M.2?

[choutz1]

I just ordered myy new MSI Z97-Gaming 7 LGA 1150 Intel Z97 and it has the M.2 port. So a few questions. What is it, and what kind of internal card can I use for it?

[miyabwah]

M.2 Is a new interface standard for small SSDs. Not a lot of SSDs use M.2 as it is new, and most of them that do use it are more expensive than SATA SSDs.

[aricleather]

M.2 is for storage devices. It has a 10Gbps max throughput from up to PCIe x4. You can get SSDs that go faster than SATA3 SSDs, but not many are available.

[choutz1]

Can I get a link to a card that I would be able to use?

[flibberdipper]

Not gonna repeat what they said, but here's a link to one to give you an idea of the price. You can get a 250GB Kingston HyperX 3K for almost the same price.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820249045&ignorebbr=1&cm_re=PPSSXTXPZMDGRI-_-20-249-045-_-Product

[miyabwah]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KPZM9AY/?tag=pcpapi-20

The price per GB is higher than regular Sata SSDs.

[ForsakenLive]

M.2 SSDs started to come up.

This is a link to the M.2 version of the Crucial M550 256GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148798&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

[choutz1]

Thanks guys explains more

[patrickjp93]

M.2 is for storage devices. It has a 10Gbps max throughput from up to PCIe x4. You can get SSDs that go faster than SATA3 SSDs, but not many are available.

and those which are currently available all use only 2 PCIe lanes, meaning they are capped at 5 GBps theoretical which translates to about 4.3 realistically if we look at the ceiling of SATA 6.