M.2 Mobo Compatibilty Help

[kthomas9685]

Hello everyone. I bought a pre-built gaming PC about two years ago and have made some upgrades to it since then. I'm not incredibly computer savvy but I'm not a complete dummy either...maybe just a little, I'd appreciate some help.

The motherboard is a Gigabyte H110M-S2H-CF (This is the model number I'm seeing from the program CPU-ID/CPU-Z, though I've never been able to find the "CF" part of that model number anywhere on the internet and I have no idea what it is) So I currently have windows on my HDD and one additional SATA SSD drive with some games on it. After clogging up the PC with random crap for two years I have the most annoying microstutter in almost everything from browsing the internet to gaming, to simply moving windows around. I'd like to do a fresh install of windows to hopefully eliminate this issue. I'm having trouble figuring out if my motherboard is compatible with an M.2 drive so I can get one and start over by installing windows there. I have looked at the manual for the mobo (minus the "CF" at the end of the model number since I can't find that anywhere) and this is what I see that i believe is what I should be looking at...

Expansion Slots

1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16)
(The PCI Express x16 slot conforms to PCI Express 3.0 standard.)
2 x PCI Express x1 slots
(All of the PCI Express x1 slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)

Storage Interface
Chipset:

4 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors

I think this means I can't use an M.2 without getting a new motherboard? Since I don't see M.2 anywhere? But I'm not 100% sure. So i'd really appreciate it if someone could confirm that for me. Thanks so much.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Your assumption is correct. Your motherboard does not have an M.2 expansion slot.

-Wolf sends

 

[Wolfshadw]

P.S. The "CF" probably just means "Custom Form" for a brand-name computer.

-Wolf sends

 

[kthomas9685]

Your assumption is correct. Your motherboard does not have an M.2 expansion slot.

-Wolf sends

Thanks for the quick response. So i've got an i-7 6700 3.4 ghz, 16gb ram, a gtx1080, these specs have served me well for gaming so far, but in your opinion do you think it would be worth upgrading my mobo so I can take advantage of m.2 ssd's? Or other performance advantages even...Keep in mind I haven't even experienced windows running on a regular SSD yet so i'm sure that will be a big difference in itself. But what do you think of that motherboard along side what else I've got going on do you think I'd benefit greatly from an upgrade? In your humble opinion, if you don't mind.

 

[Wolfshadw]

IMHO, no. It's not worth the upgrade. You said you did have a SATA SSD. Just install Windows onto that. You should notice Windows booting and responding much faster than it is now. Additionally, any programs/games you have installed on the SSD should also respond much faster. Depending on the size of the SSD, I'd probably install Windows and maybe my favorite game onto the SSD. Everything else gets saved or installed onto the HDD.

-Wolf sends