SATA M.2 SSD vs PCIe M.2 SSD – What’s the difference? – DIY in 5 Ep 172
SATA M.2 SSD vs PCIe M.2 SSD – What’s the difference? – DIY in 5 Ep 172
M.2 SSDs are tiny, easy to install and super-fast but did you know that they come in two different form factors? There are indeed both SATA and PCIe varieties of M.2. They are both long and thin and look a bit like a stick of chewing gum. But they are different.
Interface
Many people think the alternative to M.2 SSDs are SATA 2.5” SSDs, and while the 2.5 inch portion is correct, SATA actually refers to the storage interface. SATA and PCIe, or PCIe NVMe, are both types of storage interface that an SSD can use. The primary difference between the two is performance and the protocol, or language, spoken by the SSD. The M.2 spec was designed to accommodate both a SATA and PCIe interface for SSDs. M.2 SATA SSDs will use the same controller currently on typical 2.5” SATA SSDs. M.2 PCIe SSDs will use a controller specifically designed to support the PCIe protocol. An M.2 SSD can only support one protocol, but some systems have M.2 sockets that can support either SATA or PCIe. An easy way to tell the difference between the two drives based on appearance alone is the notches in the connection. SATA M.2 drives will have two notches, while PCIe will only have one.
Performance
So what’s the difference between the two? The PCIe interface is generally faster, as the SATA 3.0 spec is limited to around 600MB/s maximum speed, while PCIe Gen 2 x2 lanes are capable of up to 1000MB/s. And if you think that’s a large difference, PCIe Gen 2 x4 lanes are capable of up to 2000MB/s, and Gen 3 x4 lanes of up to 4000MB/s. Not to say that speed is everything. M.2 SSDs using the SATA protocol will generally be compatible with a wider variety of systems and can be better supported in older models, plus they are usually more affordable when it comes to PCIe. Another thing to consider is that some motherboards don’t have enough PCIe connections to support multiple PCIe NVMe drives. You might have to decide on using the available connection between a graphics card or an NVMe SSD. Other times there may be PCIe lanes available but only a certain type of connection will be able to use NVMe devices at their full speed such as an M.2 connection.
For example compare the Kingston A400 SATA SSD vs Kingston KC3000 PCIe NVMe SSD. The A400 has two key notches, comes in capacities up to 480 GB and has up to 500 MB/s read and 450 MKB/s write – all at an MSRP of under $50. The Kingston KC3000 on the other hand, has one key notch here on the side, comes in capacities up to 4TB and offers 7,000 MB/s read and write speeds. The starting price for this drive is $100.
So to sum up – yes, M.2 SSDs can come in both SATA and PCIe NVMe varieties. PCIe is newer and faster, while SATA is more affordable and more widely compatible with older systems. What you choose is up to you, but I hope these basic guidelines helped a bit in your shopping journey.
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0:00 Intro
0:41 What is an M.2 SSD?
1:07 What is a SATA 2.5″ SSD?
1:26 What is the difference?
2:13 How does the difference relate to performance?
3:21 Comparison of a SATA M.2 SSD vs PCIe M.2 SSD
At 2:00 in the video you claim that an M.2 SSD can only support one protocol. Perhaps that limitation applies to Kingston SSDs, but I recently installed a gen3 Crucial P3 Plus M.2 SSD (connector has only one notch) into an Acer tower PC and it ran at SATA speeds, not NVMe. When I moved the same SSD into a slightly newer Acer tower PC, it ran much faster, at NVMe speeds. So here we have an M.2 SSD that supports both SATA and NVMe protocols, although not, obviously, simultaneously. The BIOS / UEFI determines which protocol to use, but the availability of NVMe may be limited by the chipset PCIe generation. If the motherboard / BIOS / UEFI doesn’t support NVMe in the M.2 slot then the Crucial SSD "falls back" to SATA. At 2:41 in the video you stated that Gen 3×4 maximum speed is 4000 MB/s, so how do you reconcile this with your statement at 3:38 in the video claiming that the Kingston KC3000 NVMe SSD can run 7000 MB/s read and write speeds, which shouldn’t be physically possible? It’s also hard to believe that the write speed is as fast as the read speed.
she bad
M.2, 2.5" = type of form factor
PCIe, SATA = type of bus connector (i.e. speed)
NVME, AHCI = Protocols (i.e. bandwidth)
SATA, regardless of form factor, uses the AHCI protocols. PCIe uses the NVME protocols.
Well…between her obnoxious voice (nasal vocal drag) and the music I moved on. That nasal vocal drag may impress other young kids but not us adults. I needed information that was geared for educated adults….not something for teens.
Excellent explanation of a very confusing topic. Thank you.
Oh there she is, I found my dream woman 😂❤ 🤓
Very clear concise explanation. And very cute you! Thank you.
Where did they get this broad from?. Go back to baking cookies.
Instab*tch explaining Tech …. poor World.
Thanks very much. This is very clear and helpful, EXCEPT for only referring to NVMe drives when talking about PCIe. Many SATA M.2 drives also have the word "NVMe" on them as well, so people might be confused by you only using the terms NVMe when talking about PCIe M.2 SSDs.
It is therefore more accurate for practical reasons to refer to PCIe M.2 NVMe SSDs and the type of M.2 drive being SATA M.2 NVMe SSDs.
For example, take a look at 3.55 in this video (as well as many M.2 SSDs) advertised on Amazon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dv_OrHY61w
PCIe = PCIe Express
There actually are some NVMe M.2 drives that have two notches like the SATA M.2 drives commonly do; they’re rare, but do exist.
Didnt you used to work for a differnt channel? Or you were on that d and d show on pluto?
The thing that I most dislike about M.2 format is disconnecting the drive for trouble shooting is more troublesome than standard SATA connections.
wow. video is legitimately informative. nice
Great video. Building a new computer after 10 years (current one is still fine, but trying to get ahead of expected end of life limits of hardware). Coming from a "SSDs should only be for the OS" mentality, so very helpful.
Great video. A little addition to your explanation : The 2 Notch Sata M.2 use’s what’s called the B-Key. The 1 notch PCIE [ NVME ) m.2 use’s the M-Key. The M.2 socket’s on the devices motherboard can be ; A B-key socket , A M-key socket or a combined socket that you can use either type of M.2 in that single socket.
Quick and informative, oh my gawsh, thanks!
THANK YOU!
I knew most of this…but watched the entire video anyway. Twice. =)
I have a laptop that’s from 2017 and has a sata m.2 ssd but how do I know if I can upgrade to a PCIe m.2 ssd?
I have a M.2 SSD 500Gb for the OS and I am very satisfied with it… not expensive, very fast and reliable. With HDD my PC took between 1 or 2 minutes to fully restart, but with M.2, it only takes 17 seconds and it´s ready to go.
I had to translate from the American where where ‘T’s are pronounced ‘D’. So a SATA is a SADA.. It just gets sadder…
Great info. Are there any considerations for connecting to a Samsung Tablet?
My 1TB Samsung SATA SSD can still boot my PC in 10-12 seconds, compared to the 2-4 minutes it takes a 5400rpm HDD to finish booting and readying programs to use. If you’re using M.2, you wanna make sure you have a PCIe connection, as SATA is limited to 600mb/sec.
I’m using two 1TB NVMe drives in my PC. Never going back to SATA.
i bought a crucial m.2 pcie and cant get it to activate or format but the disk manager sees it but fails to activate…need some setting?
I come for the info, stay for the eyecandy!
sayda.
Hi to those who noticed her chamber card earrings
τι καυλιαρα ειναι αυτη ρε
The newer the better, it usually works like that. 🙂
she explain perfect
I have a question, I like to upgrade my laptop Macbook Air 2012. So I buy the Samsung SSD 980 NVme M.2 SSD. Also buy a adaptor for this upgrade. After done everything when I do power on nothing happened. So I replace with HD comes with laptop and it’s work right away. So what I do wrong? Please advice. Thanks.
This clears up alot of confusion
What’s the difference between PCI-e and NVME PCI-e?
Oh yeah there’s a ton of people thinking they want sata m.2. 🤛🤛🤛🤛
Connection matters for quality products. Might as well take advantage of the faster connection of PCIe
She sounds like Velma from that one live-action Scooby-Doo movie 😗
WOW, I had no idea it was getting soooo complicated.
I figured platters were slowest followed by SSd Tehn all NvME/M2 were the fastest but now there 4 generations of nvme/M2?
So which version/generation is my samsung 960 Evo?
its running in a B450 tomohawk mobo running ryzen5 2600 cpu
SOOO do i need the new AMD AM5 mobos to run fastest generation of nvme?
i need a new video card soon anyways and am trying to decide if i shud just upgrade current system with new Gpu/nvme hdd and possible faster cpu and memory
OR build entire new AMD Am5 system
im gonna buy the best of the best of the best. SIR!!
if i buy KC3000 and also want to add graphics card having 6 led display option , kindly suggest motherboard ,processor and graphics card . also if i require 4 led display then what should be configuration
Great presentation! Although, I still don’t understand what my Asus Z170M-plus board mean by "M.2 X4" and "M.2 Socket 3", which you did mention in your presentation at 1:57. The manual states that the M.2 slot is an "M-key". Wikipedia says that M.2 SATA is an "M & B Key". Now, I know my board is old (PCIe x3) and it’s very easy to get an M-key NVMe PCIe x3 SSD, but the mystery to me is…… Will the NVMe work on my mobo with the mysterious "M.2 X4 Socket 3" information?
the bg music though 🙁
Finally 🥰 A video with the facts, Two versus One slot narrows it down in 3 words. Thanks
Mmmm Yummy girl !!! I loved her explaining the difference between naughty Liberian and naughty teacher
Does Kingston Technologies @kingston sell a PCI-ex1 to PCIe M.2 or PCI-ex16 to PCIe M.2 adapter?
My computer is old and did not come with either a SATA M.2 SSD or PCIe M.2, but I would still like to upgrade to get some more speed affordably out of my old desktop.
You want the m.2 NVME type which is interfaced over Pci-e which is capable of much higher data transfer speed often in the region of 5 times that of sata but exact performance comes down to the individual drive and operating conditions mainly relating in relation temperature.
If I buy this new m2 memory and have a decade old motherboard with pcie slot, will it work in there?
I wish i found this video befor i bought the wrong one 😅