSDs have different speeds (so it's not like there's a standard speed it'll downgrade to).
I've noticed a lot of 4.0 units have comparable prices to 3.0 ones. So, should I get a PCIe 4.0 SSD, even if I won't know how fast it'll be?
I've looked up lists for best M.2 SSDs. Almost all lists were comprised of entirely PCIe 4.0 models. One list had a good section on 3.0 models, though. These are the ones he recommended:

• ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB
• Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB
• Western Digital Black SN750 1TB

Lastly, I'd love to hear what you would recommend for me. I want 1TB or more. My target price range is around $150 Canadian or lower (so any of the 3 above work). Thanks for your help!

Confusing isn't it?

Most users will not see a diff between pcie3 and pcie4 with the exception of benchmarks.

I've used a sn750 for a couple of years all I can tell you about it is it works.

 

[CountMike]

Hi,
My motherboard says it "supports up to PCIe 3.0 x4" for its two M.2 slots.
First, I want clarification on what the "x4" means. There wasn't much info about it online. I think it had to do with # of lanes it uses. Could anyone explain that more? Do I have to match that number with the SSD, or can the SSD have a higher or lower #?
Secondly, about the PCIe 3.0 vs 4.0. I've read that it's backwards compatible, so a 4.0 will work, but at lower speed. However, how am I supposed to determine what speed any given 4.0 SSD will have when in a 3.0 slot? They don't give this info in the specs (that I could find). And all SSDs have different speeds (so it's not like there's a standard speed it'll downgrade to).
I've noticed a lot of 4.0 units have comparable prices to 3.0 ones. So, should I get a PCIe 4.0 SSD, even if I won't know how fast it'll be?
I've looked up lists for best M.2 SSDs. Almost all lists were comprised of entirely PCIe 4.0 models. One list had a good section on 3.0 models, though. These are the ones he recommended:

• ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB
• Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB
• Western Digital Black SN750 1TB

Lastly, I'd love to hear what you would recommend for me. I want 1TB or more. My target price range is around $150 Canadian or lower (so any of the 3 above work). Thanks for your help!

For first question. Yes x4 in PCIe means number of PCIe lanes but not only for M.2 slots. Lanes may come from CPU and/or from chipset and are shared by other PCIe slots, M.2 PCIe x4 is also NVME.
With and PCIe v4 x4 (nvme drive in a PCIe v3 you may expect about up to 3,500/3,300 MB/s, which is about maximum for PCIe v3 interface.
All 3 of those would do satisfactory job, I would prefer Samsung for speed or WD because of heat spreader if there's none on your MB. NVMe drives tend to get hot.