What is M.2

[Zebedi1]

I have been hearing about this M.2 SSD. Could someone please explain actually what it is. How it connects to PC and why you would buy it.

Thanks a lot

 

[NextGear]

It's a torn down version of a SDD (save space, fitment, & money). Just think small + storage + hard drive. You will see more and more of these with slim laptops, cell phones, tablets, etc

 

[Rogue Leader]

M.2 is just a socket type. It allows for very small SSDs vs the normal 2.5 inch SSD.

M.2 can however support 2 protocols. SATA which is the same as the normal 2.5 inch SSD, and PCIe. PCIe is faster and some computers have PCIe 2.0 x2 or x4 M.2 slots which will run the drive faster than SATA. But the real advantage is computers that have a PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slot that supports NVMe. That is a super fast protocol that offers some of the fastest drives you can buy right now.

 

[Cole_9]

M.2 is basically just a form of solid-state drive that is compatible with both Sat is basically just a form of solid-state drive that is compatible with both sata a and the much faster NVMe protocols. The main advantage is that it is slimmer and is compatible with both protocols. The speed of it however it really depends on what protocol you use and what version of it. To put it in short, it's basically just a much more versatile solid-state drive.

 

[mbarnes86]

Hi

You should note you require Windows 8 or latter as the device drivers for M2 are not included in Win 7 or earlier
Some device drivers can be added to Win 7 but it is a lot of hard work

regards
Mike Barnes

 

[synphul]

I think previous versions of windows do fine, it's the nvme drives that have issues on win7 due to lack of drivers. Some people have managed to work around it though it's a bit of work and does require some newer windows files.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2817439/install-windows-x64-sm951-drive.html

If using a more recent version of windows it's not an issue. As Rogue Leader pointed out, they can be faster than standard ssd drives if it's one of the pcie based m.2 drives. Even the older m.2's are a tiny bit faster than most ssd's I think. All the parts (proper nvme drive, motherboard that supports pcie x4 m.2 etc) need to be matched and the high performance drives tend to be a bit expensive. The shiny new things always cost the most though.

Actually they're becoming more affordable but as an example:
Samsung 850 pro 256gb (standard 2.5" ssd) - $122
Samsung 950 pro 256gb (pcie 3.0 x4 m.2 nvme) - $200 (on sale for $185 at newegg).

One looks like a typical 2.5" drive, the other looks like a stick of ram but with the contacts on one short edge instead of along the length like a ram stick. M.2's don't attach to separate sata data and power cables like ssd's do. They fit into slots directly on the motherboard.

 

[Zebedi1]

Thanks very much for all your help!