SSD compatibility with the motherboard

[BigBoss2020]

I got completely lost choosing my first SSD. How to check if an SSD will be compatible with a motherboard? For example, there is Kingston A2000 500GB, which has M.2 PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4 interface. And then the motherboard's specs says that it has an PCI-E 3.0 x1 port and a M.2 port without any specifics.

[Oshino Shinobu]

Which motherboard?

[BigBoss2020]

4 minutes ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

Which motherboard?

For example, this one - MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge WIFI (https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MPG-Z490-GAMING-EDGE-WIFI/Specification). But there are tons of them which don't exactly specify their M.2 ports

[dfsgsfa]

26 minutes ago, BigBoss2020 said:

And then the motherboard's specs says that it has an PCI-E 3.0 x1 port

without know which models we cant help you.

 

Lazy method, search for completed builds in pcpp to check capabitily issues

[Oshino Shinobu]

Just now, BigBoss2020 said:

For example, this one - MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge WIFI (https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MPG-Z490-GAMING-EDGE-WIFI/Specification). But there are tons of them which don't exactly specify their M.2 ports

It does:

 

• 2x M.2 slots (Key M)
  • Supports up to PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA 6Gb/s
  • M2_1 slot supports 2242/ 2260 /2280/ 22110 storage devices¹
  • M2_2 slot supports 2242/ 2260 /2280 storage devices²
  • Intel^® Optane™ Memory Ready*** ³

1. SATA2 will be unavailable when installing M.2 SATA SSD in the M2_1 slot.
2. SATA5 & SATA6 will be unavailable when installing M.2 SATA/PCIe SSD in the M2_2 slot.

Both M.2 Slots support M key PCIe or SATA SSDs. Certain ports are disabled whent hey're installed. 

[dfsgsfa]

27 minutes ago, BigBoss2020 said:

Kingston A2000

any way get a full speed pcie x4 ssd for nvme , spending little more on speed and dram + tlc cache are worth it.

eg adata sx8200 pro

[BigBoss2020]

5 minutes ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

It does:

 

• 2x M.2 slots (Key M)
  • Supports up to PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA 6Gb/s
  • M2_1 slot supports 2242/ 2260 /2280/ 22110 storage devices¹
  • M2_2 slot supports 2242/ 2260 /2280 storage devices²
  • Intel^® Optane™ Memory Ready*** ³

1. SATA2 will be unavailable when installing M.2 SATA SSD in the M2_1 slot.
2. SATA5 & SATA6 will be unavailable when installing M.2 SATA/PCIe SSD in the M2_2 slot.

Both M.2 Slots support M key PCIe or SATA SSDs. Certain ports are disabled whent hey're installed. 

Oh, I see. Thanks

[Oshino Shinobu]

1 minute ago, BigBoss2020 said:

Oh, I see. Thanks

If you look at the details tab of the specifications, they should list it in a similar fashion. The general view is typically pretty lacking. Worst case, download the manual and check there.