Question Need help finding the best value SSD for my computer that's compatible with my motherboard

[ah_09]

Hey guys, I wanted to upgrade my existing 1tb hard drive to an SSD (500gb to 1tb preferably), but I wasn't sure which one is the best that would be fully compatible with my motherboard/setup.

Here is my current PC specs:
Intel i5 7500
ASUS H110M-E/M.2 microATX motherboard
ASUS STRIX GTX 960 4gb
Kingston ValueRAM 16gb DDR4
Thermaltake 550w power supply
1TB 7200rpm hdd

Any suggestions on which SSD I should get? Another question I had was how would I make it so I can boot up Windows 10 from the SSD and not the HDD? Would I have to purchase Win10 a second time? Thank you!

 

[ah_09]

^^My budget is about $100 CAD

 

[USAFRet]

Link to your specific motherboard will help immensely.

 

[USAFRet]

Another question I had was how would I make it so I can boot up Windows 10 from the SSD and not the HDD? Would I have to purchase Win10 a second time? Thank you!

No, you don't have to purchase Windows again.

Specific procedure once we get the right drive and motherboard identified.

 

[ah_09]

Link to your specific motherboard will help immensely.

I have no idea which exact one it is (I honestly thought what I wrote was the specific one) where would I be able to find that out?

 

[USAFRet]

I have no idea which exact one it is (I honestly thought what I wrote was the specific one) where would I be able to find that out?

"ASUS H110M-E" leads to generic Asus.
Not that specific board.


Please confirm that this user manual is for your specific motherboard, "H110M-E"...

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1151/H110M-E/E11077_H110M-E_UM_WEB.pdf?model=h110me

 

[Lafong]

I think that board is about 7 years old; budget level, with a single M.2 slot.

6th generation.

Guessing it would support most any SATA M.2 2280, but I can't quite confirm that.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

https://dev-asgard.asus.com/motherboards-components/motherboards/prime/h110m-e-m-2/techspec/

 

[Lafong]

https://mans.io/temp/d1WjbHDaFqDzNvox0qdIDnYApywboYZx5LA1NpCb/mans.io-HPnC9oZt.pdf

May be the manual?

"M.2 socket 3....with M key....support both PCIE and SATA mode"..........when SATA mode M.2 device is installed, the M.2 socket shares bandwidth with the SATA6G_1 port."

 

[ah_09]

https://dev-asgard.asus.com/motherboards-components/motherboards/prime/h110m-e-m-2/techspec/

This is the right one, thank you

 

[BFG-9000]

While a PCIe/NVMe would offer better performance, it's just easier to clone an existing disk system to SATA whether M.2 or 2.5" formfactor. And 2.5" is usually cheaper with less need for cooling.

If OP doesn't actually need more space, then the best use for their current disk is as an occasionally updated bootable backup clone of the system in case something happens to the SSD install (viruses, etc), and converting from SATA to NVMe complicates that use.

OP seems interested in value so perusing Canadian Amazon nets this 1TB Patriot P210 for CDN$53 (heck, the 2TB model nearly squeaks under the $100 limit). Performance seems great for the price too, only being slightly outperformed by SSDs that are ~$70 there like the Crucial MX500 or Sandisk SSD Plus.

 

[USAFRet]

I agree with the above... a 2.5" SATA III SSD would be the easiest by far.
Especially given that we do not know the specs of the M.2 port.
PCIe 3.0 or 2.0, x4 or x2....