M2 NVME SSD confusion

Tuvoc

Tuvoc

Tuvoc

Soldato
Joined
19 Dec 2002
Posts
3,745
Hi all,

My knowledge doesn't go beyond SATA SSDs unfortunately. My current machine was built for me, and is an MSI MAG B550M MORTAR WIFI with 5900x sitting in it. The specs are:

  • 2x M.2 slots (Key M)
    • M2_1 slot (from AMD processor)
      • Supports PCIe 4.0/ 3.0 x4 1
      • Supports SATA 6Gb/s
      • Supports 2242/ 2260/ 2280 storage devices
    • M2_2 slot (from AMD B550 chipset)
      • Supports PCIe 3.0x4
      • Supports 2242/ 2260/ 2280 storage devices

In M2_1 there is a WD Black SN750 NVMe SSD, 500GB

I want to put another 500GB or 1TB SSD in it. Is it the case that performance from an identical SSD would be slower in the second slot than the first ? It doesn't really matter, that is just curiosity. Maximum speed isn't too important.

I'd be grateful for clarification of the spec/description of SSD I should be looking for, and any recommendations, thanks.
 
Given the price of Gen 4 drives, I'd probably opt for one of those, and swap the new one into the current slot. You can clone the drive from one to the other very easily as well.
 
Journey said:
Given the price of Gen 4 drives, I'd probably opt for one of those, and swap the new one into the current slot. You can clone the drive from one to the other very easily as well.
Click to expand...

Thanks, the first one is the boot drive. If I went that way, can that be cloned without causing adverse effects with Windows and other apps ? Which free cloning software would you use ?

Path of least resistance is to just populate the second slot. The Gen 4 drives are backwardly compatible in that slot ?
 
Interestingly the WD Dashboard app says:

Capability Gen 3 (4 Lanes)
Connection Gen 3 (4 Lanes)

Suggests that the WD750 is in fact sitting in the second slot and not the first ? I don't have physical access to it at the moment to check.
 
Tuvoc said:
Thanks, the first one is the boot drive. If I went that way, can that be cloned without causing adverse effects with Windows and other apps ? Which free cloning software would you use ?

Path of least resistance is to just populate the second slot. The Gen 4 drives are backwardly compatible in that slot ?
Click to expand...

Yes they are backward compatible

Macrium Reflect, it's free and you can do a like-for-like clone of the drive. You can make a bootable USB from the software that will allow you to do it all under a WinPE environment, nice UI and easy to follow. Then once you've swapped them around you can format the old drive after you booted the new one to check it is all as expected.
 
I assume that the machine could boot from the SSD M2_2 slot ? If so then I think it is really easy for me - put the existing SN750 boot drive in there if it isn't already, and then put a new Gen 4 drive into the M2_1 slot and get full performance from it there. A change in the boot priority in the BIOS needed.
 
Tuvoc said:
I assume that the machine could boot from the SSD M2_2 slot ? If so then I think it is really easy for me - put the existing SN750 boot drive in there if it isn't already, and then put a new Gen 4 drive into the M2_1 slot and get full performance from it there. A change in the boot priority in the BIOS needed.
Click to expand...

Should be no issue with booting from any m.2 nowadays. Personally, I'm far too lazy to do that. You may also want to consider which drive is the hotter running (or most used) and so, which slot is better for thermals.
 
Tuvoc said:
I assume that the machine could boot from the SSD M2_2 slot ? If so then I think it is really easy for me - put the existing SN750 boot drive in there if it isn't already, and then put a new Gen 4 drive into the M2_1 slot and get full performance from it there. A change in the boot priority in the BIOS needed.
Click to expand...

Just to confirm, this is exactly what I did and it went smoothly, no problems whatsoever. Thanks again for all the advice.

These M2 drives are SO much easier - slot them in and job done. No cables at all !
 
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