Question Im new to M.2 ssd's and im just wondering if it will bottleneck anything?

[stewuie]

So it says here
"*When a device in SATA mode is installed on the M.2 socket, SATA6G_2 port cannot be used*
But if i put a Samsung 970 Evo Plus which is (PCIe) on my Prime H410M-E motherboard can it cause any issues, bottlenecks, pci-e bottlenecks etc?

The specs for my Samsung 970 Evo Plus are:
PCI-e Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3

I apologize in advance for my stupidity.

 

[Lutfij]

PRIME H410M-E - Tech Specs｜Motherboards｜ASUS Global

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That slot will operate at PCIe 3.0 x2 speeds, so your NVMe drive will be limited in bandwidth. If you drop in SATA driven M.2 SSD into the M.2 slot, SATA port 6G_2 will be disabled.

 

[USAFRet]

That statement means that the noted SATA ports are disabled.
The drive, however, will run significantly slower than it could

PCIe 3.0 x 2, vs a new motherboard with PCIe 3.0 x4.

Do you currently use a SATA III SSD?
If so, leave it, and don't bother with a 870 EVO.

 

[stewuie]

That statement means that the noted SATA ports are disabled.
The drive, however, will run significantly slower than it could

PCIe 3.0 x 2, vs a new motherboard with PCIe 3.0 x4.

Do you currently use a SATA III SSD?
If so, leave it, and don't bother with a 870 EVO.

Thanks for the neat information! I've been boggling off and confused about "SATA & PCI-e M.2s" for awhile now

 

[stewuie]

PRIME H410M-E - Tech Specs｜Motherboards｜ASUS Global

Unleash full potential with PRIME H410M-E, the pinnacle of tech upgrades. Experience superior performance, superior cooling, and unmatched user control.

www.asus.com

That slot will operate at PCIe 3.0 x2 speeds, so your NVMe drive will be limited in bandwidth. If you drop in SATA driven M.2 SSD into the M.2 slot, SATA port 6G_2 will be disabled.

Thank you i appreciate your explaination!! But generally if i just play games on my limited bandwith ssd at PCIe 3.0 x2 speeds. It wont produce somesort of microstutter and it will just be as fast as sata ssds correct?

 

[USAFRet]

It wont produce somesort of microstutter and it will just be as fast as sata ssds correct?

In the gaming world, you'll see almost NO difference between any flavor of SSD.
Especially on that motherboard.

 

[stewuie]

In the gaming world, you'll see almost NO difference between any flavor of SSD.
Especially on that motherboard.

Thanks for reassuring.

 

[stewuie]

In the gaming world, you'll see almost NO difference between any flavor of SSD.
Especially on that motherboard.

Wait i have a question
If i slot in the M.2 drive i wont have to do any configs, settings just Plug in Play?

 

[USAFRet]

Wait i have a question
If i slot in the M.2 drive i wont have to do any configs, settings just Plug in Play?

As said, it will disable the noted SATA ports.
And it will run significantly slower than it could, on a more modern board.

Are you planning to run the OS from this drive?

 

[stewuie]

As said, it will disable the noted SATA ports.
And it will run significantly slower than it could, on a more modern board.

Are you planning to run the OS from this drive?

Yes, And i only plan to run M.2 NVMe PCIe drives though but not SATA so it theoritically it wont disable the noted SATA ports? because im using PCIe not SATA mode?

There's only one m.2 slot

I dont really get this statement
*When a device in SATA mode is installed on the M.2 socket, SATA6G_2 port cannot be used*

Does it mean when im currently using a SATA III SSD as my current os drive and i slot in the m.2 drive it will disable the "SATA6G_2 port?*

Or does it mean when im slotting in a SATA M.2 SSD it will disable the "SATA6G_2 port?*

 

[USAFRet]

Yes, And i only plan to run M.2 NVMe PCIe drives though but not SATA so it theoritically it wont disable the noted SATA ports? because im using PCIe not SATA mode?

There's only one m.2 slot

Whether you use the SATA ports or not, they will be disabled.

On that motherboard, a drive in the M.2 port may not be able to be used as the boot drive.
Probably yes, but that is old enough to be 'maybe no'.


And again, you'd see ZERO difference vs using a SATA III SSD, which WILL work 100%.

 

[Pimpom]

My 2 cents for further clarification:
The Samsung 970 EVO is specced at 3500 MB/s read speed (although it will not continuously operate at that speed) on a PCIe 3.0x4 port which can handle up to 4000 MB/s. But your motherboard's M.2 slot uses the older PCIe 3.0x2 standard which is limited to 2000 MB/s. IOW your motherboard will bottleneck the SSD.

A SATA SSD can do 500-ish MB/s. Sounds like a huge difference between that and 2000 MB/s. But there are system overheads in actual operation and, as USAFRet said, you will hardly notice any difference in gaming. On the other hand, if you're not already using a SATA SSD, then by all means go for the NVMe model.

 

[USAFRet]

That "3500 vs 500" is only for large block of sequential data.
Mainly for marketing purposes.

Watch here for real world differences.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YoRKQy-UO4

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DKLA7w9eeA

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ9LyNXpsOo

 

[stewuie]

Whether you use the SATA ports or not, they will be disabled.

On that motherboard, a drive in the M.2 port may not be able to be used as the boot drive.
Probably yes, but that is old enough to be 'maybe no'.


And again, you'd see ZERO difference vs using a SATA III SSD, which WILL work 100%.

How so will it not work as a boot drive?

Can you kindly simplify and re-explain it's abit too much to take in the information. 😅

Im gonna summarize what info i took from you guys.
So for example, i slotted in a M.2 PCI-e NVMe to the M.2 not a SATA M.2. but when i slot a SATA M.2 onto the motherboard. It will in doing so disable the SATA6G_2 port and only the SATA6G_2 port. So if i slot in a M.2 PCI-e NVMe to the M.2 slot. It wont disable all the SATA ports including the SATA6G_2 port. But due to the Samsung 970 Evo Plus's "PCIe 3.0 x4" and my motherboard is Prime H410M-E and its only limited to "PCIe 3.0 x2" it would get limited bandwidth and only that. Considering i have my SATA ports used with a HDD & KINGSTON SATA 3 SSD. And i wanna use them all 3 both alongside my Samsung 970 Evo Plus NVMe which contains my OS, Kingston A400 SATA 3, SEAGATE HDD.

And these two drives occupy SATA6G_3 & SATA6G_1.

I again apologize for any confusion for both parties.

 

[Lafong]

How so will it not work as a boot drive?

Can you kindly simplify and re-explain it's abit too much to take in the information. 😅

As I recall, some older motherboards with M.2 ports simply were not able to boot from a drive attached to the M.2 port. The drive would work fine for storage, but not as a boot device.

By design. Not a defect. Not related to the specific drive used. Related to the port itself.

Your motherboard manual may or may not elaborate on this possible issue.

 

[USAFRet]

How so will it not work as a boot drive?

Can you kindly simplify and re-explain it's abit too much to take in the information. 😅

Im gonna summarize what info i took from you guys.
So for example, i slotted in a M.2 PCI-e NVMe to the M.2 not a SATA M.2. but when i slot a SATA M.2 onto the motherboard. It will in doing so disable the SATA6G_2 port and only the SATA6G_2 port. So if i slot in a M.2 PCI-e NVMe to the M.2 slot. It wont disable all the SATA ports including the SATA6G_2 port. But due to the Samsung 970 Evo Plus's "PCIe 3.0 x4" and my motherboard is Prime H410M-E and its only limited to "PCIe 3.0 x2" it would get limited bandwidth and only that. Considering i have my SATA ports used with a HDD & KINGSTON SATA 3 SSD. And i wanna use them all 3 both alongside my Samsung 970 Evo Plus, Kingston A400 SATA 3, SEAGATE HDD.

I again apologize for any confusion for both parties.

During the introduction phase of NVMe drives, support was spotty.
In the early days, having an M.2 port did not necessarily mean bootability from that port.

Yours probably will, but I've not delved into the specifics enough to say 100% Yes.

For the SATA ports, use of that 970 WILL disable the noted port....SATA #2. No way around that.
Any of the others will run no problem.

 

[stewuie]

During the introduction phase of NVMe drives, support was spotty.
In the early days, having an M.2 port did not necessarily mean bootability from that port.

Yours probably will, but I've not delved into the specifics enough to say 100% Yes.

For the SATA ports, use of that 970 WILL disable the noted port....SATA #2. No way around that.
Any of the others will run no problem.

What i needed to hear thank you. and also i wont even bother to us ethe SATA6G_2 Port cause my drives are operating on SATA6G_3 and SATA6G_1 Ports.

So in theory, if i add in the said Samsung 970 Evo Plus M.2 NVMe it will all work just fine because im not using the accursed "SATA6G_2" slot and all should work fine and im just gonna workaround with the limited bandwith it wont bug me that much.

 

[stewuie]

As I recall, some older motherboards with M.2 ports simply were not able to boot from a drive attached to the M.2 port. The drive would work fine for storage, but not as a boot device.

By design. Not a defect. Not related to the specific drive used. Related to the port itself.

Your motherboard manual may or may not elaborate on this possible issue.

Im gonna research further into this but yeah. This has been a heck of a ride but why wont they just get rid of the this will disable that , this it can drive a user crazy lol.

 

[stewuie]

Im gonna research further into this but yeah. This has been a heck of a ride but why wont they just get rid of the this will disable that , this it can drive a user crazy lol.

What i needed to hear thank you. and also i wont even bother to us ethe SATA6G_2 Port cause my drives are operating on SATA6G_3 and SATA6G_1 Ports.

So in theory, if i add in the said Samsung 970 Evo Plus M.2 NVMe it will all work just fine because im not using the accursed "SATA6G_2" slot and all should work fine and im just gonna workaround with the limited bandwith it wont bug me that much.

Yeah im selling my Samsung 970 Evo Plus M.2 NVMe im not going through this hassle again and im just gonna buy 870 Evo Plus SATA 3 SSDS LOL AFTER SEEING THE 1 SECOND DIFFERENCE.