By iSunshare |
Summary: Now more and more people prefer to upgrade their computer by themselves. To improve the computer performance, it is a quick and wise way to use SSD instead of the hard disk. There are so many SSD types, it is really a troublesome problem for us to choose the suitable SSD. Here, this article will help you choose a right SSD according to your PC's motherboard supporting sockets.
1. Various SSD Interface Types Introduction
2. Suggestions for Selecting SSD
| SATA interface | SATA cable | SATA SSD |
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SATA interface is currently the most common SSD interface. It can be divided into SATA 1.0 , SATA 2.0 and SATA3.0 but all of their appearance are the same. The interface of SATA3.0 is more popular than that of others. It has 6Gb / s's bandwidth and the theoretical limit read-write speed is nearly 600MB/s. Even so, in the most tests of SSD performance, it has quite high 4K read-write capability on this interface.
SATA 3.0 interface SSD can fully cope with daily use. Also, its heat dissipation effect is very considerable. But for the man who pursuit the perfect cable layout, SATA interface SSD will bring some troubles with more cables.
| mSATA interface | mSATA SSD |
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This interface is rare now and it is commonly found on early laptops. Most laptops use the M.2 interface today. The mSATA interface is being phased out.
| M.2 interface (B Key) | M.2 SSD (B Key) |
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| M.2 interface (M Key) | M.2 SSD (M Key) |
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1. The M.2 interface of SATA channel
The SSD of this interface is generally called M.2 AHCI SSD. In fact, it is the SATA SSD with M.2 interface. It's limit reading speed is 700MB/s, writing speed is 500MB/s. In general, some new motherboards with SATA channel M.2 SSD interface have compatibility problems with the current using in some laptops.
Unless the motherboard restrictions, generally, we do not recommend the M.2 AHCI SSD. Compared with SATA SSD, it has little advantage except there is no connection cable. Besides, two SATA interfaces will strike after some motherboards are plugged in M.2 AHCI SSD. For details, please refer to the relevant instructions.
2. The M.2 interface of PCI-E channel & NVMe protocol
The PCI-E channel and the NVMe protocol often work together, the lack of either one will slow down the SSD. The NVMe protocol M.2 SSD in the market usually uses PCI-E *4 transmission channel. It is commonly known as M.2 NVMe SSD. This information will be labeled on the packaging box by manfacturers. Compare to SATA 3 SSD, the M.2 NVMe SSD's transfer speed can over 1000MB/s easily.
M.2 NVMe SSD has the high reading and writing speed, high iops and high integration degree. But, the heat is a problem. Some SSDs come with their own heat sink, some do not. You can add heat sink to prevent the SSD from off speed and stuck.
Compared with SATA SSD, the price of M.2 NVMe SSD is more expensive. Users can choose it based on their demands and the budget.
When some motherboards are plugged into M.2 NVMe SSD, the second graphics card slot will strike. Please refer to the relevant instructions for details.
Socket 2 and Socket 3 :
The M.2 interface has two versions, B key (Socket 2) and M key (Socket 3), the M key SSD is faster than B key. In short, if there is a gap on the left of the slot opening, it supports B key SSD ; If the gap is on the right, it supports M key SSD.
B key SSD can be installed on M key interface, but M key SSD can only be used on M key interface.
The different SSD parameters 2242, 2260 and 2280:
Fundamentally, 2242 and 2280 only represent the size of the SSD. The specification of 2242 is 22 x 42 (mm), 2280 is 22 x 80 (mm). There is a 2260 specification 22 x 60 (mm) between 2242 and 2280.
In these three parameters, 2280 represents the longest M.2 SSD specification. 22mm is a uniform width, 42, 60 and 80 are in different lengths.
With the same width, different length, these SSDs have different usages. The SSDs of 2260 and 2280 specification are mainly used in desktop motherboards, while 2242 specifications are mainly used in notebook. Of course, some ITX motherboards also use 2242 specification SSDs.
With the different lengths, their performance will also be affected. Generally speaking, the long one is good bcuase the increase of the available layout space is conducive to the SSD temperature control.
Before finishing your order of the SSD, please confirm that how long your computer motherboard supports. You can also manually measure the distance from the socket port to the screw port.
| PCI-E interface | PCI-E SSD |
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The PCI-E SSD is the knife card type, which absorbs the advantages of the M.2 NVMe SSD and adds heat dissipation module. With better temperature control, PCI-E SSD has better performance than M.2 NVMe SSD.
Because of the heat dissipation module, the whole SSD will be heavier. Sometimes, the PCI-E SSD needs extra power supply, which will occupy the previous PCI-E graphics card slot. There is generally no separate PCI-E * 4 slot on the main board. At the same time, the price of PCI-E SSD is also higher than M.2 NVMe SSD.
| U.2 interface | U.2 cable | U.2 SSD |
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The SSD with U.2 interface is commonly seen in enterprise application scenarios, while it is relatively rare used on individuals. Interestingly, because of the desire for excellent stability, some of the space will be converted to secondary reserve space. As a result, 512 GB will become 400 GB.
The SSD of this interface has low support for the desktop motherboard. Few manufacturers provide the native interest of U.2 on the motherboard. But the U.2 interface SSD has extremely high performance in cooling capacity, reading and writing speed and iops.
Since the U.2 SSD is very unpopular among individuals, users who pursue extreme experience should either choose the motherboard containing U.2 interface or buy the corresponding switching equipment.
The current mainstream SSD interfaces are SATA 3.0 and M.2. SATA interface. But the M.2 interface has a broader application prospects. From SATA 3.0 interface, M.2 interface, PCI-E interface to U.2 interface, their performance and price become higher and higher.
It should be noted that SATA 3.0 interface SSD has been well cope with our daily use and the price is affordable for the public.
Users who want to enjoy better experience can consider upgrading to the M.2 NVMe SSD. It will be more expensive, but the performance will be significantly improved accordingly.
As for M.2 NVMe SSD, due to higher integration, faster speed and higher iops, it comes with the heat issue. You need a reliable heat dissipation working to ensure the stable performance.
The PCI-E and U.2 interface SSDs have excellent heat dissipation and performance. But there are more troublesome issues to for installation and the price is more expensive. Unless M.2 NVMe SSDs cannot meet users' needs, generally they are not recommended for using.
Some users enjoy playing games or spending more time in designing so that they need higher performance SSD's support in these missions. A qualified SSD should have high iops and 4K read-write performance. There are so many brands and manfacturers in market, it is not easy to find which one is better. According to our tests, Samsung's SSDs usually have better performance in these missions. You can refer to 5 Cheapest SSDs Review in 2019, which will give you performance data. For playing game and design environment, we recommend Samsung 860 EVO. These series have higher performance than similar products.
At the same time, there are lots of people just using computer to edit Word documents, surf the internet, view some documents and do other easy missions. A common SSD is enough for them to cope with the operations. After tested some SSDs, we recommend using Toshiba EX200 to upgrading computer.
By service life and power-off protection :
Some users prefer long service life SSD, while some need power-off protection function. For the man who pursue long SSD's life, we recommend him to buy big capacity SSD. A biger capacity than his needing and high TBW (Total Bytes Written) can help SSD run longer. Samsung 860 EVO can satisfy these people as it has long life. For the man who like power-off function, Intel SSD D3-S4610 Series can be a good choice.
As people put more and more concerns on data security, the SSD manfacturers provide data encryption supporting products. These SSDs can protect your data when someone want to view them without keyword. 256-bit AES, TCG Opal, IEEE1667 are usually using encryption algorithm. Intel 545s, Samsung 860 EVO, etc have this function.
In general, after understanding the motherboard supporting interface, you need to take the SSD brand, word of mouth, security, service life, after-sales service and purchase way into consideration. You can also do the corresponding cooling work to maintain the SSD reliable and efficient operations, so that your computer performance will stable and significantly improved.
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