Can I use this M.2 SSD in my MSI Z170A-G43-PLUS motherboard?

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Limuel

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so my motherboard is an MSI Z170A-G43-PLUS motherboard with an i5 6400 + 8GB RAM

can I use one of these M.2 SSD?

Samsung 850 EVO M.2 250GB = $98
Crucial MX300 275gb M.2 type 2280SS = $89

or should I just use a normal SSD?

Samsung 850 EVO = $95
Crucial MX300 275gb = $88
Intel 540 Series 240gb = $86
Kingston SSDNow V300 240GB = $78
SanDisk Plus 240gb = $68
SanDisk Ultra II 240GB = $80|

they're not on sale
these are the prices in my country.

Please note that I'm not in anyway an editor
just an occasional photographer and gamer.
 
Solution
Barty1884
No. It's SATA.

For the $3 difference, the M.2 SATA might make sense. You won't see any noticeable performance difference between the two, but it frees up an additional SATA port.
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Your board supports PCIe and SATA M.2 drives - but if you pick up an M.2 SATA (both the MX300 and 850 EVO are SATA) there really is no benefit over a 'traditional' SATAIII SSD - other than freeing up 1x SATA port, of course.

A PCIe M.2 (like the Samsung 950 PRO as an example) would be a nice 'boost' over a SATAIII SSD, but will cost a lot more - usually around an additional 40-50% over a SATAIII 850 Pro, and 60-80% over an 850 EVO of similar capacity.
 
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Limuel

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it all says that it has NVMe support.

but anyway, should I stick with the traditional SSDs?
from the given price points

which would you recommend?
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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What says? The board spec? Yes, it does - NVMe drivers are PCIe. There's definitely a performance gain, as I mentioned above - but at a cost.

If your budget is <$100 then yes, stick with SATAIII SSDs. There's nothing viable in the PCIe/NVMe space at that price point, and M.2 SATA is pretty pointless (IMHO)
 
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Limuel

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so technically, the performance gain for the price I am going to pay is not worth it?

should I pick the SanDisk Plus 240gb? since it's the cheapest?
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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For a SATAIII M.2? There really is no gain.

A PCIe M.2 (NVME) definitely has some gains. Whether it's 'worth it' to you is a call only you can make.
For your uses, I wouldn't recommend it, as I don't feel the improvement is proportionate to the cost - but if you want the 'snappiest' system you can, then it might be.

What did you use before?

If you used a traditional HDD, a SanDisk Plus would be an improvement, but it's not a very good SSD.

The Samsung 850 EVO (SATA3) would be my recommendation based on performance & reliability.
 
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