M2 vs Sata SSD

[geekfatheroly]

I am thinking of upgrading my system. Motherboard and new Intel I7 9700 processor. The new motherboard includes 2 M2 slots. I see similar questions asked but maybe not the answer I seek.

1: M2 or Sata SSD is faster boot up for operating system (Windows 10)

2: Is it advisable to even run 2 M2's on said motherboard? Any drawbacks?

3: Will Windows have any issue finding the M2 to install ?

Currently my system uses the Sata 250gb SSD and it is up and running within 8-10 seconds. So running a sata is perfectly fine however I start thinking why am I wasting the 2 slots provided on the motherboard?

Thanks for any help.

 

[2sidedpolygon]

Firstly, m.2 is a form factor, and some still use the SATA interface. To get the faster speeds that people tend to associate with m.2, you'll need to make sure it uses NVMe. And yes, you can run two m.2 SSDs without any drawbacks.

 

[atomicWAR]

Firstly, m.2 is a form factor, and some still use the SATA interface. To get the faster speeds that people tend to associate with m.2, you'll need to make sure it uses NVMe. And yes, you can run two m.2 SSDs without any drawbacks.

Yes and no...Yes you get faster speeds with NVMe drivers and Yes you can run two...but their very much can and likely will be draw backs on a 370/390Z (or lesser boards). Some motherboards drop the M.2 ports to half speed when two are installed, others disable SATA ports or PCIe slots (with or without multiple M.2 SSDs)...So yes their are draw backs. So I ask the OP what motherboard to you plan to buy. Then we can figure out exactly what those draw backs may be or if you need to go with another motherboard.

 

[geekfatheroly]

https://www.amazon.com/Prime-Z390-Motherboard-LGA1151-Gigabit/dp/B07HCY7K9L/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1547358183&sr=8-1&keywords=ASUS+Prime+Z390-A+Motherboard+LGA1151+%28Intel+8th+and+9th+Gen%29+ATX+DDR4+DP+HDMI+M.2+USB+3.1+Gen2+Gigabit+LAN

would be the motherboard I was considering.

 

[2sidedpolygon]

Firstly, m.2 is a form factor, and some still use the SATA interface. To get the faster speeds that people tend to associate with m.2, you'll need to make sure it uses NVMe. And yes, you can run two m.2 SSDs without any drawbacks.

Yes and no...Yes you get faster speeds with NVMe drivers and Yes you can run two...but their very much can and likely will be draw backs on a 370/390Z (or lesser boards). Some motherboards drop the M.2 ports to half speed when two are installed, others disable SATA ports or PCIe slots (with or without multiple M.2 SSDs)...So yes their are draw backs. So I ask the OP what motherboard to you plan to buy. Then we can figure out exactly what those draw backs may be or if you need to go with another motherboard.

Maybe on some very cheap boards there's a drawback to using two m.2s, but this thread seems to disagree with that. As for disabling PCIe slots, no x16 slots (i.e. the ones used by your GPU) will be disabled as those are controlled by your CPU, though any controlled by your chipset will be affected.

 

[geekfatheroly]

Well my initial thoughts on a light upgrade were in vain. As stated in my CPU thread. The biggest performance gain would be to just drop in the I7-8700k and a new supporting motherboard. However at that price may as well wait until I do a full upgrade. Thanks for the info

 

[atomicWAR]

Firstly, m.2 is a form factor, and some still use the SATA interface. To get the faster speeds that people tend to associate with m.2, you'll need to make sure it uses NVMe. And yes, you can run two m.2 SSDs without any drawbacks.

Yes and no...Yes you get faster speeds with NVMe drivers and Yes you can run two...but their very much can and likely will be draw backs on a 370/390Z (or lesser boards). Some motherboards drop the M.2 ports to half speed when two are installed, others disable SATA ports or PCIe slots (with or without multiple M.2 SSDs)...So yes their are draw backs. So I ask the OP what motherboard to you plan to buy. Then we can figure out exactly what those draw backs may be or if you need to go with another motherboard.

Maybe on some very cheap boards there's a drawback to using two m.2s, but this thread seems to disagree with that. As for disabling PCIe slots, no x16 slots (i.e. the ones used by your GPU) will be disabled as those are controlled by your CPU, though any controlled by your chipset will be affected.

There is literally nothing in that thread supporting your assertion. It talks about what that user wanted in his set up. What I am talking about is different. You could replace *drawbacks* with *compromises to be made* from my previous post but the issues I pointed out are very very common on entry level to the mid range 370/390Z boards and yes you are correct you go cheap and things get worse. You go high end Z370/390 with a PLX chip and many of the issues evaporate. Not to say there is not value to be had in the mid range. Lets take the OPs board choice board the Prime Z390-A as an example.

If the OP wants to use the M.2 slot 2 there are zero losses of other features but if he populates M.2 Slot 1 then he loses the SATA_2 full bandwidth (actually both the SATA and M.2 would lose bandwidth because they share..granted both would need to be in use at once). Now If he should try to install an M.2 card via adapter (very common for cooling reasons) in PCIe slot 3 then the OP loses SATA_5 and SATA_6 full bandwidth due to sharing again. Now this board is upper mid range. So the drawbacks are not to horrid. Lesser boards would have disabled the SATA ports all together (note I am not certain that isn't the case here I am only going by Asus's own wording). Now if the OP doesn't have much need for SATA devices (HDD, SSD, Optical drives, etc)/doesn't mind his drives not running at full speed, then yeah fill her up with M.2 drives but if they have need of a large number of SATA devices and/or has other PCIe needs all of a sudden the OP is hit with a multitude of issues. This has long been the debate of all these "feature rich" Z370/390 boards. Many reviewers feel like the manufacturers are claiming more features then they can actually deliver (ie at the same time). Basically it biols down to lack of PCIe lanes. However in the end it is a question of the OPs use needs. Anyways I hope this helps linked below is the spec sheet for his mobo..

https://www.asus.com/sg/Motherboards/PRIME-Z390-A/specifications/

 

[karenjoly]

Yikes,

You should read the text a little better. You say

"If the OP wants to use the M.2 slot 2 there are zero losses of other features but if he populates M.2 Slot 1 then he loses the SATA_2 full bandwidth " . Well no ,

The manual clearly says

The M.2_1 socket shares bandwidth with SATA_2 port when using M.2 SATA devices


There is no loss in performance if two NVMe drives are used.

 

[geekfatheroly]

So excuse my confusion. So if I did decide to go with the motherboard there would or would not be a loss in performance? And if I installed a regular sata hard drive also then it will degrade performance?

 

[karenjoly]

2sidedpolygon above is correct. See his/her/it's ? first post.

Confusion perhaps is reflected in your original question, where you say:

" M2 or Sata SSD is faster boot up for operating system (Windows 10) ?"

Thing to appreciate is that an M.2 device may run on SATA or PCIe connections because the port itself may support either or both connections using the M.2 format/port. The support provided by an M.2 port depends on the mainboard.

Your board has two M.2 ports, one of which provides support as follows

1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M key, type 2242/2260/2280 storage devices support (SATA & PCIE 3.0 x 4 mode)*5

The manual points out , as I did above, that if a SATA M.2 drive is used in M.2_1, a SATA port is shared.

The average AHCI SATA drive will perform similarily to an average M.2 SATA drive though I think the M.2 SATA are less available for sale so most M.2 sold now are PCIe. The average PCIe M.2 drive will be significantly faster than any SATA drive.

Buy the board and enjoy life to the fullest.

 

[atomicWAR]

Yikes,

You should read the text a little better. You say

"If the OP wants to use the M.2 slot 2 there are zero losses of other features but if he populates M.2 Slot 1 then he loses the SATA_2 full bandwidth " . Well no ,

The manual clearly says

The M.2_1 socket shares bandwidth with SATA_2 port when using M.2 SATA devices


There is no loss in performance if two NVMe drives are used.

You splitting hairs here. Sharing bandwidth, is losing bandwidth...it's just different terminology to describe the same thing. Now admittingly he would need to be transferring data to/from both drives at the same time but that IS still a down side. He won't get full speed when this happens. That IS a loss in performance no matter how you slice it. Some folks will do exactly that. I know I would on my rig. And that is just on his motherboard...on lesser quality Z or even worse H series boards things get disabled all together.
Let me be clear I am not saying don't buy the board. I am saying know what you are buying and make sure it suits your needs.

 

[geekfatheroly]

So if I do use the M2 in one of the slots as my boot drive etc. What would I , above-average computer user who games and uses spreadsheets, experience with another SSD attached with a cable and my third conventional data hard drive in terms of speed delays etc?