Which SSD M.2 is right for me?

Николай

4 года назад

The SSD M.2 format has replaced the usual SSD and has become particularly popular in laptops because of its size. However, its purchase has become a real headache for ordinary users. It should be noted that this difficulty is not in the installation — everything is just simple there (and we will talk about it later). The problem is in the selection and purchase of SSD M.2 of the necessary type. Suffice it to say that there are two types of M.2: SATA and PCIe. And these SSDs are often incompatible with each other.

To make your life a little easier, I have been making up a large compatibility table for laptops and motherboards for several years, which shows in a clear way which SSD is right for you. Find your model, and then see what model you need to buy.

A bit of theory

The M.2 format was conceived as a change of some old interfaces (mSata, mini PCI Express) and even was called NGFF (Next Generation Form Factor) at one time. Its main task is to solve the speed problem. So the previous SATA-3 «rests” on the hardware limit of 6 Gbit/s, and M.2 PCIe can speed up to 32 Gbit/s (5 times faster!). But the devil is in the details.

What’s the problem: M.2 was created as a universal standard. This means that M.2 can also support the old SATA interface, only in the form of a new socket. Do you understand the problem, right? You can have a laptop that has the M.2 socket, however it works under the SATA-3 standard. The purchased SSD M.2 of the PCIe standard doesn’t work in it. Absolutely.

OK, let’s say you have a new M.2 socket that works with PCIe. But even PCIe is divided into several types. Its speed may differ in times depending on how many PCI Express lines are connected to the socket by laptop or motherboard producer. So if you have two lines of PCIe 2.0 format, it is 8 Gbit/s, if 4 PCIe 2.0 — 16 Gbit/s, if 4 PCIe 3.0 — then these are 32 Gbit/s. By the way, AMD Ryzen systems is still more funny — the number of lines depends directly on the processor there. That is, with one processor, you will have a speed of 16 Gbit/s, and with the other — 32 Gbit/s.

An attentive reader will say — but since this is all called M.2 and the standards may be incompatible with each other, then it is probably done somehow so that the SSD of one type can not be connected to the socket of another. The correct answer is: not exactly.

Keys were invented (the type of socket on the board) to solve the problem. As a rule, a computer with an M.2 socket uses the “B key” for PCIe x2. This does not allow to connect a card with PCIe x4 (“M key”).

But the next problem is that SSD of the M.2 format with the SATA interface also has “B key”, so it can be safely connected to the board, but it will not work. Cool, right [sarcasm]?

How difficult is it, and what to do?

As you can see, it is quite easy to get confused in all this variety. Therefore, we decided to make a small cheat sheet (based on open sources), where you can see by the equipment brand which format is suitable for you. The information is updated as knowledge is accumulated. Important: the project is not commercial. You can support it by donate a possible amount to the creators.

As for SSD models, in most cases the optimal choice is:

For SATA-3 2280: Samsung Evo 860 (minimum 250 Gb)
For PCIe (NVME) 2280: the classic is Samsung Evo 960 or Evo 970. Important point: some ASUS laptops do not like Samsung SSD. ASUS in general regularly has problems that do not allow to make a loader SSD and put the system on it. Therefore, in the case of ASUS, you should carefully read the forums and choose another model. For example, Kingston KC1000.

Depending on the size, M.2 SATA is divided into three subtypes: 2242, 2260 and 2280 (the most common). The first two numbers are the width, the second two are the length. That is, if you buy SSD with a length of 80 mm, it will not fit into the socket designed for size 2242. Look carefully at the sizes.

If you have a question about a specific device that is not listed, please write in the comments – we will try to fill in the information.

M.2 Compatibility table

Important: the information below is for reference only and is not official! We are not responsible for the fact that the purchased equipment may be incompatible. Please check the information before purchasing it.

Manufacturer / Series	Model	SATA-3 M.2			PCIe M.2
ACER		2242	2260	2280	2260	2280
Aspire E15	E5-575G			•
Aspire E5	E5-774G			•
Acer Aspire F15	F5-573G			•
Acer Aspire R13				•
Acer Aspire S13	E5-575G			•
Acer Aspire V3	V3-372			•
Acer Aspire V15	VN7-591G, VN7-592G			•
Acer Aspire V15	VN7-593G					•
Acer Aspire V17	VN7-791, VN7-792			•
Acer Aspire V17	VN7-793					•
Acer Aspire VX 15				•
Acer Aspire А717	71G			•
Acer Swift 5				•
Acer Swift 7	S7-371			•
Acer TravelMate	P658			•		•
Acer TravelMate	P259 G2			•
Acer TravelMate	X349			•		•
Acer Predator Helios 300	G3-571					•
Acer Predator Helios 300	PH317			•		•
Acer Predator 17	G5-793					•
Acer Predator 21X	G9-791					•
Acer Predator G9	G9-592					•
Chromebook	C720	•
Chromebook	C720 Core i3 (C720-3871)	•
ASUS		2242	2260	2280	2260	2280
Chromebox	M004U	•
Aspire A517	51G-57H9			•
ROG	G750JH	•
ROG	G750JX	•
ROG	GL552JX			•
ROG	GL552VX					•
ROG	GL552VW			•
ROG	FX502VM			•
ROG	GL752VW					•
ROG	GL753VE					•
	N751JK					•
	X756UA			•
	FX753VD			•		•
Zenbook	NX500JK-DR018H		•			•
Zenbook	UX301LA		•
Zenbook	UX301LAA		•
Zenbook Touch	UX31LA		•
Vivobook 15	X542UQ			•
Vivobook Pro	N580VD-DM069			•
Vivobook Pro	N580VD-DB74T					•
VivoBook Pro	N552VX					•
Dell		2242	2260	2280	2260	2280
Inspiron 15	i7559-2512BLK			•
Inspiron 15	i7559-5012gry			•
Inspiron 15	7567			•
Inspiron 17	7773			•
Venue 11 Pro	7000					•
Venue 11 Pro	7130		•
Venue 11 Pro	7139		•
Vostro 15	5568			•
XPS	13 (9343)			•
GIGABYTE		2242	2260	2280	2260	2280
AORUS	X7	•
HP		2242	2260	2280	2260	2280
Chromebook	14	•
EliteBook	820 G1	•
EliteBook	840 G1	•
EliteBook	850 G1	•
EliteBook	850 G2				•
EliteBook Revolve	810 G2	•
Folio	1040 G1			•
Omen 15				•		•
Omen 17	17-w109ur			•		•
Pavilion 15	t-an000 Star Wars Special Edition			•
ProBook	430 G1	•
ProBook	430 G2	•
ProBook	430 G3			•
ProBook	430 G4			•
ProBook	440 G3			•
ProBook	440 G4			•
ProBook	450 G2	•
ProBook	450 G3	•		•
ProBook	450 G4			•
ProBook	470 G1			•
ProBook	470 G3			•
ProBook	470 G4			•
ProBook	640 G1	•
ProBook	650 G1	•
Spectre	CTO 13t-3000			•
Spectre	X360			•
ZBook	14	•
ZBook	15u G2				•
Lenovo		2242	2260	2280	2260	2280
Legion	Y520					•
Legion	Y720					•
G Series	G410	•
G Series	G510	•
G Series	G710	•
V Series	V4400u	•
B Series	B5400	•
M Series	M5400	•
Flex	14	•
Flex	14D	•
Flex	15	•
Flex	15D	•
IdeaPad	L440	•
IdeaPad	L540	•
IdeaPad	U330	•
IdeaPad	U430	•
IdeaPad	U530	•
IdeaPad	U530p	•
IdeaPad	Y410p	•
IdeaPad	Y510p*	•
IdeaPad	Y700			•
LaVie	Z			•
LaVie	Z 360			•
ThinkPad	S431	•
ThinkPad	S440	•
ThinkPad	S531	•
ThinkPad	S540	•
ThinkPad	T431s	•
ThinkPad	T440	•
ThinkPad	T440p	•
ThinkPad	T440s	•
ThinkPad	T450	•
ThinkPad	T450s	•
ThinkPad	T540	•
ThinkPad	T540p	•
ThinkPad	T550	•
ThinkPad	W540	•
ThinkPad	X240			•
ThinkPad	X240	•
ThinkPad	X240s	•
ThinkPad	X250	•
ThinkPad Edge	E431	•
ThinkPad Edge	E440	•
ThinkPad Edge	E531	•
ThinkPad Edge	E540	•
ThinkPad Yoga	12	•
ThinkPad Yoga	14	•
ThinkPad Yoga 2	13			•
Razer		2242	2260	2280	2260	2280
Blade	14 (2014)			•
Blade	14 (2015)			•
Samsung		2242	2260	2280	2260	2280
ATIV	Book 9 Plus			•
Sony		2242	2260	2280	2260	2280
VAIO	Duo 13	•		•
VAIO	Pro 13 Series**	•		•
VAIO	Pro 13 (bootable)					•

Примечания:

* Model IdeaPad Y510p exists in a modification with or without M.2.
** There are VAIO Pro 13 models with both SATA and PCIe on board. You must carefully read the instructions, or see what kind of SSD model is already installed in the laptop

Manufacturer / Series	Model	SATA-3 M.2			PCIe M.2
MSI		2242	2260	2280	2260	2280
GT80S 6QF				•		•
GT80S 6QE
GT80S 6QD
GT72S 6QF
GT72S 6QE
GT72S 6QD
GT72 6QE
GT72 6QD
GS72 6QE
GS72 6QD
GS72 6QC
GS70 6QE
GS60 6QE
GS70 6QD
GS60 6QD
GS70 6QC
GS60 6QC
GS40 6QE
GE72 6QE
GE62 6QE
GE72 6QD
GE62 6QD
GE62 6QC
GE72 6QC
GE72 6QL
GE62 6QL
GE72 6QF
GE62 6QF
GP72 6QF
GP62 6QF
GP72 6QE
GP62 6QE
GL72 6QF
GL62 6QF
GL72 6QE
GL62 6QE
GL72 6QD
GL62 6QD
GL72 6QC
GL62 6QC
GT80 2QE				•
GT80 2QD				•
GT80 2QC				•
GT72 2QE				•
GT72 2QD				•
GS60 2QE				•
GS60 2QD				•
GS60 2QC				•
GE72 2QF				•
GE62 2QF				•
GE72 2QE				•
GE62 2QE				•
GE72 2QD				•
GE62 2QD				•
GE72 2QC				•
GE62 2QC				•
GE72 2QL				•
GE62 2QL				•
GP72 2QE				•
GP62 2QE				•
GP72 2QD				•
GP62 2QD				•
GT72 2PE				•
GT72 2PC				•
GS60 2PE				•
GS60 2PC				•
GS60 2PL				•
GS60 2PM				•
GS30 2M				•
Vortex G65 6QF				•		•
Vortex G65 6QD				•		•
PX60 6QE				•		•
PX60 6QD				•		•
PE70 6QE				•		•
PE60 6QE				•		•
PE60 6QD				•		•
PE70 6QD				•		•

MiniPC, HTPC and Motherboards

Manufacturer / Series	Model	SATA-3 M.2			PCIe M.2
Dell		2242	2260	2280	2260	2280
Inspiron	Micro 3050	•
HP		2242	2260	2280	2260	2280
EliteBook	820 G2				•
Pavilion Mini	300-020	•
Stream Mini	200-010	•
Intel		2242	2260	2280	2260	2280
NUC kit	NUC5i3MYHE	•		•
NUC kit	NUC5i3RYH	•	•	•
NUC kit	NUC5i3RYK	•	•	•
NUC kit	NUC5i5MYHE	•		•
NUC kit	NUC5i5RYH	•	•	•
NUC kit	NUC5i5RYK	•	•	•
NUC Board	NUC5i3MYBE	•		•
NUC Board	NUC5i5MYBE	•		•
MSI		2242	2260	2280	2260	2280
Cubi	2 Plus					•
Cubi	2 Plus vPro			•

Manufacturer / Сhipset	Model	M.2 Type	M.2 size
ASRock			2242	2260	2280
AM2+	A88M-G/3.1	PCIe Gen2 x4	•	•	•
AM3+	AMD Fatal1ty 990FX	SATA3	•
Intel H97	Fatal1ty H97 Killer	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•		•
Intel X99	Fatal1ty X99M Killer	PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3	•		•
Intel X99	X99 Extreme3	PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel X99	X99 Extreme4	PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3	•		•
Intel X99	X99 Extreme6	PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel X99	X99 Extreme11	SATA3			•
Intel X99	X99M Extreme4	PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel X99	X99 OC Formula	PCIe Gen2 x4 & SATA3	•		•
Intel X99	X99 WS	PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3	•		•
Intel X99	X99 WS-E/10G	PCIe Gen2 x4 & SATA3	•		•
Intel X99	X99E-ITX/ac	PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3	•		•
Intel Z97	Fatal1ty Z97 Killer	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•		•
Intel Z97	Fatal1ty Z97 Professional	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Fatal1ty Z97 Killer	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Fatal1ty Z97 Killer/3.1	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Fatal1ty Z97 Killer/3.1	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Fatal1ty Z97M Killer	PCIeGen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Fatal1ty Z97X Killer/3.1	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97 Extreme4	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•		•
Intel Z97	Z97 Extreme4	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97 Extreme6	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97 Extreme6/ac	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97 Extreme6/3.1	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97 Extreme9	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•		•
Intel Z97	Z97 OC Formula	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•		•
Intel Z97	Z97M OC Formula	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97 Pro4	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97E-ITX/ac	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•
Intel Z97	Z97M OC Formula	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•		•
Z270	TAICHI	PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3			•
ASUS			2242	2260	2280
Intel H97	H97I-PLUS	SATA и PCIE		•	•
Intel Z97	Z97M-PLUS	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3		•	•
Intel H97	H97-PLUS	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3		•	•
Intel H97	H97M-PLUS	SATA & PCIE		•	•
Intel H97	H97M-E/CSM	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3		•	•
Intel H97	MAXIMUS VI EXTREME	PCIe Gen2 x1 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel H97	MAXIMUS VI FORMULA	PCIe Gen2 x1 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel H97	MAXIMUS VI GENE	PCIe Gen2 x1 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel H97	MAXIMUS VI IMPACT	PCIe Gen2 x1 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel HM175		Sata3			•
Intel X99	RAMPAGE V EXTREME	PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3		•
Intel Z97	MAXIMUS VII FORMULA	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3		•
Intel Z97	MAXIMUS VII FORMULA/WATCH DOGS	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3		•
Intel Z97	MAXIMUS VII GENE	PCIe Gen2 x4		•	•
Intel Z97	MAXIMUS VII HERO	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3		•	•
Intel Z97	MAXIMUS VII IMPACT	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3		•	•
Intel Z97	Z97-A	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3		•	•
Intel Z97	Z97-C	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3		•	•
Intel Z97	Z97-DELUXE (NFC & WLC)	PCIe & SATA3		•	•
Intel Z97	Z97-DELUXE/USB 3.1	PCIe & SATA3		•	•
Intel Z97	Z97-E	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97I-PLUS	SATA & PCIE		•	•
Intel Z97	Z97-K/CSM	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3		•	•
Intel Z97	Z97-P	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3		•	•
Intel Z97	Z97-PRO	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3		•	•
Intel Z97	Z97-PRO(Wi-Fi ac)	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3		•	•
Intel Z97	Z97M-PLUS	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3		•	•
Intel Z97	Z97-WS	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3		•	•
Intel Z97	Z97I-PLUS	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3		•	•
B250	Prime B250 Pro	Два M.2: PCIe/Sata и только PCIe	•	•	•
X299	PRIME X299-A	Два M.2: PCIe/Sata и только PCIe	•	•	•
x370	Prime x370 Pro	Зависит от процессора. C младшими только SATA3, с Ryzen появляется поддержка PCIe	•	•	•
X370	ROG Strix z370-E Gaming	Два M.2: PCIe/Sata и только PCIe	•	•	•
GIGABYTE			2242	2260	2280
	GA-970-Gaming (rev. 1.0)	PCIe x4/x2/x1 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-990FX-Gaming (rev. 1.0)	PCIe x2/x1 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-H97-D3H	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-H97-Gaming 3	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-H97M-D3HP	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-X99-Gaming G1 WIFI	SATA3			•
	GA-X99-Gaming 5	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-X99-Gaming 5P (rev. 1.0)	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-X99M-Gaming 5	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-X99-GAMING 7	SATA3		•	•
	GA-X99-SOC Champion (rev. 1.0)	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-X99-UD3	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-X99-UD3P (rev. 1.0)	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-X99-UD4 (rev. 1.0)	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-X99-UD4 (rev. 1.1)	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-X99-UD4P (rev. 1.0)	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-X99-UD5 WIFI	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-X99-UD7 WIFI	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-Z97-D3H(rev. 1.0)	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-Z97-D3H(rev. 1.1)	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-Z97X-Gaming 3	SATA3			•
	GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-Z97X-Gaming 5	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-Z97X-Gaming 7	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-Z97X-SLI	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-Z97X-UD3H	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK (rev. 1.0)	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK (rev. 1.1)	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-Z97X-UD5H	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-Z97X-UD5H-BK (rev. 1.0)	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	GA-Z97X-UD5H-BK (rev. 1.1)	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
MSI			2242	2260	2280
	H97 GAMING3	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	H97 GUARD-PRO	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	H97M-G43	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	X99A GODLIKE GAMING	PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3	•	•	•
	X99A MPOWER AC	PCIe & SATA3	•	•	•
	X99A RAIDER	SATA3			•
	X99A XPOWER AC	PCIe & SATA3	•	•	•
	X99S MPOWER	PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3	•	•	•
	X99S XPOWER AC	PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97 GAMING 3	SATA3			•
Intel Z97	Z97 GAMING 5	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97 GAMING 7	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97 GAMING 9 AC	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97 GAMING 9 ACK	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97 GUARD-PRO	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3			•
Intel Z97	Z97 MPOWER	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97 MPOWER MAX AC	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97 U3 PLUS	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97 XPOWER AC	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97-G55 SLI	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97M-G43	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
Intel Z97	Z97M GAMING	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	Z97S GUARD-PRO	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	Z97S SLI PLUS	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•	•	•
	Z97S SLI Krait Edition	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3	•
	X99S GAMING 7	SATA3			•
	X99S GAMING 9 AC	SATA3			•
H270	H270 Gaming Pro Carbon	Bouth: Gen3 x4 & SATA3			•
970A	970A Gaming Pro Carbon	PCIe Gen2 x2 & SATA3			•
B350	B350 TOMAHAWK	PCIe x4			•

How do I install an SSD in my PC

In most cases, this is easy. The algorithm is as follows:

Open YouTube
Enter the «laptop / motherboard model» + M.2 installation
Repeat seen on video 🙂

How do I transfer Windows to new SSD for free

Аfter you’ve installed the M.2 SSD is making sure that your computer recognizes it as a new storage device. Some motherboards will do it , but when that doesn’t happen, you’ll need to manually tell BIOS that an M.2 device is connected.

The final step is clone yor operating system to a new SSD. There are a huge number of paid software products that allow to clone the system partition of a hard disk on a new SSD M.2. Many of them cost around $50 and do not always solve well their task.
We prefer the time-tested partly free product Aomei Partition Assistant from Chinese developers. In versions before 7.5.1, the SSD cloning function was available in the free version, but starting from version 8.xx, it has become available only in the paid package.

This would be a problem if developers did not periodically present keys for any one version of their system. Now you can download version 8.7 and use the key: AOPR-K7X4P-Z126E-XZZUX Great offer for a one-time operation!
The migration process is described in detail on this page.