M2 hard drive? or go for Samsung EVO?

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gangel

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Mar 14, 2012
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Hey all,

Im going to be running an
Asrock Extreme 6
4790K i7 (oc)
GTX 780

and I have previously used SSD for boot and main programs.

Im not 100% understanding the whole M2 thing but i get that the asrock extreme 6 is up there with best speed mobos with new tech.

Should I be looking at a 256GB M2 drive or just stick to the Samsung EVO 256GB??
 
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someguynamedmatt

someguynamedmatt

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Honestly, I just bought myself an EVO - probably the exact same 250GB model you're looking at right now. It's running on a Xeon E3-1240V3 (basically an i7-4770) with a 1TB HDD as secondary storage, and my Windows boot time is literally instantaneous... once it gets past the black Windows splash screen/logo, you're on the desktop and ready to go. I'd personally go with a SATA drive right now just for the sake of allowing M2 to mature a bit further, and due to the fact that it can be used across basically any system you'll own. I can't really speak for how much faster an M2 drive would be, nor whether or not you'd notice a difference, so take my opinion for what it's worth. :)
 
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someguynamedmatt

someguynamedmatt

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Well, eventually SSDs on M.2 will be interfaced over SATA-Express, which should be quite a bit faster, but at the moment they're still stuck on the same SATA interface as a normal 2.5" drive until developers catch up with the new standard. At least that's my understanding of it. Plus, it can be nice to not have two additional cables that need routing through a case.

Overall, I'd still have to say that a regular SATA drive is the way to go, and I think you'll be impressed at how fast... well... everything responds on a fast SSD. You'll have a fast, reliable drive that can be used for quite some time into the future without a hard-to-find interface to worry about. I'd go ahead and grab an 840. :)
 
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jjc01

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I've got the following:

System Description:
Case: RAIDMAX Super Viper
Power Supply: Seasonic 520W fanless (I replaced the PS)
Mother Board: Gigabyte Z97X-UD3H
CPU: Intel i7-4790K, with Stock Cooler
Memory: Patriot Viper 2x8GB Kit, DDR3, PC3-12800 1600MHz
HD: Crucial M500 240GB 6GB/s M.2 (2280-D2-B-M) SSD (SATA 4)
2nd HD: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB
Wireless Adapter: Trident N600 Wireless PCIe in PCIEX1.1 slot
Aero-Cool Touch-2100 Fan Controller

Built as a professional desktop to run SolidWorks, I wanted to use the m.2 as boot, and the larger 840 EVO as the storage location for files.

But I'm having trouble with BSOD when I leave the system running inactive. Don't yet know exactly how long the system can sit inactive before the BSOD.

I've been going through an upgrade process to replace some of the components. It's a long learning curve.
 
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O

Outlander_04

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Some M.2 drives use a controller chip that is the same speed as a SATA drive .

Other newer models use controller chips that are designed for the extra bandwidth and then the M.2 drive can be 60% faster than an SSD .

Other factors come in to play too . Do you have the 4 [ or 8] pci-e 2.0 lanes free that you are not using for anything else?
 
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Outlander_04

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J

jjc01

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Thanks Outlander for the link to the article. Gangel has the Asrock, I built a professional system around the GA Z97X-UD3H. I found the article very helpful, but there are still pieces missing from the M.2 puzzle. The article sent me back to my MB's Block Diagram. My MB Block Diagram shows the Z97 connected to a switch that selects between 3 options: 2 SATA 6 Gb/s or SATA Express or the M.2

I'm anything but an expert, but I'm climbing the learning curve.

The PCI Express Bus coming out of the Z97 also has a switch that selects between '3 PCI Express x1' or '1 PCI Express X4' --- There are 6 connectors on the MB that are labeled PCIE, and aside from the 4 listed above, there is a line from the CPU goes to a switch that selects between two X8 or 1 X16.

I'm assuming that all of this is set up in the BIOS, but it is REALLY confusing.

I think that the M.2 can be hardwired to either the PCI Express Buss or be hardwired into the lines that go to the SATA connectors switch.

I'm thinking that it's expected that the owner of the board can read the block diagram.

In any case, Gigabyte finally replied to a support query and sent me an upgraded BIOS version (before it was posted on their website). Things seem to be working, but I'm half expecting the problem to still be there. It may be that how the MB is hardwired is one thing, but what the Z97 chipset thinks is another.

As far as the M.2 spec and the Z97 chipset is concerned, I'm thinking that the MB manufacture has to sort it all out, and they still have some implementation issues.
 
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jjc01

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To get back to the original post: The answers seems to be -

If you want to avoid the headache of a trying to figure out how the m.2 actually works on a particular MB, go with SATA

Otherwise you may be on an infinitely steep learning curve and everything might change with the next wave of motherboards.
 
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