msata questions for mini itx

[jamesellis]

The asus maximus vi impact (mini itx) comes with a msata port thing, not to sure what they call it, but does anyone know if the msata ssd would fit in a bitfenix prodigy. i know it sounds like a stupid question, but the website doesn't make it clear which way the ssd port it facing... so sorry for the stupid question but any ideas, and also, would it be fasters the your conventional ssd running on a 6gb/s port?

 

[jamesellis]

and does anyone know if this would fit? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-Technology-CT480M500SSD4-PK01-M500-Internal/dp/B00HBKM6UO/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1400791142&sr=8-6&keywords=Crucial+M500+M.2

 

[Rammy]

Quick answer - don't bother, use conventional SATA, it's no slower, and you should comfortably be able to have enough SATA ports available. If the Maximus Impact's 4 SATA ports is a limitation, consider that the Asus Z87I-Deluxe has 6, and is fairly similar in specs but lacks the sound card and a few other fancy features.

Long answer -
There are 3 different mini SSD form factors, mini PCIe, mSATA and M.2. The first two are often interchangeable, as they use the same interface, but you can't take this totally for granted. The AsRock Z87E-ITX offers an interchangeable slot, but the Asus does not.
The Maximus Impact has two slots on a daughterboard (this link, scroll to "mPCIe Combo II
with 802.11ac/Bluetooth 4.0") one is for mini PCIe and is pre-occupied by the Wifi/Bluetooth, and the M.2 slot is free.
You are right that the orientation isn't clear, but given that one end will sit flush with the I/O backplate, it's a pretty safe assumption that it points into the case, with it sitting parallel to your graphics card. The one you linked should fit, but unless you are desperate to use that motherboard and save SATA ports, I wouldn't bother.

 

[sora]

I'm pretty sure it should fit.

 

[jamesellis]

Quick answer - don't bother, use conventional SATA, it's no slower, and you should comfortably be able to have enough SATA ports available. If the Maximus Impact's 4 SATA ports is a limitation, consider that the Asus Z87I-Deluxe has 6, and is fairly similar in specs but lacks the sound card and a few other fancy features.

Long answer -
There are 3 different mini SSD form factors, mini PCIe, mSATA and M.2. The first two are often interchangeable, as they use the same interface, but you can't take this totally for granted. The AsRock Z87E-ITX offers an interchangeable slot, but the Asus does not.
The Maximus Impact has two slots on a daughterboard (this link, scroll to "mPCIe Combo II
with 802.11ac/Bluetooth 4.0") one is for mini PCIe and is pre-occupied by the Wifi/Bluetooth, and the M.2 slot is free.
You are right that the orientation isn't clear, but given that one end will sit flush with the I/O backplate, it's a pretty safe assumption that it points into the case, with it sitting parallel to your graphics card. The one you linked should fit, but unless you are desperate to use that motherboard and save SATA ports, I wouldn't bother.

Thanks! I'm just exploring my options, because I'm going to build a computer near end of year when the broad well processors and nvidia 800 series come out. but just out of curiosity, would this m.2 ssd fit with the gtx 770 installed, because i have look at some pictures, and telling by the size of the m.2 ssd it looks like it will go slightly over the edge of the mpcie combo 2, and the pcie slot looks quite close, so I'm wondering if the gpu would get in the way of it?