Z170-P & amd M2 Port

[Mir96TA]

Hi,
I bought the Z170 (Asus) MB. I am leaning toward using M2. Sata port. I have learned (Stand me corrected) M2. port can handle Sata III or faster port connection PCI-Express / NVMe. To get full benefit I need to get either NVMe or PCI-Express SSD.
I am wondering how I would know if my MB support that standard. Z170-P does not indicate except the length of drive I can install.

My question is my understanding about this port is correct ?
Does my MB support that standards
Are PCI Express and/or NVMe are really that fast ?
Thanks
Mir

 

[UsandThem]

M.2 drives are roughly around the size of a piece of gum, and they will fit just fine on your board, so no worries there.

Most PCIe (NVME) drives are considerably faster than SATA SSDs. Now if you will be doing work that will take advantage of that extra speed, that is the question. I have seen many posts where someone buys a nice 950 Pro, and is disappointed that they can't "feel" the difference when booting their system, playing games, etc. Something to read so you can decide if it's right for your needs is located here:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015...rst-pcie-m-2-nvme-ssd-is-an-absolute-monster/

But just because it has best-in-class performance, that doesn't mean that you should actually buy a 950 Pro. Unless you have some seriously demanding, IO-intensive workloads, a drive that costs considerably less will deliver the same snappy system performance as the 950 Pro

That being said, Samsung is going to release its 960 EVO and 960 PRO M.2 drives very soon, and the preview articles look amazing on both of them. I think it will end up being the overall market leader like the 850 EVO became, and while still technically an "enthusiast" drive, it will be much more reasonable than the 960 PRO.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/10698/samsung-announces-960-pro-and-960-evo-m2-pcie-ssds

Here is a previous thread in storage where we were talking originally talking about the Intel 600p vs. Samsung 950 Pro drives, but then starting talking about the upcoming 960 EVO once information began coming out:

https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/intel-600p-vs-samsung-950-pro.2484823/page-3

Finally, the only 960 EVO brief "review" at this time:

http://www.ocaholic.co.uk/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=4032&960EVO=

 

[Mir96TA]

What I have gather M2 is physical format. Which can handle port standards like Sata III (Slower) or PCI Express and/or NVMe.
PCI Express and/or NVMe is faster and newer. This format allow to use PCIe lanes and fastest way to xfer data to system bus.
Did I miss some thing ???

 

[TemjinGold]

Nope, that's all right. What the other guy is trying to say is that you might not see a difference between the slower and faster.

 

[UsandThem]

What I have gather M2 is physical format. Which can handle port standards like Sata III (Slower) or PCI Express and/or NVMe.
PCI Express and/or NVMe is faster and newer. This format allow to use PCIe lanes and fastest way to xfer data to system bus.
Did I miss some thing ???

I guess my first post was too detailed / long-winded.

Like TemjinGold said, yes PCIe drives are generally faster than SATA-based drives.

If you want the fastest drive, just buy a PCIe (NVMe) drive. But since you have been a user here for a little time, you should know different products from different companies perform differently.

Read some reviews on the competing drives before buying one.