M.2 vs SSD

[MyDogAteMySocks]

Are M.2 drives that much faster than SSDs? 

I mean the ones with SATA connections

 

 

 

[sambarr]

There's 2 types of M.2 SSDs, SATA M.2 and NVME M.2.

 

SATA M.2 is basically just a SATA drive using an M.2 form factor.

 

NVME M.2 uses PCI express lanes, and is much faster.

 

 

Some motherboards support both types, some support just one type.

[RollinLower]

well, this ofcourse depends on the SSD. there are M.2 SSDs that still work under the SATA protocol, and thus are pretty much performing the same as a normal SATA SSD.

 

NVMe M.2 drives should be faster then a SATA drive, but generally i don't think the difference in performance is notable if you're not a prosumer or do disk-heavy work on your PC.

[Jurrunio]

First of all, M.2 drives and PCIe drives are all SSDs.

 

Secondly, it depends. M.2 SSDs can be both NVMe (the fast one) and SATA (the slow ones), while NVMe ones are surely faster than SATA ones. However, the increase in transfer rate might be a lot, but the affect as a boot drive is minimal. 

[VicciVicVic]

The ones with SATA connections are just a tiny bit faster but that's only because it doesn't run through a cable. It's really not that noticeable. If you're going to invest in an m.2 drive make it a PCIe one because the SATA ones aren't worth it.

[JoostinOnline]

M.2 is just a form factor.  I think you mean PCIe (although that's often used interchangeably with NVMe, even though they aren't the same thing).  PCIe drives are much faster at reading and writing large files.  When it comes to small files, they're about the same.  That's why boot speeds are so similar.

[Enderman]

Sata M.2 is almost exactly the same as sata using the cable.

[nosirrahx]

1 hour ago, VicciVicVic said:

Quote

The ones with SATA connections are just a tiny bit faster but that's only because it doesn't run through a cable. It's really not that noticeable. If you're going to invest in an m.2 drive make it a PCIe one because the SATA ones aren't worth it.

Depends on what your goal is. If you are going with a 100% M.2 build with no optical drive then you can eliminate the need for any SATA power completely, makes things super clean. With a M.2 drives mounted flat to the board its like there isn't anything there at all.

 

[MyDogAteMySocks]

Thanks everyone!!

 

This helped clear things up!