NGFF, NVME, SATA, B+M, M. I couldn't be more confused.

[HopefulPlastic]

Which SSD USB enclosure do you recommend? I will be buying from ebay.

 

REQUIREMENTS

I would like something that can accept any 2280 sized drive. Is that possible or do I need to buy separate enclosures for separate drives? The 128GB drive I have taken out of my laptop has more pins (B+M) than the new NVME drive that went in, but they both work in the laptop. I want the same thing with the USB enclosure. I don't want to think about interfaces, B+M slots, SATA, PCIe. I just want it to work. Despite spending the last few days trawling ebay, I am no closer to making a decision on USB cases.

 

I am only posting here because I have never been more confused about drive interfaces and protocols than I am now. Which SSD case do you recommend? I would like to buy something this year :)  Thank you!

 

[Alex Atkin UK]

9 minutes ago, HopefulPlastic said:

Which SSD USB enclosure do you recommend? I will be buying from ebay.

 

REQUIREMENTS

I would like something that can accept any 2280 sized drive. Is that possible or do I need to buy separate enclosures for separate drives? The 128GB drive I have taken out of my laptop has more pins (B+M) than the new NVME drive that went in, but they both work in the laptop. I want the same thing with the USB enclosure. I don't want to think about interfaces, B+M slots, SATA, PCIe. I just want it to work. Despite spending the last few days trawling ebay, I am no closer to making a decision on USB cases.

 

I am only posting here because I have never been more confused about drive interfaces and protocols than I am now. Which SSD case do you recommend? I would like to buy something this year Thank you!

 

From what I've seen with USB enclosures they don't make ones that work with multiple types.  You have to choose either SATA or PCIe support based on what M.2 stick you are putting in it.

[thrasher_565]

ssd m.2 were odd and amny diffreny setups. bkey and mkey being the most common. then theres the b+m key witch can do both.

 

there m.2 witch was the first gen then nvme m.2

 

2280 is the most commom langth.

 

they can have chips on one side or both depeing on the size.

 

 

 

a m.2 will work with a pcie adapter that uses a sata cable and works with older os that dont work for m.2 like w7.

[Eigenvektor]

17 minutes ago, HopefulPlastic said:

I don't want to think about interfaces, B+M slots, SATA, PCIe. I just want it to work.

You're not going to get around that entirely, since you'll need to buy an enclosure that is compatible with your disk and that means getting an enclosure that has a compatible connector and controller.

 

From what you describe your old SSD has a pin layout that is compatible with both M.2 B and M.2 M slots, so you should be able to get either one. Whether you need an enclosure compatible with NVMe or SATA depends on the disk.

 

Which means we can't make a recommendation without knowing what the 128 GB disk is.

[HopefulPlastic]

Just now, Eigenvektor said:

Which means we can't make a recommendation without knowing what the 128 GB disk is.

The 128GB drive is a Sandisk X400 M.2 2280 drive. Dell part number 03HD3T (since it is the original drive that came with the laptop). It has B and M pins. It also has some files I'd like to get access to, hence the need for a USB enclosure.

 

The drive that is in the laptop now is a Kingston SW251000G 1TB NVME drive. Both drives work fine in the laptop despite the difference in pins.

 

 

 

 

 

[Eigenvektor]

2 minutes ago, HopefulPlastic said:

The 128GB drive is a Sandisk X400 M.2 2280 drive. Dell part number 03HD3T (since it is the original drive that came with the laptop). It has B and M pins. It also has some files I'd like to get access to, hence the need for a USB enclosure.

 

The drive that is in the laptop now is a Kingston SW251000G 1TB NVME drive. Both drives work fine in the laptop despite the difference in pins.

Your existing drive has an M.2 B+M plug, which means it is compatible with M.2 slots that either use a B-key or an M-key. It uses SATA to communicate. Your new SSD has an M.2 M-key and since it fits into your laptop, it means the laptop uses an M-key as well. This one uses NVMe to communicate.

 

The reason both work in your laptop is because both are physically compatible with the laptops M.2 slot and the laptop in turn supports both SATA and NVMe for that slot.

 

As @Alex Atkin UK said, you're unlikely to find an enclosure that has both a SATA and an NVMe controller. So to be compatible with your old disk you need an enclosure that supports SATA. It can use either an M.2 M-key or M.2 B-key, since the disk is physically compatible with either.

[HopefulPlastic]

Thank you all for the help.

 

There are sellers on ebay allowing you to choose USB cases with this designation:

NGFF+NVME

 

Would these cater to both types of drive (SATA and NVME PCIe), just like the laptop has? If that's the case (pun?) then it might be worthwhile to pay the extra and go for those, unless I am missing something. Please advise.

 

 

[Poinkachu]

1 hour ago, HopefulPlastic said:

Thank you all for the help.

 

There are sellers on ebay allowing you to choose USB cases with this designation:

NGFF+NVME

 

Would these cater to both types of drive (SATA and NVME PCIe), just like the laptop has? If that's the case (pun?) then it might be worthwhile to pay the extra and go for those, unless I am missing something. Please advise.

 

 

Link to the product in question

 

 

NGFF = New Generation Form Factor

IIRC, It is what M.2 used to be called.    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.2

So yes, if going by that, NVME also uses NGFF, as well as there is SATA drive that uses NGFF

[NewMaxx]

Enclosures using the Realtek RTL9210B (like Sabrent's) can accept both M.2 SATA and M.2 NVMe SSDs.

[HopefulPlastic]

16 hours ago, Poinkachu said:

Link to the product in question

145704482383

(search ebay for that item number)

[HopefulPlastic]

7 hours ago, NewMaxx said:

Enclosures using the Realtek RTL9210B (like Sabrent's) can accept both M.2 SATA and M.2 NVMe SSDs.

excellent info, thank you

[NewMaxx]

On 4/15/2024 at 8:35 PM, HopefulPlastic said:

excellent info, thank you

Sure. The EC-SNVE is the one using the RTL9210B. This is 10Gbps, so if you need more speed for the NVMe drives you can get the 20Gbps RTL9220, which is in the EC-RGBG/RGBC for one example. That bridge also supports M.2 SATA and M.2 NVMe. 

[HopefulPlastic]

23 hours ago, NewMaxx said:

Sure. The EC-SNVE is the one using the RTL9210B. This is 10Gbps, so if you need more speed for the NVMe drives you can get the 20Gbps RTL9220, which is in the EC-RGBG/RGBC for one example. That bridge also supports M.2 SATA and M.2 NVMe. 

Good info. I have seen some ebay sellers specifically mention the RTL9210B, and I think that will be more than enough for my uses. There is only a small price premium for USB cases that do both protocols, so I am very happy.

[NewMaxx]

1 hour ago, HopefulPlastic said:

Good info. I have seen some ebay sellers specifically mention the RTL9210B, and I think that will be more than enough for my uses. There is only a small price premium for USB cases that do both protocols, so I am very happy.

The RTL9210B is probably the best 10Gbps chip, and it supports both which is nice too. All of these have compatibility issues with some hardware, so be aware. Firmware updates are available and can even be tweaked; see the AnandTech thread on enclosures under the Memory and Storage forum.