M.2 SSD for a Z97 Motherboard

[Spin101]

Hey all!

I am still trying to learn about M.2 but I still somehow get confuse (mostly because I'm not sure wether or not my motherboard supports the faster M.2's).

So I currently have an Asus z97 PRO Gamer Motherboard and guide says it has an M.2 Socket 3 with M Key, type 2260/2280 (for sizes) storage devices support (both SATA & PCIE mode)*
*M.2 Socket 3 shares bandwidth with PCIEx1_1 and PCIEx1_2 (In PCIE mode) and SATA6G_4 (in SATA mode).

I searched about the Samsung 950 PRO and found out that I needed PCIE 3.0 x4 in order to take advantage of the full speed it offers but it's commonly found on X99 and Z170 motherboards. Is there anyway to know my motherboard's exact PCIE interface (most likely gen 2 but I need to know if it's x2 or x4). Thanks for the time and I hope you guys will be able to help me out.

 

[WyomingKnott]

Hmm. I'm not sure. I read the spec page and it's obvious that you did too, since you are quoting from it. But it's not fully clear.

Let's focus on "M.2 Socket 3 shares bandwidth with PCIEx1_1 and PCIEx1_2 (In PCIE mode)." If it's sharing with two x1 PCIe slots, it's likely only x2, not x4. According to the manual, these are PCIe 2.0. So you are down by a factor of 4. It will still be amazing fast, though.

Yeah - from the manual "2 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots (share bandwidth with M.2 Socket 3)*."

 

[Spin101]

Hmm. I'm not sure. I read the spec page and it's obvious that you did too, since you are quoting from it. But it's not fully clear.

Let's focus on "M.2 Socket 3 shares bandwidth with PCIEx1_1 and PCIEx1_2 (In PCIE mode)." If it's sharing with two x1 PCIe slots, it's likely only x2, not x4. According to the manual, these are PCIe 2.0. So you are down by a factor of 4. It will still be amazing fast, though.

Yeah - from the manual "2 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots (share bandwidth with M.2 Socket 3)*."

Hi WyomingKnott! Thank you for the reply. I found out by thoroughly searching the asus website that my M.2 PCIe is indeed version 2.0 and only X2 which is a bit disappointing 🙁.

So my only solution right now is to get an adapter for an M.2 but that would sacrife SLI/Crossfire correct?. I wasn't able to find an M.2 that supports Pcie 2.0 x2 that is in stock at newegg right now but looking at the speeds for Plextor (http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820249046) it isn't far off from the SATA 3 SSD speeds anyways.

Thanks a lot!

 

[WyomingKnott]

"I wasn't able to find an M.2 that supports Pcie 2.0 x2 that is in stock at newegg right now..." An m.2 that supports x4 3.0 will work in x2 2.0, just not to its top speed. Then , when you get an x4 3.0 board, you will be able to use it fully.

Keep in mind that the nvmE protocol is better than the AHCI protocol for SSDs.

 

[Spin101]

"I wasn't able to find an M.2 that supports Pcie 2.0 x2 that is in stock at newegg right now..." An m.2 that supports x4 3.0 will work in x2 2.0, just not to its top speed. Then , when you get an x4 3.0 board, you will be able to use it fully.

Keep in mind that the nvmE protocol is better than the AHCI protocol for SSDs.

Ah yes I'm aware of that. It's because the 3.0 X4 does not have that much speed on a 2.0 X2 motherboard compared to a SATA M.2 for example and of course Gb/dollar is a lot more expensive for the 3.0 X4 ones. I think it'll take a while for me to upgrade to a new system anyways so I'll settle for a SATA M.2 for now especially because my 2.5 SSD is dying. Thanks a lot for the tips though! 😀