M.2

[ficabj5]

I was just wondering, which motherboards support m.2, and can I use it on my MSI 970A-G46. Thanks in advance

[Alibaladin]

Nope. Just get a SSD 2.5 Inch.

[hitsu1]

X99 Boards. I am not sure about backwards capability but Asus also has a PCI to m2 adapter that they include with their x99 MOBOs.

 

Here is their ROG one:

http://rog.asus.com/327432014/labels/product-news/asus-hyper-m-2-x4-pci-express-gen23-to-m-2-x4-ssd-adapter-card/

[Tim Drake]

Some Z97 motherboards and all X99s.

[slightlyjaded]

 here's an almostcomplete list courtesy of ramcity.

 

PCIe 80mm M.2 NGFF compatible systems (2280)

• Sony Vaio Pro 13 (requires PCIe x4 M.2 - Samsung XP941, and is bootable)
• 2006-2012 model Mac Pro Tower (only confirmed tested with the Samsung XP941, requires a PCIe M.2 to standard PCIe adapter, OSX Leopard or higher, and is bootable).  Also compatible and bootable with Plextor M6e (which is an M.2 SSD, but permanently fixed to a standard PCIe adapter).
• HP Zbook 17 G2.  Can be upgraded with the Samsung XP941 as confirmed by this Amazon review
• Lenovo Carbon X1 G3.  Uses the new Samsung SM951, which is very much like the XP941, only PCIe 3.0.    This machine also works with the XP941.
• HP EliteDesk 800 Desktop Mini G1 - tested and booting the XP941
• Clevo P650SE - tested and booting 
• Intel NUC NUC5i5RYK (works and boots with XP941)
• Asus G771 (works and boots with XP941)

PCIe 80mm M.2 NGFF compatible motherboards (2280)

• Note, all below motherboards and others with a free PCIe 2.0 x2 or higher slot will work and boot with both the Plextor M6e PCIe SSD (which is an M.2 SSD permanently fixed to a standard PCIe adapter) or the Mushkin Scorpion Deluxe PCIe SSD.
• ASRock AMD Fatal1ty 990FX Killer Motherboard (supports PCIe 2.0 x2 / SATA M.2 and will work with the Samsung XP941 x4 SSD, but doesn't boot.)
• ASRock X99 Extreme6 and Deluxe
• ASRock Z97 Extreme6 (compatible with XP941 14/5/14, and boots)
• ASRock X99 Extreme 4 (bootable with XP941 according to an ASRock rep)
• ASRock X99m Killer Micro ATX. Fully supports XP941 according to this happy forum user.
• ASUS H97M-E Motherboard.  Confirmed bootable with the Samsung XP941.  Thanks to 'Tatarik' for confirming this.
• ASUS Maximus VI Impact Motherboard (supports PCIe 2.0 x1 / SATA M.2 - NO XP941) ***
• ASUS Maximus VII Gene Motherboard (M.2 socket disabled if a PCIe 2.0 x4 device is installed.  Only 2-lane PCIe.  Will boot and run XP941)
• ASUS Maximus VII Hero Motherboard (update 5/6/14 - At Computex 2014 in Taiwan,  I spoke with ASUS representatives who said that all Z97 chipset motherboards with the dual PCIe/SATA-based M.2 socket will boot the Samsung XP941, but because the socket is only 2-lane, will max out at about 800MB/s.)
• ASUS Maximus VII Impact.  Reported on this forum post to be compatible and bootable with the Samsung XP941.
• ASUS Maximus VII Ranger Z97 Motherboard.  Reported by one of our customers to be bootable with the Samsung XP941 when installed in the Lycom DT-120 adapter.  Requirements are to disable CSM and load intel raid drivers during the Windows installation.
• ASUS Z97 Deluxe Motherboard (see notes in the ASUS document here regarding booting the XP941 and other PCIe M.2 SSD's, and the excellent instructions here.)  
• ASUS Z97 Pro Motherboard.  The XP941 will boot in this motherboard in UEFI mode.  Whilst ASUS is working on a BIOS patch to support legacy booting with the XP941, see the ASUS document and instructions above for the Z97 Deluxe for more information.  Note, it seems the storage configuration settings relating to M.2 need to be set specifically to [M.2] and not just to [AUTO], in order to be able to boot the Samsung XP941.
• ASUS X99 Rampage V Extreme.  This beastly motherboard fully supports the XP941 and allows 2x GPU's to run in SLI mode as well.  See this forum post for details.  Note, it seems the storage configuration settings relating to M.2 need to be set specifically to [M.2] and not just to [AUTO] to boot the Samsung XP941.
• EVGA X99 Classic and Micro model motherboards.  Note, to install the XP941, you need to set the bios to UEFI boot rather than legacy.
• Gigabyte GA-Z97-D3H Motherboard.  Samsung XP941 is bootable with these settings.
• Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H Motherboard (supports PCIe 2.0 x2, no data available yet on XP941 compatibility.  
• MSI Z97 Gaming 7 Motherboard (has dual SATA/PCIe M.2 socket.  No data available yet on compatibility of XP941 as of 20/5/14. 
• MSI Z97 XPower AC Motherboard (has dual SATA/PCIe M.2 socket.  Unknown if XP941 works.)
• MSI X99 motherboards.  Update 22/9/14: Some users report the XP941 can boot in this board with the latest beta bios and by disabling XMP settings.  See this forum post for more details.
• Other motherboards with a free PCIe slot using a M.2 to PCIe adapter will work with the Samsung XP941 (not usually bootable, but can use the drive as additional high speed storage).  Most above motherboards and others with a free PCIe 2.0 x2 or higher slot will work and boot with both the Plextor M6e PCIe SSD (which is an M.2 SSD permanently fixed to a standard PCIe adapter) or the Mushkin Scorpion Deluxe PCIe SSD.

SATA 80mm M.2 NGFF compatible systems (2280)

• Samsung ATIV 9 Plus Ultrabook (e.g. model NP940X3G, NP930X5J)
• Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 2 (new model released early 2014)
• Razer Blade 14 (2014 model)
• MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K and the GS70 Stealth Pro
• Sony Vaio Pro 11
• HP Folio 1040 G1

SATA 80mm M.2 NGFF compatible motherboards (2280)

• ASUS Maximus VI Impact Motherboard (has a dual PCIe 2.0 x1 M.2 / SATA M.2 socket)
• Other motherboards with a free PCIe slot using a SATA M.2 to PCIe adapter (Bootable)

SATA 60mm M.2 NGFF compatible systems (2260)

• ASUS Zenbook Touch UX31LA
• SONY Vaio Flip 13

SATA 42mm M.2 NGFF compatible systems (2242)

• Acer Chromebook: C720
• ASUS ROG: G750JH, G750JX
• HP Chromebook 14
• HP EliteBook: 820 G1, 840 G1, 850 G1
• HP ProBook: 430 G1, 640 G1, 650 G1
• Lenovo: G410, G510, G710, V4400u
• Lenovo IdeaPad: L440, L540, U330, U430, Y410p, Y510p*
• Lenovo ThinkPad: E431, E531, S531, S540, T431s, T440P, T440s, T540, T540p, W540, X240
• Lenovo ThinkPad Edge: E531, E540
• Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga
• SONY VAIO PRO 13 Series **
• SONY VAIO DUO 13 Series

* Some Lenovo IdeaPad models may ship without an M.2 connector, please check that your device has an M.2 connection before placing your order.

** Check your existing M.2 drive in the Sony Vaio Pro. If it's a Samsung XP941 model, then you have a PCIe based M.2 drive. See the picture at the top of the page for further information about PCIe vs SATA based M.2 SSD's.

*** This system supports only a PCIe x2 M.2 SSD, and likely will not work with a PCIe x4 M.2 SSD. It definitely doesn't work with the Samsung XP941.

SATA 42mm M.2 NGFF compatible PC Motherboards (2242)

• Asus Maximus Extreme VI (use to create a Hybrid-SSD-like cache for an existing drive or RAID array using Intel Smart Response Technology (SRT))
• Asus Maximus VI Formula
• ASUS Maximus VI Impact Motherboard (has a dual PCIe 2.0 / SATA M.2 socket)
• ASRock AMD Fatal1ty 990FX Motherboard (has dual function SATA/PCie M.2 slots)
• Any other motherboard with a free PCIe slot using an M.2 to PCIe adapter

[TheMcSame]

I'm not really sure you should bother with M.2 anyway. Seems like it's more of a joke standard to me.

[Kc7vwc]

I have an Msi Z97M mATX board with a cheap sata3 m.2 ssd right under the gpu. Great place to put the OS, it's tucked out the way, no cable mess to spoil airflow in small builds.