Mainboard compatibility with PCIe M.2 drives

DevlinDarkside · 17 Jun 2017 at 09:28

Ive been looking at getting some M.2 Drives but I am not sure if my main board is compatible with a PCIe M.2 setup and was wondering if any of you guys could help out. I have included links to my main board and the M.2 drive i wanted with a PCIe adapter.

http://www.asrock.com/mb/intel/z97 anniversary/

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus-hyper-m.2-x4-pci-e-mini-adapter-card-black-pcb-hd-032-as.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cruc...lid-state-drive-ct525mx300ssd4-hd-067-cr.html

lee32uk · 17 Jun 2017 at 10:41

Any reason you need that SSD in M.2 format ? Just go with the regular SATA version.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Crucial MX300 525GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 3D Nand 7mm Solid State Drive (CT525MX300SSD1)= £149.99

Total: £158.69
(includes shipping: £8.70)

hornetstinger · 17 Jun 2017 at 10:46

DevlinDarkside said:
Ive been looking at getting some M.2 Drives but I am not sure if my main board is compatible with a PCIe M.2 setup and was wondering if any of you guys could help out. I have included links to my main board and the M.2 drive i wanted with a PCIe adapter.

http://www.asrock.com/mb/intel/z97 anniversary/

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus-hyper-m.2-x4-pci-e-mini-adapter-card-black-pcb-hd-032-as.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cruc...lid-state-drive-ct525mx300ssd4-hd-067-cr.html

Will you notice the speed difference of PCI-E SSD under normal use, or just under benchmarks, or are you just throwing money into benchmarks and a millisecond improvement for the sake of it?

DevlinDarkside · 17 Jun 2017 at 11:22

lee32uk said:
Any reason you need that SSD in M.2 format ? Just go with the regular SATA version.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Crucial MX300 525GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 3D Nand 7mm Solid State Drive (CT525MX300SSD1)= £149.99

Total: £158.69
(includes shipping: £8.70)

Well the drives are more or less the same price appart from the cost of the PCIe card to hold the drive. And its less hassle to install, no wires, no struggle to get it into a bay. Just slip it into the card and pop the card into a slot.