[SOLVED] M.2 SSD Help?

[jsmith24]

Hi all,

If this question is in the wrong section, let me know and I'll post in the correct one. Now then -

I've been out of the upgrade game for a while - a long while - so cut an old man a little slack.

I have an MSI Z97S SLI Krait motherboard that states the M.2 slot is:

• 1x 2280 Key M(PCIe Gen2 x2/SATA)
• M.2 SATA or PCIe

I'm looking to upgrade my current 500GB Samsung EVO to a larger capacity, and I saw a Crucial P2 (CT2000P2SSD8) drive that lists the format as "3D NAND NVMe PCIe" and "This drive is compatible with desktops & laptops that accept PCIe NVMe Gen 3 drives".

Now I realize I'm not going to get NVMe speeds since my current motherboard is a standard PCIe Gen2 x2, but will this drive work? Related question: if it does work, which would be better, the Crucial M.2 or a 2.5" Samsung QVO SATA drive?

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Jack

 

[USAFRet]

An NVMe drive will "work", but be significantly slower than it would be in a newer motherboard. Slower, to the point of not being really any faster than a SATA drive.

Also, it may not be bootable on that motherboard.
The Z97 boards were released on the cusp of NVMe drives appearing. Not all of them can boot from such a drive.

My recommendation - Just add another good SATA drive, and move on. You'll likely not see any speed difference.

 

[jsmith24]

Thank you for the input! I have a Samsung 870 QVO 2.5" sitting here new in the box - I assume using it would still be faster than a mechanical drive, right?

Thanks again!

An NVMe drive will "work", but be significantly slower than it would be in a newer motherboard. Slower, to the point of not being really any faster than a SATA drive.

Also, it may not be bootable on that motherboard.
The Z97 boards were released on the cusp of NVMe drives appearing. Not all of them can boot from such a drive.

My recommendation - Just add another good SATA drive, and move on. You'll likely not see any speed difference.

 

[USAFRet]

Thank you for the input! I have a Samsung 870 QVO 2.5" sitting here new in the box - I assume using it would still be faster than a mechanical drive, right?

Thanks again!

Yes.

What is the specific EVO you have now?
Probably just leave that one as the OS drive, and add this QVO as a secondary.

 

[jsmith24]

Yes.

What is the specific EVO you have now?
Probably just leave that one as the OS drive, and add this QVO as a secondary.

My boot drive is a Samsung 860 EVO in my m.2 slot, with a mechanical drive for the bulk of my data.

 

[USAFRet]

My boot drive is a Samsung 860 EVO in my m.2 slot, with a mechanical drive for the bulk of my data.

I would leave that 860 EVO as the OS drive, and add this new one as a secondary.