"Sata III" M2.SSD not fitting with my SATA cable

[Laura-Marie]

Hai everyone. I've been a subscriber to LTT but never really thought of making an account here, but I ran into this problem

 

Long story short, I wanted to buy a small/budget SSD off Amazon. I found this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KLTPW30/

And checked under "Hardware Connectivity", and it said SATA. I only have SATA 2, but I did google a bit, and I found SATA 3 does work with SATA 2 (just at lower speeds?)

 

Well, I got this home and my SATA cable doesn't really fit over the connector. I also just noticed, my other SSD has a plug coming from the PSU as well, and I don't think my PSU has connectors that small to fit this one.

 

Did I screw up bad? Or am I missing something totally stupid? Thanks for any insight/help in advance. I'm sure I screwed up somewhere

[The_Tron]

2 minutes ago, Laura-Marie said:

Hai everyone. I've been a subscriber to LTT but never really thought of making an account here, but I ran into this problem

 

Long story short, I wanted to buy a small/budget SSD off Amazon. I found this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KLTPW30/

And checked under "Hardware Connectivity", and it said SATA. I only have SATA 2, but I did google a bit, and I found SATA 3 does work with SATA 2 (just at lower speeds?)

 

Well, I got this home and my SATA cable doesn't really fit over the connector. I also just noticed, my other SSD has a plug coming from the PSU as well, and I don't think my PSU has connectors that small to fit this one.

 

Did I screw up bad? Or am I missing something totally stupid? Thanks for any insight/help in advance. I'm sure I screwed up somewhere

Man you have an M.2 ssd put it into ans M.2 slot on your mobo.

 

[partymarty]

It's an M.2 drive. Those use connectors on your motherboard. The protocol is still "sata", but the connection is different.

"M.2 SSD Solid State Drive"

[partymarty]

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, partymarty said:

thats not a m.2 drive. Thats a apploe only form factor.

[partymarty]

1 minute ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

thats not a m.2 drive. Thats a apploe only form factor.

It was just as an example, to show him what he should be looking for and the way it connects. 

[Laura-Marie]

I have a ASUS P8H61-M  motherboard, forgot to mention! I was thinking I could still use my SATA cables because the hardware connectivity said SATA. I am pretty new to pc building or whatnot, so I apologize if this is coming off weird. Does my mobo support these "M.2" SSDS?

[partymarty]

1 minute ago, Laura-Marie said:

I have a ASUS P8H61-M  motherboard, forgot to mention! I was thinking I could still use my SATA cables because the hardware connectivity said SATA. I am pretty new to pc building or whatnot, so I apologize if this is coming off weird. Does my mobo support these "M.2" SSDS?

No, your mobo has no M.2 support/connection.

[Laura-Marie]

2 minutes ago, partymarty said:

No, your mobo has no M.2 support/connection.

Shucks. I bought the wrong thing! :-(

[partymarty]

I can give you some options, for a SSD that you can connect?

1- Transcend SSD360 

2- Transcend SSD370

3- HP SATA 2,5"

4- Sandisk Z400

 

Those are small (32GB), cheap SSDs in my region (The Netherlands)

[Laura-Marie]

24 minutes ago, partymarty said:

I can give you some options, for a SSD that you can connect?

1- Transcend SSD360 

2- Transcend SSD370

3- HP SATA 2,5"

4- Sandisk Z400

 

Those are small (32GB), cheap SSDs in my region (The Netherlands)

Thank you! <3

[demonix00]

It's not all for not since you purchased an m.2 SSD that uses SATA since you can get enclosures that will allow you to use it through regular SATA connections (just search m.2 to sata on amazon and you should get a few viable results).

[Laura-Marie]

2 minutes ago, demonix00 said:

It's not all for not since you purchased an m.2 SSD that uses SATA since you can get enclosures that will allow you to use it through regular SATA connections (just search m.2 to sata on amazon and you should get a few viable results).

Oh really? What's an enclosure?

[Yoinkerman]

I would just chalk it up to experience and spend the $40 on a 240gb ssd

 

https://www.amazon.com/Kingston-240GB-Solid-SA400S37-240G/dp/B01N5IB20Q?keywords=240gb+ssd&qid=1537915572&sr=8-4&ref=mp_s_a_1_4

 

Or $24 on a 120gb ssd

 

https://www.amazon.com/Kingston-120GB-Solid-SA400S37-120G/dp/B01N6JQS8C?crid=B2CIN6K0OIYS&keywords=120gb+ssd&qid=1537915648&sprefix=120gb+ssd&sr=8-3&ref=mp_s_a_1_3

 

You get a lot more space and don't have to buy a funky adapter

[peacefulpolarbear]

Yea, as the others have stated, M.2 is a FORM FACTOR. M.2 supports a number of protocols such as SATA III and NVME. You'll need a drive with an actual SATA connector.

 

Why do you want a 32GB SSD? For what purpose are you planning on using it that a USB flash disk wouldn't be adequate? 32gb just seems ridiculously small.

[NelizMastr]

12 hours ago, partymarty said:

I can give you some options, for a SSD that you can connect?

1- Transcend SSD360 

2- Transcend SSD370

3- HP SATA 2,5"

4- Sandisk Z400

The BX500 line by Crucial is better value. Bought a 120GB one for €30 for my mom's PC. The 240GB variety is like €45.

[Laura-Marie]

8 hours ago, peacefulpolarbear said:

Yea, as the others have stated, M.2 is a FORM FACTOR. M.2 supports a number of protocols such as SATA III and NVME. You'll need a drive with an actual SATA connector.

 

Why do you want a 32GB SSD? For what purpose are you planning on using it that a USB flash disk wouldn't be adequate? 32gb just seems ridiculously small.

I was on a tight budget of only $10, and had $8 on a gift card w/ my Amazon account. I was trying out ubuntu budgie on my old flash usb drive, but I heard using a SSD is far better performance wise. Trust me 32GB is more than enough for what I do

[Fasauceome]

22 hours ago, Laura-Marie said:

Oh really? What's an enclosure?

An enclosure would be a really good idea for you since upgrading to a modern motherboard later would allow you to plug the m.2 into it and save some real estate.

https://m.newegg.com/products/9SIAC5F6WM4818?ignorebbr=true&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP-Mobile&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-Mobile-_-pla-_-Mac+-+Storage-_-9SIAC5F6WM4818&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3KzdBRDWARIsAIJ8TMTn78DdvLPTuJyXp-UsDoT4jw6q4kpf9CN9_zPRg6LmmhLNy0WELDAaAl65EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

This is what you'd want, and as you can see it converts your itty bitty drive to the connectors you're used to on a regular hard drive

[Laura-Marie]

8 hours ago, fasauceome said:

An enclosure would be a really good idea for you since upgrading to a modern motherboard later would allow you to plug the m.2 into it and save some real estate.

https://m.newegg.com/products/9SIAC5F6WM4818?ignorebbr=true&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP-Mobile&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-Mobile-_-pla-_-Mac+-+Storage-_-9SIAC5F6WM4818&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3KzdBRDWARIsAIJ8TMTn78DdvLPTuJyXp-UsDoT4jw6q4kpf9CN9_zPRg6LmmhLNy0WELDAaAl65EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

This is what you'd want, and as you can see it converts your itty bitty drive to the connectors you're used to on a regular hard drive

Interesting. Yeah, I'm going to save a bit and buy that soon. Thanks for the link and help everyone. I really ant to see if I can get one on Amazon so I can use my mom's prime account x\D