How do i know what SSD form factor will fit my computer?

[Franklin_4]

Hey guys, title kinda says it all.

my mobo is ASRock 970m Pro.

I know it will fit 2.5" FF but what about all the others? like M.2 and half slim and 1.8"...

 

[SkyNetRising]

How do i know what SSD form factor will fit my computer?

You read the specification of the motherboard on manufacturers web site.
Your motherboard does not support M.2 drives. It doesn't have M.2 socket.
http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/970M Pro3/?cat=Specifications

But it's possible to use M.2 PCIE adapter card.
https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboard-Accessory/HYPER_M2_X4_MINI_CARD/

 

[Franklin_4]

would these types of connections work? 40 pins?

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAAZ652A5451

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAAZ64H58439

How do i know what SSD form factor will fit my computer?

You read the specification of the motherboard on manufacturers web site.
Your motherboard does not support M.2 drives. It doesn't have M.2 socket.
http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/970M Pro3/?cat=Specifications

But it's possible to use M.2 PCIE adapter card.
https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboard-Accessory/HYPER_M2_X4_MINI_CARD/

 

[Franklin_4]

btw ive read the manual and i think the answer is no but id like a 2nd opinion.

EDIT: maybe the msata will work but i dont think the 40pin willl...?

 

[SkyNetRising]

Msata is for laptops. To use msata drive in a desktop, you'd need adapter card.
Those drives are of extremely small capacities. Not suitable for installing windows on them.
120GB drive is considered minimum, 240GB - recommended. There's really no point in going any smaller than that. You'd run into serious issues with available free space.

 

[Franklin_4]

Msata is for laptops. To use msata drive in a desktop, you'd need adapter card.
Those drives are of extremely small capacities. Not suitable for installing windows on them.
120GB drive is considered minimum, 240GB - recommended. There's really no point in going any smaller than that. You'd run into serious issues with available free space.

why am i reading in so many places that mSATA is the same as PCIe?

also, those were mostly for examples sake, but windows 10 only takes up 20gb and ill be pairing whatever SSD i get with a 1tb HDD for everything except the OS

 

[SkyNetRising]

also, those were mostly for examples sake, but windows 10 only takes up 20gb and ill be pairing whatever SSD i get with a 1tb HDD for everything except the OS

Windows 10 periodically receives pretty large updates like - anniversary update, creators update. More large updates are coming. On such small SSD you'll run out of space and when that happens, windows locks up and you can't boot normally anymore. And there's more - SSD really don't like, when there is no free space left. They loose performance significantly and also that causes additional SSD wear.
As I said before - 120GB is bare minimum for comfortable operation of OS drive on SSD.
It's recommended to leave 10% of an SSD unused/unpartitioned.

And why are you looking at those msata drives? They are meant for laptops. Get a regular sata drive and be done with it.

 

[USAFRet]

why am i reading in so many places that mSATA is the same as PCIe?

also, those were mostly for examples sake, but windows 10 only takes up 20gb and ill be pairing whatever SSD i get with a 1tb HDD for everything except the OS

Because those people are wrong.

And Windows 10 only takes 20GB? Not if you wish to actually use it.
240/250GB 2.5" SSD is what you're looking for.

 

[Franklin_4]

also, those were mostly for examples sake, but windows 10 only takes up 20gb and ill be pairing whatever SSD i get with a 1tb HDD for everything except the OS

Windows 10 periodically receives pretty large updates like - anniversary update, creators update. More large updates are coming. On such small SSD you'll run out of space and when that happens, windows locks up and you can't boot normally anymore. And there's more - SSD really don't like, when there is no free space left. They loose performance significantly and also that causes additional SSD wear.
As I said before - 120GB is bare minimum for comfortable operation of OS drive on SSD.
It's recommended to leave 10% of an SSD unused/unpartitioned.

And why are you looking at those msata drives? They are meant for laptops. Get a regular sata drive and be done with it.

im pressed for space on my micro-atx....i guess ill go with a 2.5" SATA III whenever i pull the trigger. for now the 1TB HDD is working fine, just laying the groundwork in terms of research by asking you hooligans 😉.

thanks for the help bud