M.2 VS Simple SSD

[Vlad_14]

So for my next build I've decided to go with the new generation of storage for gaming etc , and leave the hdd only for photos / videos and other small apps . I selected the ones from Crucial , the MX300 ones , as they are cheaper than Samsung's , and even though a little slower , they will be way more than enough for me . But I've also noticed that theyre M.2 ones have the same price as the simple ssds (at least for the 525 version of both) . So my question is : which one should I buy ? Is m.2 faster ? Is it in any way better ? Should I leave the single m.2 slot that my mobo has for ones that I will find in the future , which will be faster ? My case supports 2 ssds , and i can add more (but i have to take a fan out , the case is the phanteks p400s) and my mobo supports only 1 m.2 ssd and has 6 sata 3 ports .

 

[mcconkeymike]

There are currently 2 different types of M.2 SSDs. First type is a SATA M.2 which is basically the same speeds as a traditional SSD. Then there are PCIe M.2 SSDs and they can get crazy fast up to about 3000MBps with something like the Samsung 950 PRO. I personally run a PCIe SSD in my laptop (Intel 600p) and a PCIe SSD in my desktop (Kingston Predator) and I can tell a speed difference between them and a standard SSD. If you want to get a PCIe SSD, there are also 2 kinds of them, PCIe 2.0 x2 and PCIe 3.0 x4, to get the super fast speeds you'll need the PCIe 3.0 x4 slot on your board with the appropriate M.2 drive. If you only have a PCIe 2.0 x2 you'll only get about 800MBps read speed.

 

[ko888]

There is no performance difference between the M.2 SATA version and the conventional SATA version.

The M.2 SATA version has a SATA controller on the M.2 card itself. The conventional SATA version uses the SATA controller that is on the motherboard's chipset.

The only M.2 SSDs that have much better performance are the M.2 NVMe PCIe versions.

 

[coozie7]

What motherboard do you have?
The 'older' motherboards like Z97 usually only handle M2 PCI-E 2.0x2 while the newer Z170 'boards often natively support PCI-E 3.0x4 along with the fast NVMe protocol.

 

[Vlad_14]

Thanks for your answers . So , I will stick with a convential SSD , and leave that m.2 port free . Now , seeing which M.2 really have improvements , I see why they are so expensive - definetely out of my budget for the next years . I don't know if my mobo will even support one that fast , the mobo that ill buy is the ASROCK Z170 Gaming k4 Fatal1ty

 

[ko888]

ASRock does have a list of M.2 SSDs that they have tested on that motherboard (i.e. it does have PCIe 3.0 x4 lanes to its M.2 slot):

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Fatal1ty%20Z170%20Gaming%20K4/?cat=Storage

 

[Vlad_14]

Oh ok , so they support fast M.2 SSDS. Good to know , but I will maybe buy something like that in the future , not in the present , as i dont really need that fast ssds . Ill see where the future takes me . Still , good to know that it supports them