SATA SSD vs M.2 SSD on a GIGABYTE GA-H97-D3H

rpgmaniac

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Sep 8, 2013
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After some research I did to choose a SATA SSD I decide to get the SanDisk Extreme PRO SSD 240GB as the performance & especially that 10 year minimum warranty sound very sweet but as my motherboard have a M.2 slot I wonder if it will be better to get an M.2 instead for that extra speed performance, the only thing that hold me back is the fact that most good ones in the price point I can afford & the capacity I'm interested in have just 3 year warranty, also my motherboard as I read take advantage from just 2 lanes instead of 4 compare to newest X99 Chipset & without being very knowledgeable about all that this means as I read that the speed increase won't be as much compare to a SATA3 SSD.

So my questions is simple is it worth it to get an M.2 SSD instead of the SanDisk Extreme PRO SATA3 SSD when my motherboard have an older Chipset that take advantage of only 2 lanes & the speed performance won't be as great compare if I had a motherboard with X99 Chipset?

The main reason for this upgrade is better loading times on the MMORPG I currently play (Black Desert Online) & games in general, thx in advance for any help & plz have in mind that my budget is around 140 €.
 
Solution
Getting an M.2 SSD (run at PCIE of course) for an H97 motherboard (i.e., PCIe2.0 x2) would have slightly higher speeds (at 1000MB/s) compared to a 2.5" SSD (SATA 6Gb/s or ~750MB/s). You won't see noticeable performance in loading times between the two (probably 1s or less difference in speed). The main advantage of the 2.5" SSD is the price/GB storage compared to the M.2 form (unless you can find a good deal/discounted price). The main advantage of the M.2 is less cable clutter (no SATA data cable and SATA power cables needed), however, it *might* run hotter than the 2.5" SSD.

Personally, I'd get the 2.5" SSD for better price/performance.
Getting an M.2 SSD (run at PCIE of course) for an H97 motherboard (i.e., PCIe2.0 x2) would have slightly higher speeds (at 1000MB/s) compared to a 2.5" SSD (SATA 6Gb/s or ~750MB/s). You won't see noticeable performance in loading times between the two (probably 1s or less difference in speed). The main advantage of the 2.5" SSD is the price/GB storage compared to the M.2 form (unless you can find a good deal/discounted price). The main advantage of the M.2 is less cable clutter (no SATA data cable and SATA power cables needed), however, it *might* run hotter than the 2.5" SSD.

Personally, I'd get the 2.5" SSD for better price/performance.
 
Solution