M.2 PCIE SSD compatibility with my motherboard

[Will Davitt]

Hey guys.

I am looking into getting solid state storage as a boot drive for my older computer as I currently am just using a normal HDD. I have looked at basic SSD options such as the samsung evos via SATA but then when reading further into my motherboard I noticed it mentioned M.2 (I assumed that M.2 would not be supported at all). I am confused as to what exactly this motherboard is compatible with because it mentions PCIE x2 and most M.2s mention x4. If modern M.2 SSDs are an option for me I think I would prefer to go with that but any advice is great!

The motherboard I have is: MSI Z97 GAMING 3 Motherboard.

I am looking for a storage solution that will last me a while and I can use in my next PC build while being as fast as possible within reason. If you could help me understand what storage solutions are available to me that would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[kerberos_20]

as long your bios is up to date it can run any nvme m.2 ssd
gen2 x2 will limit transfer to 1000GBps (~800MBps is to be expected)

 

[Will Davitt]

as long your bios is up to date it can run any nvme m.2 ssd
gen2 x2 will limit transfer to 1000GBps (~800MBps is to be expected)

In which case, does it make sense for me to go for the M.2 despite being limited on speed because in my next build I will be able to use this same M.2 but at the faster speeds?

 

[USAFRet]

as long your bios is up to date it can run any nvme m.2 ssd
gen2 x2 will limit transfer to 1000GBps (~800MBps is to be expected)

In which case, does it make sense for me to go for the M.2 despite being limited on speed because in my next build I will be able to use this same M.2 but at the faster speeds?

No, it doesn't really make sense.
You're paying a hefty price premium per GB, and getting only marginally better performance over a regular SATA III SSD.
And, prices are dropping all the time. By the time you're ready for your next system, NVMe prices will be lower than they are today.