What M.2 drive should I go with.

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
92hatchattack

92hatchattack

Commendable
Feb 12, 2017
92
0
1,630
Hey gang,

I'm thinking about going with a M.2 drive to install my OS and most run programs on so I can get faster boot and load times. I was thinking a 250g drive should be large enough for that stuff right?

What's the best bang for your buck out there right now that's still reliable. I'm all for spending the extra $$$ if it's going to make a difference, but if there is something that is cheaper and just as good I'm there!

Thanks!
 
Solution
raisonjohn
Good choice! Yes, it'll work well with the Strix Z270E.

Note that your motherboard has 2x M.2 sockets for you to choose from to plug in the Samsung 960 EVO:
The bottom M.2 socket (the one below the chipset) is the M.2_1 which supports both SATA-based and PCIe-based M.2 SSDs.
The top M.2 socket (the one just above the GPU slot) is the M.2_2 which only supports PCIe-based M.2 SSDs.

If you plug the 960 EVO on the M.2_1 (the bottom socket), make sure to go to BIOS (under Onboard Devices Configuration) and check if M.2_1 Configuration is in [PCIE Mode]. This will run the M.2 SSD in full PCIe x4 speeds. If it is in [SATA Mode], your M.2 SSD might only run in SATA speeds (or not at all) and your SATA6G_1 port will also...
Sort by date Sort by votes
raisonjohn

raisonjohn

Expert
Ambassador
Feb 22, 2015
4,102
92
39,040
If you want faster boot and load times than traditional 2.5" SATAIII (~6Gbps) SSD's, then, get an M.2 SSD that supports PCIe x4 (~32Gbps) speeds (not SATA speeds).

The M.2 WD Blues (https://www.wdc.com/en-gb/products/solid-state-drives/wd-blue-ssd.html) are only SATAIII-based SSDs, so, compared to their 2.5" SSD versions, you won't see a performance difference (only the lack of SATA data and power cables for the M.2).

On the other hand, the M.2 WD Black (https://www.wdc.com/products/solid-state-drives/wd-black-pcie-ssd.html) are PCIe-based SSDs, priced ~$110 here: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/DM7CmG/western-digital-black-pcie-256gb-m2-2280-solid-state-drive-wds256g1x0c.

Best price/performance is the Samsung 960 EVO (http://www.samsung.com/us/computing/memory-storage/solid-state-drives/ssd-960-evo-m-2-250gb-mz-v6e250bw/) with higher read/write speeds than the M.2 WD Black, priced ~$130 here: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ZNBrxr/samsung-960-evo-250gb-m2-2280-solid-state-drive-mz-v6e250
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
raisonjohn

raisonjohn

Expert
Ambassador
Feb 22, 2015
4,102
92
39,040
Good choice! Yes, it'll work well with the Strix Z270E.

Note that your motherboard has 2x M.2 sockets for you to choose from to plug in the Samsung 960 EVO:
The bottom M.2 socket (the one below the chipset) is the M.2_1 which supports both SATA-based and PCIe-based M.2 SSDs.
The top M.2 socket (the one just above the GPU slot) is the M.2_2 which only supports PCIe-based M.2 SSDs.

If you plug the 960 EVO on the M.2_1 (the bottom socket), make sure to go to BIOS (under Onboard Devices Configuration) and check if M.2_1 Configuration is in [PCIE Mode]. This will run the M.2 SSD in full PCIe x4 speeds. If it is in [SATA Mode], your M.2 SSD might only run in SATA speeds (or not at all) and your SATA6G_1 port will also be disabled.

If you plug the 960 EVO on the M.2_2 (the top socket), make sure to go to BIOS (under Onboard Devices Configuration) and check if M.2_2 Configuration is in [X4]. Using [X4] will run the M.2 SSD in full PCIe x4 speeds, but it will disable SATA6G_5 and SATA6G_6 ports. Using [X2] will only run the M.2 SSD in PCIe x2 speeds, but will enable the two SATA ports.

So, if you are using most of your SATA ports (especially ports 5 and 6), I'd plug the 960 EVO in M.2_1. If you are using only a few SATA ports (not including ports 5 and 6), you can use the M.2_2.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom