Planning SSD upgrade to NVMe: interface confusion

[pmf026]

I'm kind of lost in between... which interface is superior?

M.2 vs U.2 vs SATAexpress

Which one is "the future"? All three of these interfaces are NVMexpress ready but, which one is the best?

 

Detailed pros and cons would be very nice. Thanks in advance.

 

[The Sloth]

Pcie is the future 

[pmf026]

Just now, nerdslayer1 said:

Pcie is the future 

Well, they're all pcie...but which one is superior?

[Droidbot]

They're all similar. U.2 is meant to be for backplanes and server grade crap, and SATA-Express is similar but for consumers.

M.2 is probably the best standard due to good support. Take something like the Intel 600p, or the 960EVO. 

[tt2468]

6 minutes ago, pmf026 said:

Well, they're all pcie...but which one is superior?

Sata express is a dead standard IMO. M.2 is great for small form factor, and u.2 is for high capacity. M.2 and u.2 are basically the same thing.

[itsmyjobtoknow]

M.2 if you want the SSD on the motherboard itself. Some M.2 slows don't support PCIe Gen 3.0 x4. So be mindful before buying randomly.

U.2 if you still want a cable going from your motherboard to the drive

SATAExpress...there is one enclosure on the market from Asus...otherwise there are no SATAExpress drive at all.

[dragoon20005]

there is a slight difference but NVME make full use of the PCI-E x4 Gen 3.0 lanes

 

so that it can achieve 2.5GB reads and 1.5GB writes

 

SATA express is still based on the SATA3 technology and no consumer products are produced with that interface so you can safely omit that

 

The U.2 also uses the PCI-E lanes like the M.2 but uses a single U.2 connector to connect the drives

[Droidbot]

1 minute ago, dragoon20005 said:

there is a slight difference but NVME make full use of the PCI-E x4 Gen 3.0 lanes

 

so that it can achieve 2.5GB reads and 1.5GB writes

 

SATA express is still based on the SATA3 technology and no consumer products are produced with that interface so you can safely omit that

 

The U.2 also uses the PCI-E lanes like the M.2 but uses a single U.2 connector to connect the drives

M.2 uses x4, so theoretically 4GBps or 32Gbps both ways. Futureproof, apparently. 

[dragoon20005]

2 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

M.2 uses x4, so theoretically 4GBps or 32Gbps both ways. Futureproof, apparently. 

be wary of the Gen version

 

Z97 iirc is only Gen 2 X4 vs the Z170 and Z270 are Gen 3 X4

[pmf026]

1 minute ago, dragoon20005 said:

be wary of the Gen version

 

Z97 iirc is only Gen 2 X4 vs the Z170 and Z270 are Gen 3 X4

No worries. I've got X99, it's gen3.

 

Okay, screw SATA Express ... psh...2GB/s

 

That leaves two.

U.2 (SFF-8639) stands out as the best atm. You see, I'm torn between Intel 750 (U.2) and Samsung 960 pro (M.2).

ASUS HyperKit uses M.2 slot anyway, so do I really need U.2, why do I need it? And why Intel 750 drive has a massive radiator? Is it really that hot? What about Samsung's 960 Pro?

 

Guys, pros and cons pls.

 

[Droidbot]

960 pro is newer and quicker. 750 gets hot. really hot. the addin card can actually be watercooled with a block from EK haha

[dragoon20005]

7 minutes ago, pmf026 said:

No worries. I've got X99, it's gen3.

 

Okay, screw SATA Express ... psh...2GB/s

 

That leaves two.

U.2 (SFF-8639) stands out as the best atm. You see, I'm torn between Intel 750 (U.2) and Samsung 960 pro (M.2).

ASUS HyperKit uses M.2 slot anyway, so do I really need U.2, why do I need it? And why Intel 750 drive has a massive radiator? Is it really that hot? What about Samsung's 960 Pro?

 

Guys, pros and cons pls.

 

I will say the Samsung 960 Pro will be easier to install as compared to the Intel 750

[pmf026]

10 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

960 pro is newer and quicker. 750 gets hot. really hot. the addin card can actually be watercooled with a block from EK haha

I was talking about Intel 750 2.5 drive (which is U.2) not add-in card version. They both new. Both having a badass benchmark results.

 

[pmf026]

2 minutes ago, dragoon20005 said:

I will say the Samsung 960 Pro will be easier to install as compared to the Intel 750

those darn hard drive installation difficulties...xD

[Droidbot]

12 minutes ago, pmf026 said:

I was talking about Intel 750 2.5 drive (which is U.2) not add-in card version. They both new. Both having a badass benchmark results.

 

I know, but the 960 is newer and faster. I was just using the addin card as an example. 

[pmf026]

Just now, Droidbot said:

I know, but the 960 is newer and faster. I was just using the addin card as an example. 

Guess I will have to wait till the end of next month, when both products become available.

[Rohime]

1 hour ago, pmf026 said:

Detailed pros and cons would be very nice. Thanks in advance.

SATA Express is a dying standard.  it will go away soon.

M.2 and U.2 are basically the same ... EXCEPT that

 

M.2 is a SLOT on the motherboard.   No Power Cable required.  No I/O Cable required.   *Might* have HEAT issues on the motherboard.

 

U.2 is a PORT on the motherboard.  Needs a power cable.  Needs an I/O Cable.

 

Both M.2 and U.2 are PCIe based standards (the same standard) so its really just a choice of form factor and cabling.

 

Many people choose U.2 because its "easy to understand" as as cable attached SSD.

M.2 can be invisible to people that never used before, and they dont know where/ what the SSD is.

 

I expect both M.2 and U.2 to survive.  as above, different usage models (cables or invisible?)

[pmf026]

Since M.2 will require additional cooling, and throttling issues due to overheating. I'm gonna stick with U.2 and Intel for now. Thanks everyone.

[vrod]

M.2 also gets pretty hot. My 950 can get super hot and I don't think it's much different with the 960 series. One major advantage for the intel SSD is its intergrated battery backup. Recommended if you care about your data that is.

[JoostinOnline]

Unless you're dealing with large files a lot, then it's a waste to use an NVMe drive.  They barely read small files faster (which is what matters for every-day performance), but at double the price.  Stick with a decent 2.5" drive.

[dexT]

9 hours ago, vrod said:

M.2 also gets pretty hot. My 950 can get super hot and I don't think it's much different with the 960 series. One major advantage for the intel SSD is its intergrated battery backup. Recommended if you care about your data that is.

The 960 series runs way cooler the the 950 or the Intel 750.

[Mira Yurizaki]

12 hours ago, pmf026 said:

I'm kind of lost in between... which interface is superior?

M.2 vs U.2 vs SATAexpress

Which one is "the future"? All three of these interfaces are NVMexpress ready but, which one is the best?

 

Detailed pros and cons would be very nice. Thanks in advance.

 

M.2 is a form factor, designed for main board mounted devices. It can support PCIe, SATA, USB, and some other buses. The actual interface depends on how it's keyed. Refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.2#Form_factors_and_keying

U.2 is a connection type for chassis mounted storage devices. However, at the moment, it only uses PCIe as the interface.

SATA Express is both a connection type and interface. It uses the SATA Express protocol, but is backwards compatible with SATA. There is a problem though in that U.2 on the drive end uses SATA Express's plug, but U.2 and SATA Express are not compatible.

 

So in short:

M.2: Devices mount to board, supports a variety of interfaces depending on how its keyed.

U.2: Devices mount to the chassis, primarily meant for storage drives. Supports only PCIe/NVMe

SATA Express: Devices mount to chassis, primarily meant for storage drives. Supports SATA or SATA Express.

 

As for the future, M.2 is winning out because it has support for a wide variety of interfaces. It doesn't seem like U.2 is making much market penetration. It also doesn't help you can convert between M.2 and U.2 easily.

 

SATA Express is basically dead. And it was basically dead on arrival.

 

EDIT: If it helps you understand this more.

 

M.2 and U.2 strictly are ways to physically connect a device to the computer. They do not necessarily define an interface, or a way to talk to the computer. Though SATA Express is both the connector and the interface. Much like SATA can refer to the connector or the interface.

 

As far as the interfaces go:

NVMe: Uses PCIe x4 for up to 20Gbps. M.2 and U.2 use this.

SATA Express: Uses PCIe x2 for up to 10Gbps. Only SATA Express uses this.

SATA: Uses the SATA protocol for up to 6Gbps. M.2 and SATA use this. SATA Express connectors are backwards compatible.

 

Anyway, if this is still clear as mud, welcome to electronics connectivity

[JoostinOnline]

11 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Anyway, if this is still clear as mud, welcome to electronics connectivity

Lol, it took me FOREVER to figure out all that stuff.  Then I realized it wasn't cost effective for most people anyway, just something to brag about.

[Mira Yurizaki]

20 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

Lol, it took me FOREVER to figure out all that stuff.  Then I realized it wasn't cost effective for most people anyway, just something to brag about.

Yeah. The problem is people want to think connector ======== interface.

 

I don't have to use a DisplayPort connector to use the DisplayPort interface. With some rewiring, I can use a VGA connector. Lest you want to tell me "lol you can't connect 20 pins to a 15 pin connector," 7 of the 20 pins in a DP connector are either ground or connected to ground. And two pins may not be necessary since it carries power.