[SOLVED] M.2 SSD question

[Lespaul678]

I have a Maximus Hero IX Mobo and want to get an M.2 nvme ssd. I was thinking about this one? I noticed that on my Mobo there are two spots for m.2 drives. Are they similar to Pcie lanes like with video cards and you want to make sure to install it in the correct one for the best speeds (like putting your video card in a pcie x16 lane instead of an 8x), or are they both one and the same?

Secondly, this is very important. I do NOT want to reformat my pc ( the M.2 drive I will, I understand that) but I do NOT want to reinstall everything on my pc. (I'm replacing this with my OS drive) I would like to do a literal "copy and paste" of everything on my current OS drive and paste it to the new M.2 drive after I get it installed and formatted. Is there a program that can help me do that?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M key, type 2242/2260/2280 storage devices support (SATA & PCIE 3.0 x 4 mode)*2
1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices support (PCIE 3.0 x 4 mode)*3

*2 When the M.2_1 Socket 3 is operating in SATA mode, SATA port 1 will be disabled.
*3 When the M.2_2 Socket 3 is operating in PCIEX4 mode, SATA port 5. 6 will be disabled.

 

[Lespaul678]

1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M key, type 2242/2260/2280 storage devices support (SATA & PCIE 3.0 x 4 mode)*2
1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices support (PCIE 3.0 x 4 mode)*3

*2 When the M.2_1 Socket 3 is operating in SATA mode, SATA port 1 will be disabled.
*3 When the M.2_2 Socket 3 is operating in PCIEX4 mode, SATA port 5. 6 will be disabled.

Umm, thank you for the quick reply. I'm not super knowledgable about all this. I'm not sure which one to use? The second one seems faster? I'm sorry, I'm techy, but not that much.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Both support PCIE 3.0x4 ,I would use M.2_1

 

[USAFRet]

Secondly, this is very important. I do NOT want to reformat my pc ( the M.2 drive I will, I understand that) but I do NOT want to reinstall everything on my pc. (I'm replacing this with my OS drive) I would like to do a literal "copy and paste" of everything on my current OS drive and paste it to the new M.2 drive after I get it installed and formatted. Is there a program that can help me do that?

Any help is appreciated.

What drive is your OS on now?
What OS is this?
How much space is consumed on that drive?
What will be the size of the new SSD?

Going from a SATA drive to an NVMe can be problematic.


It's a bit more involved than "copy/paste" but it can be done.

 

[Lespaul678]

What drive is your OS on now?
What OS is this?
How much space is consumed on that drive?
What will be the size of the new SSD?

Going from a SATA drive to an NVMe can be problematic.


It's a bit more involved than "copy/paste" but it can be done.

I have a 500 gb samsung evo ssd currently and using windows 10, so the new drive should have plenty of space to fit the old drive. Theres only about 400gb of stuff total. I was reading and was told that Macrium Reflect would be good for cloning my drive on to the new one. I want to transfer my (now c: drive, os drive/games) to the new M.2 and just pick up where I left off without having to reinstall windows 10 and everything else. I avoid doing that like the plague.

 

[USAFRet]

Your currect drive is a 500GB EVO, and the new drive is...?

 

[USAFRet]

OK, you're looking at a 1TB 970 EVO?
No problem.

For this, I'd recommend the Samsung Data Migration tool instead of Macrium.

 

[Lespaul678]

1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M key, type 2242/2260/2280 storage devices support (SATA & PCIE 3.0 x 4 mode)*2
1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices support (PCIE 3.0 x 4 mode)*3

*2 When the M.2_1 Socket 3 is operating in SATA mode, SATA port 1 will be disabled.
*3 When the M.2_2 Socket 3 is operating in PCIEX4 mode, SATA port 5. 6 will be disabled.

What do the numbers mean? "242/2260/2280" etc.. Also, I don't see any clear markings on my motherboard differentiating between the two slots. I don't know which slot is which. Also, isn't one of these ports going to be bottlenecked by it being SATA? Wouldn't it be better to use the "PCIEX4" slot one for the M.2 drive for faster transfer rates?

I'm just trying to understand, please excuse my ignorance. Thank you for the help guys, I appreciate it.

 

[popatim]

Those numbers are the drive's size. Mainly length. 42mm, 60, 80...

See your motherboard manual to identify which M2 slot is which.
https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/ROG-MAXIMUS-IX-HERO/HelpDesk_Manual/

Slot m2_1 works with either Sata or Pcie x4 based drives.
If you insert a Sata based M2 drive, the Sata port 1 (in with the other sata ports) gets disabled.
Iinstalling a Pcie drive has no effect on other motherboard components.

If you install a pcie x4 drive into M2_2 then sata ports 5 & 6 gets disabled. (M2_2 does not support a Sata based M2 drive)

Yes, M2 drives can be either PCIE based or Sata based, so care must be taken when ordering to match the drive type to what the motherboard can work with.