{"id":24404,"date":"2023-11-08T17:16:50","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T16:16:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/g100.us\/?p=24404"},"modified":"2023-11-08T19:51:57","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T18:51:57","slug":"m-2-with-pcie-or-sata","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/g100.us\/m-2-with-pcie-or-sata\/","title":{"rendered":"M.2 SSD With PCIe or SATA? Which Should You Get?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Curious whether you need an M.2 SSD with PCIe or SATA? You\u2019ve come to the right place!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Today, I\u2019ll be breaking down the difference between M.2 SSDs using PCIe bandwidth and M.2 SSDs using SATA bandwidth, and <em>why<\/em> that difference matters so much to you, the end user.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll organize the article in a strict order, including some follow-up questions after I\u2019ve addressed the main point, but feel free to skip around to your heart\u2019s content with the Table of Contents below.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s begin!<\/p>\n<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-6684537aacd89\" 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-6684537aacd89\" class=\"cssiconcheckbox\">1<\/label><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6684537aacd89\" 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\/m-2-with-pcie-or-sata\/#A_Brief_on_M2_Storage\" title=\"A Brief on M.2 Storage\">A Brief on M.2 Storage<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/m-2-with-pcie-or-sata\/#M2_With_PCIe_or_SATA_Which_You_Should_Get\" title=\"M.2 With PCIe or SATA? Which You Should Get\">M.2 With PCIe or SATA? Which You Should Get<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/m-2-with-pcie-or-sata\/#M2_Keys_Conclusion\" title=\"M.2 Keys &amp; Conclusion\">M.2 Keys &amp; Conclusion<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/m-2-with-pcie-or-sata\/#FAQ\" title=\"FAQ\">FAQ<\/a><ul class=\"ez-toc-list-level-3\"><li class=\"ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/m-2-with-pcie-or-sata\/#Are_SATA_M2_Drives_Bad\" title=\"Are SATA M.2 Drives Bad?\">Are SATA M.2 Drives Bad?<\/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\/m-2-with-pcie-or-sata\/#Are_M2_SSDs_Backward_Compatible\" title=\"Are M.2 SSDs Backward Compatible?\">Are M.2 SSDs Backward Compatible?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/m-2-with-pcie-or-sata\/#Who_Makes_The_Best_SSDs\" title=\"Who Makes The Best SSDs?\">Who Makes The Best SSDs?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/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\/m-2-with-pcie-or-sata\/#Over_to_You\" title=\"Over to You\">Over to You<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Brief_on_M2_Storage\"><\/span>A Brief on M.2 Storage<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>So, \u201cM.2\u201d simply refers to the dominant form factor for modern Solid State Drives. It\u2019s one of the most low-profile options for SSDs<\/strong>, making it usable in laptops, gaming consoles, and even tablets without the size constraint issues of older but still popular SATA SSDs (seen below).<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23736\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/How-does-an-SSD-Work.jpg\" alt=\"How does an SSD Work\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/How-does-an-SSD-Work.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/How-does-an-SSD-Work-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/How-does-an-SSD-Work-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/How-does-an-SSD-Work-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/How-does-an-SSD-Work-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23736 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=\"How does an SSD Work\" 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\/2023\/08\/How-does-an-SSD-Work.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/How-does-an-SSD-Work-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/How-does-an-SSD-Work-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/How-does-an-SSD-Work-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/How-does-an-SSD-Work-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/How-does-an-SSD-Work.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>The ability for the M.2 form factor to use either <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">SATA<\/span> or <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">NVMe<\/span> <em>bandwidth<\/em> also allows for some flexibility in terms of power, thermals and required PCIe-Lanes<\/strong> for a given M.2 slot, following the manufacturer's desires and, ultimately, you, the consumer.<\/p>\n<p>After all, motherboards have a set amount of &#8220;traffic lanes&#8221; (PCIe-Lanes) they can allocate for devices, and if you're allocating a lot of lanes to hardware that doesn't really need it, you're wasting performance in other places that might be able to make use of it.<\/p>\n<p>So, which should you get? The difference is going to depend on your bandwidth requirements, so let\u2019s get into it.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"M2_With_PCIe_or_SATA_Which_You_Should_Get\"><\/span>M.2 With PCIe or SATA? Which You Should Get<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>First, let\u2019s state the obvious: PCIe M.2 SSDs<\/strong> (more commonly marketed as NVMe SSDs) <strong>offer exponentially faster sequential read and write speeds than SATA M.2 SSDs, and considerable speed improvements across-the-board in other load scenarios (like reading\/writing a lot of small files etc.)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23947\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-Speed-Comparison-2.jpg\" alt=\"SSD Speed Comparison\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-Speed-Comparison-2.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-Speed-Comparison-2-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-Speed-Comparison-2-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-Speed-Comparison-2-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-Speed-Comparison-2-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23947 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=\"SSD Speed Comparison\" 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\/2023\/08\/SSD-Speed-Comparison-2.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-Speed-Comparison-2-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-Speed-Comparison-2-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-Speed-Comparison-2-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-Speed-Comparison-2-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-Speed-Comparison-2.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>The<em> gap<\/em> will differ depending on the workload, but in workloads like direct, sequential file transfer, or video editing, where managing multiple massive files is common, NVMe <em>will<\/em> manifest a very strong lead.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So pretty much, you should be using whatever version of NVMe your motherboard happens to support if you can<\/strong>. <em>Especially<\/em> if you\u2019re intent on doing heavy-duty productivity workloads or playing next-generation games using DirectStorage and NVMe.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve also written a more detailed <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/benefit-m2-nvme-ssd\/\"><strong>NVMe Benefits<\/strong><\/a> piece elsewhere if you want to learn more detailed info about the improvements NVMe has to offer.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"M2_Keys_Conclusion\"><\/span>M.2 Keys &amp; Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>So the decision between PCIe (NVMe) and SATA SSDs in the M.2 Form Factor is a relatively easy one: Unless your <strong>budget<\/strong> is constrained, or you are highly restricted in terms of <strong>temperature output or power draw<\/strong>, a PCIe M.2 SSD will always be the better choice with considerably higher performance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>That said, even though the PCIe M.2 SSD performs so much better, be sure your motherboard supports PCIe M.2 SSDs, as there are physical differences between them (see image below describing the different keys). <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>If you only have M.2 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">SATA<\/span> sockets on your motherboard, PCIe M.2 SSDs may not fit! <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Consult your motherboard manual to see if your M.2 slots can hold both PCIe M.2 SSDs or just SATA M.2 SSDS.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19520\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/08\/m-2-ssd-keys.jpeg\" alt=\"M.2 SSD Keys\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/08\/m-2-ssd-keys.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/08\/m-2-ssd-keys-300x158.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/08\/m-2-ssd-keys-1024x540.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/08\/m-2-ssd-keys-768x405.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/08\/m-2-ssd-keys-1536x810.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19520 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\/08\/m-2-ssd-keys.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/08\/m-2-ssd-keys-300x158.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/08\/m-2-ssd-keys-1024x540.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/08\/m-2-ssd-keys-768x405.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/08\/m-2-ssd-keys-1536x810.jpeg 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/08\/m-2-ssd-keys.jpeg\"><\/p>\n<p>If you're looking to buy a new Laptop and are just wondering what the differences between the two are, though, then go with the PCIe M.2 SSD, no question.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Are_SATA_M2_Drives_Bad\"><\/span>Are SATA M.2 Drives Bad?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Not at all!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While it\u2019s true that I generally recommend whatever version of NVMe your motherboard supports whenever possible, that doesn\u2019t mean SATA SSDs are obsolete or something.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For example, one of the most well-known benefits of an SSD upgrade is a reduction in operating system boot times compared to <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/are-hard-drives-still-good\/\"><strong>HDDs<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>SATA SSDs still boot <em>pretty fast<\/em>, and NVMes only provide a limited improvement in boot time when most of the gap was already closed by the jump to solid state storage.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23948\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/HDD-vs-SSD-Boot-Times.jpg\" alt=\"HDD vs SSD Boot Times\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/HDD-vs-SSD-Boot-Times.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/HDD-vs-SSD-Boot-Times-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/HDD-vs-SSD-Boot-Times-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/HDD-vs-SSD-Boot-Times-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/HDD-vs-SSD-Boot-Times-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23948 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 SSD Boot Times\" 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\/2023\/08\/HDD-vs-SSD-Boot-Times.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/HDD-vs-SSD-Boot-Times-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/HDD-vs-SSD-Boot-Times-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/HDD-vs-SSD-Boot-Times-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/HDD-vs-SSD-Boot-Times-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/HDD-vs-SSD-Boot-Times.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>Another great benefit of a SATA SSD is price savings compared to the higher-end of NVMe SSDs<\/strong>, which can fetch a pretty penny and hundreds of dollars quicker than you\u2019d think.<\/p>\n<p>Entry-level SATA SSDs (M.2 and 2.5-inch alike) help keep solid-state storage at a more accessible price while SSD manufacturers continue pushing NVMe to the limit with every new PCIe Generation.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23738\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-vs-HDD-Price-per-Gigabyte.jpg\" alt=\"SSD vs HDD Price per Gigabyte\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-vs-HDD-Price-per-Gigabyte.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-vs-HDD-Price-per-Gigabyte-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-vs-HDD-Price-per-Gigabyte-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-vs-HDD-Price-per-Gigabyte-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-vs-HDD-Price-per-Gigabyte-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23738 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=\"SSD vs HDD Price per Gigabyte\" 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\/2023\/08\/SSD-vs-HDD-Price-per-Gigabyte.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-vs-HDD-Price-per-Gigabyte-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-vs-HDD-Price-per-Gigabyte-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-vs-HDD-Price-per-Gigabyte-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-vs-HDD-Price-per-Gigabyte-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/08\/SSD-vs-HDD-Price-per-Gigabyte.jpg\"><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Are_M2_SSDs_Backward_Compatible\"><\/span>Are M.2 SSDs Backward Compatible?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Yes!<\/strong> Like with PCI Express, using an M.2 or NVMe drive on a slot from a different generation should work fine.<\/p>\n<p><em>However<\/em>, if you\u2019re using an NVMe drive with an older motherboard, be mindful that its speed will be capped to the maximum bandwidth of the older NVMe Generation, not the one the drive is actually built for.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So, there\u2019s potential to lose some performance when using newer drives with older boards<\/strong>, but overall the backward and forward compatibility status of M.2 drives is pretty good.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_Makes_The_Best_SSDs\"><\/span>Who Makes The Best SSDs?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Curious about where to get the best SSD for your needs after reading this article? No worries: I\u2019ve actually already written a separate, extended guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/the-best-ssd-brands\/\"><strong>The Best SSD Brands<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I <em>would<\/em> include all of my recommendations here, but unfortunately, an SSD buying guide is a little bit out of the scale of this article!<\/p>\n<p>However, you now definitively know the difference between PCIe and SATA SSDs, and have an additional resource to consult if it\u2019s needed, so let\u2019s get wrapped up!<\/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>And that\u2019s all, at least for now!<\/p>\n<p><strong>I hope this article helped clarify the question of M.2 with PCIe or SATA for you<\/strong>. The answer is almost always PCIe if your motherboard supports it and you can afford it, but there are still use cases for SATA M.2 SSDs, especially in workloads not demanding on NVMe storage.<\/p>\n<p>SATA SSDs are still such a dramatic leap over SATA HDDs that they remain worth the upgrade, in my opinion.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But what do you think? Feel free to sound off below in the <a href=\"#comments\">comments<\/a> with any opinions, questions, or concerns of your own relating to M.2 drives or PC hardware in general.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, you can try long-form discussions in the G100 <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/forum\/\"><strong>Forum<\/strong><\/a> if you\u2019d prefer to speak to our wider community of Experts and Enthusiasts! Me and the rest of the team do monitor these comments closely, though, so don\u2019t hesitate to just ask here if you like.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Until then or until next time, happy building!<\/strong> And remember: NVMe may sound cooler, but it\u2019s still just PCIe x4 with a fancy connector at the end of the day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Curious whether you need an M.2 SSD with PCIe or SATA? You\u2019ve come to the right place! Today, I\u2019ll be breaking down the difference between M.2 SSDs using PCIe bandwidth and M.2 SSDs using SATA bandwidth, and why that difference matters so much to you, the end user. I\u2019ll organize the article in a strict...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2339,"featured_media":24405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[74],"tags":[121],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24404"}],"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\/2339"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24404"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24646,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24404\/revisions\/24646"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}