{"id":16254,"date":"2022-04-01T16:32:49","date_gmt":"2022-04-01T14:32:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/g100.us\/?p=16254"},"modified":"2022-09-03T12:41:42","modified_gmt":"2022-09-03T10:41:42","slug":"types-m2-drives-slots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/g100.us\/types-m2-drives-slots\/","title":{"rendered":"Types of M.2 Drives &#038; Slots (An In-Depth Guide)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_39 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">TABLE OF CONTENTS<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-66844be4a4d6b\" class=\"cssicon\"><span style=\"display: flex;align-items: center;width: 35px;height: 30px;justify-content: center;direction:ltr;\"><svg style=\"fill: #7f11e0;color:#7f11e0\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #7f11e0;color:#7f11e0\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\" \/><\/svg><\/span><\/label><label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-66844be4a4d6b\" class=\"cssiconcheckbox\">1<\/label><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-66844be4a4d6b\" checked><nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 \"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/types-m2-drives-slots\/#What_is_M2\" title=\"What is M.2?\">What is M.2?<\/a><ul class=\"ez-toc-list-level-3\"><li class=\"ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/types-m2-drives-slots\/#M2_Guide_Lets_Talk_PCIe\" title=\"M.2 Guide | Let\u2019s Talk PCIe\">M.2 Guide | Let\u2019s Talk PCIe<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/types-m2-drives-slots\/#M2_Drives_-_Non-Volatile_Memory_Express\" title=\"M.2 Drives \u2014 Non-Volatile Memory Express\">M.2 Drives \u2014 Non-Volatile Memory Express<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/types-m2-drives-slots\/#M2_Drives_-_Lengths\" title=\"M.2 Drives \u2014 Lengths\">M.2 Drives \u2014 Lengths<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/types-m2-drives-slots\/#M2_Key_Types\" title=\"M.2 Key Types\">M.2 Key Types<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/types-m2-drives-slots\/#M2_Screw_Types\" title=\"M.2 Screw Types\">M.2 Screw Types<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/types-m2-drives-slots\/#Conclusion\" title=\"Conclusion\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/types-m2-drives-slots\/#Over_to_You\" title=\"Over to You\">Over to You<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>M.2 drives come in various shapes and sizes.<\/p>\n<p>To the \u201cuninitiated,\u201d the amount of information surrounding them can not only be overwhelming but flat-out <em>nonsensical<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>There are so many acronyms being thrown around: <strong>NVMe<\/strong>, <strong>PCIe<\/strong>, <strong>M.2<\/strong>, <strong>Gen<\/strong> <em>this<\/em>, <strong>Gen<\/strong> <em>that<\/em>, and then, once you scratch beneath the surface, you reach the point of sockets and dimensions, of keys and NAND chips, and everything in between.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16264\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSDs.jpg\" alt=\"Types of M.2 SSDs\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSDs.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSDs-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSDs-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSDs-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSDs-825x464.jpg 825w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSDs-594x335.jpg 594w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSDs-420x236.jpg 420w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 100vw, (max-width: 960px) 60vw, 707px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16264 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201200%20675%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Types of M.2 SSDs\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201200%20675%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 100vw, (max-width: 960px) 60vw, 707px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSDs.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSDs-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSDs-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSDs-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSDs-825x464.jpg 825w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSDs-594x335.jpg 594w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSDs-420x236.jpg 420w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSDs.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>To make matters even worse, some tend to use these terms as if they were synonyms and <em>that <\/em>\u2014 to put it bluntly \u2014 they are not.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, this seemingly chaotic nomenclature <em>does <\/em>make sense \u2014 there\u2019s a very sound rationale behind the madness, despite it all looking like some indecipherable mumbo jumbo.<\/p>\n<p>Once you grasp the <em>reasoning <\/em>behind it all (which <em>can <\/em>take a bit of time), things immediately start making sense.<\/p>\n<p>First of all, there\u2019s a reason why there\u2019s so much to digest: <strong>we (the end consumers) have been given a wide range of options to choose from, so it\u2019s only natural for there to be a long list of features and particularities that we have to wrap our heads around.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It might <em>seem <\/em>like a drag in the beginning, but it\u2019s actually a very positive thing at heart \u2014 it means you can \u201cfine tune\u201d your PC building experience and find just the right kind of drive and storage solution.<\/p>\n<p>The shift from old mechanical hard drives to SSDs was an absolute <em>breakthrough<\/em>. There\u2019s really no other way to say it.<\/p>\n<p>Had you told someone just a few years ago about the kind of read and write speeds we\u2019d have at our disposal, you would\u2019ve gotten a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=S4mY4FHyT80\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ray Liotta laugh<\/a> in response.<\/p>\n<p><strong>There\u2019s also a good chance that you'd be kicked out of the room and banned from further discussion.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The only downside of such rapid development is the loss of <em>clarity<\/em>. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important for everyone to roll up their sleeves and do a bit of research before pulling the proverbial trigger.<\/p>\n<p>Think of this piece as a primer on all things <strong>M.2<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>an in-depth guide that\u2019ll explain the biggest buzzwords and provide you with a solid foundation with which you\u2019ll be able to traverse the market and find the perfect kind of <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/ssd-types\/\"><strong>storage solution<\/strong><\/a><strong> for your needs.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a lot of ground to cover, so let\u2019s dive straight into it!<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_M2\"><\/span>What is M.2?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Solid-state drives \u2014 or SSDs, for short \u2014 have been reduced to incredibly thin and small sticks with the memory soldered onto them.<\/p>\n<p>Nowadays, you can purchase SSDs in one of two form factors: <strong>2.5\u201d drives that are connected through the SATA interface or, alternatively, M.2 ones that are much smaller, require no cabling, and can achieve far greater read and write speeds.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Two distinct cables will always be necessary between your motherboard and a<strong> 2.5\u201d SATA SSD<\/strong>. The first cable is for data and the second one for power (in the picture below, on the right).<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16265\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-vs-SATA-Connection.jpg\" alt=\"M.2 vs SATA Connection\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-vs-SATA-Connection.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-vs-SATA-Connection-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-vs-SATA-Connection-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-vs-SATA-Connection-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-vs-SATA-Connection-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16265 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"M.2 vs SATA Connection\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-vs-SATA-Connection.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-vs-SATA-Connection-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-vs-SATA-Connection-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-vs-SATA-Connection-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-vs-SATA-Connection-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-vs-SATA-Connection.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>The speed of these SATA SSD drives is capped at up to ~550 MB per second, which is the limitation of the SATA interface.<\/p>\n<p><strong>However, that kind of speed is perfectly suitable for most folks and use-case scenarios.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>These drives are, therefore, cheaper and are the better solution if you're on a budget and don't mind doing a bit of work when it comes to cable management \u2014 or don't mind the cables running through the inside of your case.<\/p>\n<p>M.2 drives, on the other hand, are plugged <em>directly <\/em>into your motherboard and can reach <em>astronomical <\/em>read and write speeds.<\/p>\n<p>To utilize this particular format (and harness its many splendors), you'll need to have a motherboard with an M.2 slot on it.<\/p>\n<p>Nowadays, most motherboards come with at least one or two such slots, and the highest-end ones go up to a whopping <em>four<\/em>. And you can add even more M.2 SSDs with <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/best-m-2-pcie-adapters-for-nvme-ssds\/\">PCIe Adapter Add-In Cards<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The M.2 format has many benefits and advantages over regular (\u201cold\u201d) SATA SSDs, but that doesn\u2019t necessarily make it the best option for <em>everyone<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>M.2 drives are smaller and easier to use but that also comes at a cost.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Now, not all M.2 SSDs are made equal.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Some of them are as fast as older SATA ones \u2014 they\u2019re just \u201cpacked\u201d differently (i.e. they\u2019re smaller).<\/p>\n<p>Others, however, are much more advanced and, therefore, faster <em>and <\/em>more expensive.<\/p>\n<p>These drives utilize the oh-so-important PCIe interface <em>(Peripheral Component Interconnect Express)<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"M2_Guide_Lets_Talk_PCIe\"><\/span>M.2 Guide | Let\u2019s Talk PCIe<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The PCIe interface is what your processor uses to communicate with the rest of your machine. And, much like everything else in the tech sphere, it, too, gets upgraded every few years.<\/p>\n<p><strong>PCIe slots on your motherboard are used to connect a host of different things <\/strong>\u2014 namely <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/pcie-slot-graphics-card\/\">graphics cards<\/a> and expansion cards of all kinds (sound, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, video capture cards, and everything in between).<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_16266\" style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16266\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-16266\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-PCI-Express-Slots.jpg\" alt=\"Types of PCI Express Slots\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-PCI-Express-Slots.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-PCI-Express-Slots-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-PCI-Express-Slots-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-PCI-Express-Slots-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-PCI-Express-Slots-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16266\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-16266 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Types of PCI Express Slots\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-PCI-Express-Slots.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-PCI-Express-Slots-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-PCI-Express-Slots-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-PCI-Express-Slots-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-PCI-Express-Slots-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-PCI-Express-Slots.jpg\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-16266\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gigabyte.com\/Motherboard\/B550M-AORUS-ELITE-rev-1x#kf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GIGABYTE<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>These expansion slots are hugely important.<\/p>\n<p>Now, let\u2019s touch on a very important part of the equation and that\u2019s <strong>PCIe <em>lanes<\/em>; simply put, they are used for data transfer.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_16280\" style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16280\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-with-border wp-image-16280 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/PCIe-Roadmap-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"PCIe Roadmap\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/PCIe-Roadmap-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/PCIe-Roadmap-300x161.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/PCIe-Roadmap-1024x548.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/PCIe-Roadmap-768x411.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/PCIe-Roadmap-1536x822.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/PCIe-Roadmap-2048x1097.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16280\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-with-border wp-image-16280 size-full lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202560%201371%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"PCIe Roadmap\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1371\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202560%201371%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 2560w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/PCIe-Roadmap-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/PCIe-Roadmap-300x161.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/PCIe-Roadmap-1024x548.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/PCIe-Roadmap-768x411.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/PCIe-Roadmap-1536x822.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/PCIe-Roadmap-2048x1097.jpg 2048w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/PCIe-Roadmap-scaled.jpg\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-16280\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">PCIe Roadmap by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomshardware.com\/news\/pcie-gen6-finalized\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Toms Hardware<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>The more lanes a PCIe port has, the more data it can handle. That's why you'll often see the following naming scheme: <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/what-does-pcie-x16-mean\/\">PCIe x1, PCIe x4, PCIe x8, and PCIe x16<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The latter part tells you how many lanes that particular port can \u201chandle.\u201d<\/strong> The more lanes, the bigger the data throughput.<\/p>\n<p>Simple, right?<\/p>\n<p>Each new upgrade of the PCIe interface increases the amount of data a PCIe lane can handle or, rather, the <em>speed <\/em>at which said data is processed.<\/p>\n<p>PCIe SSDs are still limited to four lanes which might not sound like much but are actually more than enough.<\/p>\n<p>Five PCIe generations have been released thus far and each new generation basically doubled the performance of its direct predecessor.<\/p>\n<p>PCIe Gen 3 (introduced in 2010), for instance, can handle around 985MB\/s per lane. PCIe Gen 4 (introduced in 2017), on the other hand, is <em>twice <\/em>as fast.<\/p>\n<p>So the number of lanes hasn\u2019t changed from one generation to another, but the transfer rate per lane <em>has <\/em>increased (to put it mildly).<\/p>\n<p>These things are important for one simple reason: <strong>they affect the speed and overall responsiveness of our drives.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>PCIe Gen 3 SSDs are the most ubiquitous these days. They\u2019ve been \u201cstandardized\u201d and are most commonplace.<\/p>\n<p>Gen 4 ones, however, are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techspot.com\/review\/1893-pcie-4-vs-pcie-3-ssd\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">much faster<\/a> and <em>can <\/em>be bought for a premium, but to fully harness their potential, you\u2019ll need an appropriate motherboard, one that has PCIe Gen 4 support. You'll also need a fairly novel CPU, to boot.<\/p>\n<p>The only processors that support PCIe Gen 4 SSDs are AMD Ryzen 3000 series CPUs (and newer) along with the 11th and 12th Gen CPUs from Intel (\u201cRocket Lake\u201d and \u201cAlder Lake,\u201d respectively).<\/p>\n<p>PCIe Gen 5 is also a thing, but it\u2019s still so nascent that it\u2019s not even worth talking about \u2014 most folks haven\u2019t even upgraded to Gen 4 (nor do they have a particularly big reason to do so).<\/p>\n<p><strong>An important thing to note is that PCIe slots are backward <em>and <\/em>forwards compatible.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In other words, you <em>can <\/em>put a PCIe Gen 4 SSD in a PCIe Gen 3 slot, but it\u2019s not going to run at its full speed.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"M2_Drives_-_Non-Volatile_Memory_Express\"><\/span>M.2 Drives \u2014 Non-Volatile Memory Express<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Nowadays, the acronym NVMe is often thrown around willy-nilly.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To put it simply, it is a protocol that uses the PCIe interface and is <em>much <\/em>faster than SATA; it is, therefore, preferred by both gamers <em>and <\/em>industry professionals alike.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/best-nvme-ssds\/\">NVMe SSDs<\/a> are the fastest you can buy these days and they almost always come in the M.2 format.<\/p>\n<p>On the surface level, they look exactly like SATA ones, but there <em>is <\/em>a key difference: they're \u201ckeyed\u201d in a slightly different way so as to prevent the user from inserting them in an incompatible motherboard socket.<\/p>\n<p>But more on that below.<\/p>\n<p>The word NVMe is nowadays synonymous with \u201cspeed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16281\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/HDD-vs-SATA-SSD-vs-PCIe-4.0-NVMe-SSD.jpg\" alt=\"HDD vs SATA SSD vs PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/HDD-vs-SATA-SSD-vs-PCIe-4.0-NVMe-SSD.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/HDD-vs-SATA-SSD-vs-PCIe-4.0-NVMe-SSD-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/HDD-vs-SATA-SSD-vs-PCIe-4.0-NVMe-SSD-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/HDD-vs-SATA-SSD-vs-PCIe-4.0-NVMe-SSD-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/HDD-vs-SATA-SSD-vs-PCIe-4.0-NVMe-SSD-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16281 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"HDD vs SATA SSD vs PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/HDD-vs-SATA-SSD-vs-PCIe-4.0-NVMe-SSD.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/HDD-vs-SATA-SSD-vs-PCIe-4.0-NVMe-SSD-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/HDD-vs-SATA-SSD-vs-PCIe-4.0-NVMe-SSD-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/HDD-vs-SATA-SSD-vs-PCIe-4.0-NVMe-SSD-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/HDD-vs-SATA-SSD-vs-PCIe-4.0-NVMe-SSD-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/HDD-vs-SATA-SSD-vs-PCIe-4.0-NVMe-SSD.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/benefit-m2-nvme-ssd\/\">The fastest PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSDs are blazingly fast<\/a>. They offer up to 7000 MB\/s in sequential read speeds.<strong> That\u2019s simply astounding.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>They also run hot which is why most of them have some kind of heat sink pre-applied to help out with dissipation.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16283\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSD-Heatsinks.jpg\" alt=\"Types of M.2 SSD Heatsinks\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSD-Heatsinks.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSD-Heatsinks-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSD-Heatsinks-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSD-Heatsinks-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSD-Heatsinks-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16283 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Types of M.2 SSD Heatsinks\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSD-Heatsinks.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSD-Heatsinks-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSD-Heatsinks-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSD-Heatsinks-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSD-Heatsinks-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/Types-of-M.2-SSD-Heatsinks.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>And, well, they'll also burn a hole through your wallet \u2014 that's par for the course whenever we're talking about the latest and greatest piece of tech.<\/p>\n<p><strong>PCIe Gen 3 NVMe drives, on the other hand, are still way faster than most folks need.<\/strong> Their read and write speeds go up to a whopping 3.5GB\/s which is more than enough for almost all workloads and use-case scenarios.<\/p>\n<p>Now, a few years ago, the NVMe protocol was not only rare but also reserved for best-in-class SSDs.<\/p>\n<p>Nowadays, it\u2019s not only commonplace but also relatively cheap, too.<\/p>\n<p>Why would one want a faster SSD? Well, the answer is quite simple: it affects the speed at which certain processes are completed.<\/p>\n<p>Things like photo and video editing, transcoding, and any kind of compression and decompression benefits greatly from faster read\/write speeds.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to gaming, however, the benefits aren\u2019t as big. <strong>Even the most basic SATA SSDs will get the job done.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The performance delta between them and best-in-class PCIe Gen 4 NVMe drives is negligible \u2014 we\u2019re talking about a three- or four-second difference in loading times.<\/p>\n<p>So, you\u2019d be better off buying just a regular SATA-based SSD (or a PCIe Gen 3 one, at best) and spending that \u201cleftover\u201d money elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/COofLeqk_tM\" width=\"750\" height=\"400\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/noscript><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"750\" height=\"400\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/COofLeqk_tM\" class=\" lazyload\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"M2_Drives_-_Lengths\"><\/span>M.2 Drives \u2014 Lengths<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>M.2 drives come in various different sizes. The most common formats are 2242, 2260, and 2280.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_16284\" style=\"width: 1280px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16284\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-16284\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/SSD-Size-Comparison.jpg\" alt=\"SSD Size Comparison\" width=\"1280\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/SSD-Size-Comparison.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/SSD-Size-Comparison-300x253.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/SSD-Size-Comparison-1024x864.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/SSD-Size-Comparison-768x648.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16284\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-16284 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201280%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"SSD Size Comparison\" width=\"1280\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201280%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/SSD-Size-Comparison.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/SSD-Size-Comparison-300x253.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/SSD-Size-Comparison-1024x864.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/SSD-Size-Comparison-768x648.jpg 768w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/SSD-Size-Comparison.jpg\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-16284\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aliexpress.com\/item\/10000406797818.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ALIexpress<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>The first two numbers correspond to the <em>width <\/em>of the drive \u2014 as in 22 millimeters.<\/p>\n<p>The last two numbers, however, are far more important as they indicate the <em>length<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The longest format of the three (2280) is ubiquitous and is used in both desktop computers <em>and <\/em>laptops alike.<\/p>\n<p>These drives are also the cheapest and easiest to find.<\/p>\n<p>Most motherboards on the market have support for all three aforementioned lengths, so you don\u2019t have to fret in case you end up with a shorter M.2 drive for whatever reason.<\/p>\n<p>Some laptop manufacturers (like Microsoft, for instance), prefer the 2230 format which is exceedingly rare and pretty difficult to find.<\/p>\n<p>As the name implies, they\u2019re the shortest of the bunch while still being <em>somewhat <\/em>mainstream. There are also other, more obscure M.2 drive lengths, but they\u2019re nowhere near as common and, odds are, you\u2019re not going to encounter them.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"M2_Key_Types\"><\/span>M.2 Key Types<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>All M.2 drives are \u201ckeyed\u201d at one end so as to prevent the end-user from inserting them in an incompatible socket.<\/p>\n<p><strong>M.2 PCIe NVMe drives are \u2018M\u2019 keyed. SATA ones, however, are \u2018B+M\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_16285\" style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16285\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-16285\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-SSD-Keys.jpg\" alt=\"M.2 SSD Keys\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-SSD-Keys.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-SSD-Keys-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-SSD-Keys-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-SSD-Keys-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-SSD-Keys-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16285\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-16285 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"M.2 SSD Keys\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-SSD-Keys.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-SSD-Keys-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-SSD-Keys-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-SSD-Keys-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-SSD-Keys-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/04\/M.2-SSD-Keys.jpg\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-16285\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westerndigital.com\/c\/internal-drives\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Western Digital<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>The former ensures the absolute fastest speeds (four lanes of bandwidth). The latter, however, ensures maximum compatibility at the \u201ccost\u201d of performance.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018B+M\u2019 drives can, therefore, be inserted into any kind of M.2 slot, whereas an NVMe SSD that\u2019s \u2018M\u2019 keyed can only go into its own appropriate socket \u2014<strong> the kind that\u2019ll harness its full potential<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>So just keep that in mind when you\u2019re on the lookout for a new motherboard as they\u2019re not all created equal (especially if you\u2019re looking to cut a few corners).<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"M2_Screw_Types\"><\/span>M.2 Screw Types<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>This one might seem trivial, but it\u2019s still an important thing for us to cover.<\/p>\n<p>And, well, there\u2019s a very simple reason why: <strong>an M.2 SSD <\/strong>\u2014 regardless of its speed and capacity \u2014 <strong>will have to be screwed into your motherboard to work properly<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>It can still work <em>without<\/em> being screwed in, but that\u2019s a risk you simply shouldn\u2019t take; the last thing you want is for your drive to fall out of its socket and potentially damage itself and\/or other components within your build.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><iframe title=\"How to Build a PC - Installing the M.2 NVME SSD\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IQK526-C6i0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/noscript><iframe title=\"How to Build a PC - Installing the M.2 NVME SSD\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IQK526-C6i0?feature=oembed\" class=\" lazyload\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>So you can literally go out and acquire the best M.2 SSD money can buy, but if you don\u2019t have an appropriate little screw \u2014 <em>and these things really are tiny <\/em>\u2014 then you won\u2019t be able to hold it down tightly and make sure it\u2019s safe.<\/p>\n<p><strong>There\u2019s no need to fret, though, as virtually all motherboards come with these screws included.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In other words: they\u2019re already tightened to the motherboard, so all you need to do is take them out, slot in your M.2 SSD, put the screw back in, tighten it, and you\u2019ll be good to go!<\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, depending on the manufacturer, you might find the screw in a separate plastic bag inside the motherboard box; the same goes for any potential SATA cables and whatnot.<\/p>\n<p>If, however, you <em>don\u2019t <\/em>have these screws (for whatever reason), you can still purchase them afterward.<\/p>\n<p><strong>There's a standard in place which means you'll need a flat Phillips head screw that's 2x3mm (also known as M2x3). <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you happen to need a few motherboard stand-offs as well, you can always purchase a \u201cscrew kit\u201d like <a class=\"thirstylink\" title=\"PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD Mounting Screws Kit for Asus Gigabyte ASRock Msi Motherboards, 30pcs\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/recommends\/pcie-nvme-m-2-ssd-mounting-screws-kit-for-asus-gigabyte-asrock-msi-motherboards-30pcs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener noreferrer\">this one<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>You can also use slightly different screws as well (M2.5&#215;3 or M3x3), but the M2x3 ones have sort of been \u201cstandardized\u201d and are the most prevalent.<\/p>\n<p>In any case, the <em>length <\/em>of the screw (3mm, in this case) is what matters most.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>An important question arises almost by default: <strong>do you <em>need <\/em>such fast storage? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The answer varies from one person to another, but in general, you\u2019ll be more than satisfied with the kind of speed a regular SATA-based SSD can provide.<\/p>\n<p>If you don\u2019t have any special needs or wants, a 2.5\u201d SATA SSD will still do wonders \u2014 they\u2019re not as \u201csexy\u201d or popular these days but they still offer incredible \u201cbang for your buck.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If, however, you have a very specific use case or are transferring huge amounts of data on a regular basis (or are just looking to build the fastest possible gaming rig money can buy), then, by all means, go the M.2 route!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/best-nvme-ssds\/\">NVMe SSDs<\/a> are in vogue and, well, there\u2019s a good reason why.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Still, we\u2019ve long reached the point of diminishing returns, and that\u2019s definitely something worth keeping in mind.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Over_to_You\"><\/span>Over to You<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you have any specific questions regarding M.2 drives, feel free to leave a <a href=\"#comments\">comment<\/a> below or send us a message in our <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/forum\/\">forums<\/a>. We'd be happy to help you out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>M.2 drives come in various shapes and sizes. To the \u201cuninitiated,\u201d the amount of information surrounding them can not only be overwhelming but flat-out nonsensical. There are so many acronyms being thrown around: NVMe, PCIe, M.2, Gen this, Gen that, and then, once you scratch beneath the surface, you reach the point of sockets and...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2343,"featured_media":16255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[74],"tags":[219,121],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16254"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2343"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16254"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20857,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16254\/revisions\/20857"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}