M.2 for my board.

KateB

KateB

KateB

Associate
Joined
8 Jan 2012
Posts
183
Hi all.



I have a 4 year old motherboard, a socket 1151 that I want to add an M.2 SSD or 2 to it. The specs for my board state "2 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 SATA & PCIe x4/x2/x1 SSD support)"



My question is will all M.2 drives sold here fit and work with my motherboard or are there any restrictions, size, sockets, newer technology e.t.c



Also any recommendations? Here's my board in case you need further information. https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-Z170X-Gaming-3-EU-rev-10#ov



Thank you.
 
What board is it? I am pretty sure 1151 doesn't have enough spare lanes to support a couple of full speed nvme drives. I would be super surprised if you had a 1151 board that can support full speed drives in both slots. I could be totally wrong!
 
I linked it in my original post but it's this: https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-Z170X-Gaming-3-EU-rev-10#ov

It does say "Dual PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 Connectors with up to 32Gb/s Data Transfer (PCIe NVMe & SATA SSD support)"

&

"Dual PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 With two PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 connectors onboard, GIGABYTE brings to the user PCI-Express connectivity for SSD devices. Delivering up to 32 Gb/s data transfer speed per connector, the dual M.2 provides an ideal storage solution as it also supports RAID modes."
 
Either would work and I have dealt with both companies, in terms of returns and replacements, both being very good in my experience.
If I had to go with one over the other it would be with the WD Blue.

Make sure that you have the NVME standoffs and screws needed to secure these to your motherboard, they should have come with your motherboard.

Take a look in your MB manual as it will tell you what SATA ports could be compromised when you start to use the M2 slots. Very quick look suggests that the M2A is the slot to use in a single use situation.
 
Last edited:
KateB said:
Thank you.


Am I safe to assume the 1TB version would work too?
Click to expand...

All the sizes and brands would work.

Some prefer a brand like Samsung or Intel, noting either performance or quality etc etc etc as part of their reasoning, perhaps drivers as well. Whilst others are more budget focused.
Some would wish to avoid a QLC based drive.

You linked a choice between two brands and models that offered price focused drives from well established manufactures with good customer service and each having a five years warranty. They are very good drives, iirc both having UK based support if needed.

I have recently bought a 2TB and a 512GB NVME and both are Silicon Power branded with a five years warranty. They perform very well. Another couple of brands that are sometimes mentioned are Sabrient and Adata. Popular, affordable and perform well.

In real day to day typical usage, for most people, you would be pushed to notice a difference in performance between them.

Guessing that you "need" the NVME over that of an SSD. An SSD 2.5"drive is a little cheaper, and again in most peoples usage very little difference would be noticed.
 
Last edited:
Vimes said:
Guessing that you "need" the NVME over that of an SSD. An SSD 2.5"drive is a little cheaper, and again in most peoples usage very little difference would be noticed.
Click to expand...

I don't need an NVME, what I want is the fastest drive I can get for games.

I already have a small 256GB SSD that I use for Windows but I keep adding games to it and filling it up quickly so I just want to leave the 256GB SSD for Windows and have the fastest drive I can buy for just games.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts, it's been really helpful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom