Which SSD do I need for this socket?

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probedb2

Member
Nov 19, 2014
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Sorry for the novice question, have only ever bought SATA SSDs. my Asus Z97-A says it can take:

- 1 x M.2 Socket 3 with M Key, type 2260/2280 storage devices support (supports PCIE SSD only)

I'd assumed this Crucial one would be perfect, but according to Crucial's website it isn't compatible? Any suggestions for something that is around 500GB and is? https://www.ebuyer.com/822487-crucial-mx500-m-2-2280-500gb-ssd-ebuyer-ct500mx500ssd4

TIA!
Paul.
 
mikeymikec

mikeymikec

Lifer
May 19, 2011
17,708
9,570
136
The page you URL'd says that the drive is a SATA 6Gbps type M.2 drive, whereas what you quoted from the Asus website says it can only handle PCIE SSDs only.

http://www.atpinc.com/Memory-insider/what-is-m.2-M-B-BM-key-socket-3

Admittedly my understanding of M.2 had eroded for me to assume that the form factor had some bearing on the type of communication the drive used, but apparently not.

I'd URL what I'm searching for on ebuyer.com but it's giving me UK prices so I wouldn't like to guarantee they'll work as expected, but going into 'network & storage' then clicking on 'M.2 SSDs', I'd start by ignoring any drive that only does about 500MB/sec read/write as that'll be SATA. I'd then google the remaining ones that don't explicitly state that they're NVMe/PCIe for their specs.

Disclaimer: I haven't yet bought an M.2 drive, so I could be wrong, and in the event of me buying my first M.2 drive I'll be checking its compatibility as many different ways as I can conceive of :) I have a preference towards Samsung drives. I'd take Crucial at a pinch as well I guess. Reading some reviews of SSDs on anandtech/techreport wouldn't go amiss either.
 
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probedb2

Member
Nov 19, 2014
25
0
16
Thanks both. I may go for a new mobo etc since there seems to be a bit of a hit/miss with my older mobo booting from an NVMe drive.
 
mikeymikec

mikeymikec

Lifer
May 19, 2011
17,708
9,570
136
It's not that old. I have an ASUS Z97 and while I haven't tried booting with an M.2 drive on it, I was considering one when considering dual-boot and it didn't occur for me for a moment that the board would have trouble booting from M.2.
 
mikeymikec

mikeymikec

Lifer
May 19, 2011
17,708
9,570
136
If you're worried about it, I'd start a thread on the ASUS forums for your board / browse the threads to see if there's any common ground on M.2 booting problems.

That thread has made me consider the M.2 route with a bit more caution though, thanks for that.
 
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