[SOLVED] m.2 Compatibility Questions

[brandondjr0909]

Hello,
I have an MSI Z490 A Pro mobo with a SATA WD Blue Internal SSD, and was looking to buy an m.2 SSD.
The m.2 slot on my mobo is a PCI-E Gen3 x4.

I am new to using m.2 SSDs
Can I only get an m.2 SSD that is x4? Or is it compatible with x6?
What is the difference? & Any recommendations for a 500gb m.2?

Thank you!

 

[DrummerManSpike]

Refer to this thread for a more in-depth explanation.

Basically, yes it will work, as long as the physical Key formats match (most motherboards will be Key M but some are Key M+B, refer to your motherboard manual to see what it is). You will just be limited to the speed of whichever component has the lower amount of lanes, but they are backwards compatible with each other. Your mobo's M.2 slot is Gen 3 with 4 lanes of bandwith. If you get a drive that's built for Gen 4, or needs more than 4 lanes to operate at max (you mentioned looking at a drive that has 6?), you will only get the performance of a Gen 3 x4 drive on it, which would be a waste of cash unless you're looking to upgrade your motherboard sometime soon.

You should have a pretty easy time searching for drives that match that, as I believe they are still the current standard. Pcie Gen4 is still fairly new and manufacturers have only recently started making their latest models Gen4 compatible as well. The one I have is the 500GB Samsung 970 EVO NVME and it performs beautifully! However you can take a look here to compare/contrast different drives, set the filters on the left to your liking. The more expensive drives will have faster read/write speeds, as well as more durability.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Can I only get an m.2 SSD that is x4? Or is it compatible with x6?
What is the difference? & Any recommendations for a 500gb m.2?

There is no such thing as x6 M.2 drive.
You can have PCIE 3.0 x4 or PCIE 4.0 x4 drive. Both will work at 3.0 speed on this board though.

Get Samsung 970 Evo.

 

[brandondjr0909]

Thanks so much everyone. Went with a Samsung 970 Evo NVME!