Compatibility

[Azriel]

Will a Samsung 860 EVO M.2 fit in a Z97 A Asus motherboard?

[Oshino Shinobu]

No, it won't. The Z97-A's M.2 port only supports M Key PCIe/NVMe SSDs. The 860 EVO is SATA

[Azriel]

Just now, Oshino Shinobu said:

No, it won't. The Z97-A's M.2 port only supports M Key PCIe/NVMe SSDs. The 860 EVO is SATA

Is there an adapter or anything that could make it work?

[Oshino Shinobu]

2 minutes ago, Azriel said:

Is there an adapter or anything that could make it work?

No, they use different communication protocols. 

 

You can adapt normal SATA into M.2 SATA, but NVMe/PCIe based M.2 can't be adapted to SATA M.2 as far as I know.

 

If you don't already have the drive, I'd suggest either buying the normal 2.5" 860 EVO SATA drive or buying an NVMe drive. 

[airdeano]

the asus z97a will only support SATA drives in the m.2. nVME is not supported.

Quote

• M.2 & SATA Express - Speed up your system with lightning-fast 10Gb/s transfer speed

and i have one and it will not support nVME (no x4 support)

[Oshino Shinobu]

2 minutes ago, airdeano said:

the asus z97a will only support SATA drives in the m.2. nVME is not supported.

and i have one and it will not support nVME (no x4 support)

Asus's site says it only operates in PCIe mode and not SATA in the M.2 slot. 

 

"1 x M.2 Socket 3, , with M Key, type 2260/2280 storage devices support (PCIE mode)"

[Azriel]

Just now, Oshino Shinobu said:

Asus's site says it only operates in PCIe mode and not SATA in the M.2 slot. 

 

"1 x M.2 Socket 3, , with M Key, type 2260/2280 storage devices support (PCIE mode)"

Just to be specify, I have this 860 and there is no way I can use it with this this mobo? The 860 was bought for another computer and has my OS on it.

[SupaKomputa]

There is a m.2 to sata adapter so you can use it with on a regular sata port.

[Oshino Shinobu]

Just now, Azriel said:

Just to be specify, I have this 860 and there is no way I can use it with this this mobo? The 860 was bought for another computer and has my OS on it.

You can adapt it from normal SATA. 

 

As far as I can see on Asus's specs for that board, they only say it works in PCIe mode, not SATA mode. @airdeano has one, so maybe he can confirm. I may be reading it wrong.

[airdeano]

4 minutes ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

Asus's site says it only operates in PCIe mode and not SATA in the M.2 slot. 

 

"1 x M.2 Socket 3, , with M Key, type 2260/2280 storage devices support (PCIE mode)"

it won't boot using nVME even using:

Quote

*When the plugged M.2 PCIe SSDs are used as the OS drive and IRST cache at the same time, ensure the “Launch CSM”
is set to [Disabled] in BIOS. Meanwhile, for the M.2 SSDs that contained OPROM, contact the SSDs’ vendors for
Microsoft signed UEFI drivers. Otherwise, they will be only available for the data drive usage. Check the manual of Intel
Desktop Responsiveness Technologies for the details of IRST setup.

1 minute ago, Azriel said:

Just to be specify, I have this 860 and there is no way I can use it with this this mobo? The 860 was bought for another computer and has my OS on it.

that'll work just fine.

[Azriel]

1 minute ago, airdeano said:

it won't boot using nVME even using:

that'll work just fine.

So it’ll work? Sorry for the many questions.

[airdeano]

yes, that is pretty much all that boots in those slots.

[Azriel]

1 minute ago, airdeano said:

yes, that is pretty much all that boots in those slots.

Thank you so much. I thought I had made a huge mistake. I appreciate all the help @airdeano, @Oshino Shinobu, and@SupaKomputa