What does 100 g m2 mean? SSD M.2 – Realities of the standard and review of the available Sandisk X300 model. What are single-sided and double-sided M.2 SSDs

Maybe now everyone knows that SSDs are very fast and get along very well with the operating system, which makes it a "smoke". Of course, many of you have already bought an SSD and are enjoying the speed and response time.
Today you will see an SSD that looks like M.2, which is installed directly on the motherboard or laptop with a free M.2 slot.

What is M.2?
M.2 slot that can connect SSD drives and other wireless network cards.
Currently M.2 comes in two versions:
1. SATA M.2
2. M.2 PCI-Express

Attention!
1. Before you buy an SSD, check which M.2 type you have. Just go to M.2 SATA SSD M.2 SATA and PCI-E SSD M.2 just go PCI-E.
2. M.2 SATA SSD drives come in different sizes. SSD tutorial 2280, which is 22mm by 80mm width and length. There may be one more aspect printed on your laptop or your motherboard (30, 42, 60 or 110 millimeters).
3. Not all laptops and motherboards have an M.2 slot. Usually the latter can, but not necessarily.

Video Tutorial - Installing M.2 SSD and SSD performance difference compared to SSHD
M.2 SSDs - prices voucher I1I7YG41

Whether in the past or this year, articles about SSDs can safely begin with the same passage: “The solid-state drive market is on the verge of serious changes.” For several months now, we have been looking forward to the moment when manufacturers finally begin releasing fundamentally new models of mass-produced SSDs for personal computers, which instead of the usual SATA 6 Gb/s interface will use the faster PCI Express bus. But the bright moment, when the market is flooded with fresh and noticeably more high-performance solutions, everything is postponed and postponed, mainly due to delays in bringing the necessary controllers to fruition. Those single models of consumer SSDs with the PCI Express bus, which do become available, are still clearly experimental in nature and cannot amaze us with their performance.

Being in such anxious anticipation of change, it is easy to lose sight of other events that, although they do not have a fundamental impact on the entire industry, are nevertheless also important and interesting. Something similar just happened to us: new trends have spread unnoticed in the consumer SSD market, to which we have paid almost no attention until now. SSDs of a new format - M.2 - have begun to appear on sale en masse. Just a couple of years ago, this form factor was talked about only as a promising standard, but over the past year and a half it has managed to gain a huge number of supporters both among platform developers and among SSD manufacturers. As a result, today M.2 drives are not a rarity, but an everyday reality. They are produced by many manufacturers, they are freely sold in stores and are installed in computers everywhere. Moreover, the M.2 format has managed to carve out a place for itself not only in mobile systems for which it was originally intended. Many motherboards for desktop computers today are also equipped with an M.2 slot, as a result of which such SSDs are actively penetrating classic desktops as well.

Considering all this, we came to the conclusion that it is necessary to pay close attention to solid-state drives in the M.2 format. Despite the fact that many models of such flash drives are analogues of the usual 2.5-inch SATA SSDs, which are tested by our laboratory on a regular basis, among them there are also original products that do not have twins of the classic form factor. Therefore, we decided to catch up and conduct a single consolidated test of the most popular M.2 SSD capacities available in domestic stores: 128 and 256 GB. The Moscow company “ Regard", offering extremely a wide range of SSD, including in the M.2 form factor.

⇡ Unity and diversity of the world M.2

Slots and cards of the M.2 format (previously this format was called Next Generation Form Factor - NGFF) were originally developed as a faster and more compact replacement for mSATA - a popular standard used by solid-state drives in various mobile platforms. But unlike its predecessor, M.2 offers fundamentally greater flexibility in both logical and mechanical parts. The new standard describes several options for the length and width of cards, and also allows the use of both SATA and the faster PCI Express interface to connect solid-state drives.

There is no doubt that PCI Express will replace the drive interfaces we are used to. Direct use of this bus without additional add-ons allows you to reduce latencies when accessing data, and thanks to its scalability, it significantly increases throughput. Even two PCI Express 2.0 lanes can provide significantly higher data transfer speeds compared to the usual SATA 6 Gb/s interface, and the M.2 standard allows you to connect to an SSD using up to four lines PCI Express 3.0. This foundation for throughput growth will lead to a new generation of high-speed solid-state drives capable of faster loading of the operating system and applications, as well as reduced latency when moving large amounts of data.

Formally, the M.2 standard is a mobile version of the SATA Express protocol, described in the SATA 3.2 specification. However, over the past couple of years, M.2 has become much more widespread than SATA Express: M.2 connectors can now be found on current motherboards and laptops, and SSDs in the M.2 form factor are widely available for sale. SATA Express cannot boast of such support from the industry. This is partly due to the greater flexibility of M.2: depending on the implementation, this interface can be compatible with devices using the SATA, PCI Express and even USB 3.0 protocols. Moreover, in its maximum version, M.2 supports up to four PCI Express lines, while SATA Express connectors are capable of transmitting data over only two such lines. In other words, today M.2 slots seem to be not only convenient, but also a more promising foundation for future SSDs. Not only are they suitable for both mobile and desktop applications, but they are also capable of delivering the highest throughput of any existing options connecting consumer solid state drives.

However, given the fact that the key property of the M.2 standard is the variety of its types, it should be borne in mind that not all M.2 drives are the same, and their compatibility with various options for the corresponding slots is another story. To begin with, the M.2 form factor SSD boards available on the market are 22mm wide, but come in five lengths: 30, 42, 60, 80, or 110mm. This dimension is reflected in the markings, for example, the M.2 2280 form factor means that the drive card is 22 mm wide and 80 mm long. For M.2 slots it is usually indicated full list sizes of drive cards with which they can be physically compatible.

The second feature that differentiates different M.2 variants is the “keys” in the slot slot and, accordingly, in the blade connector of the cards, which prevent the installation of drive cards in connectors that are logically incompatible with them. At the moment, M.2 SSD uses two key layout options out of eleven described in the specification different provisions. Two more options have found application on WLAN and Bluetooth cards in the M.2 form factor (yes, this also happens - for example, wireless adapter Intel 7260NGW), and seven key positions are reserved for the future.

M.2 slots can only have one key cutout, but M.2 cards can have multiple key cutouts at once, making them compatible with multiple types of slots at the same time. The type B key, located instead of pins numbered 12-19, means that no more than two PCI Express lanes are connected to the slot. The M type key, occupying pin positions 59-66, means that the slot has four PCI Express lanes and therefore can provide higher performance. In other words, the M.2 card must not only be the right size, but also have a key layout compatible with the slot. At the same time, the keys not only limit mechanical compatibility between various connectors and M.2 form factor cards, but also perform another function: their location prevents drives from being installed incorrectly in the slot.

The information given in the table should help to correctly identify the type of slot available in the system. But you need to keep in mind that the possibility of mechanical joining of a slot and connector is only a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for their complete logical compatibility. The fact is that slots with keys B and M can accommodate not only the PCI Express interface, but also SATA, but the location of the keys does not provide any information about its absence or presence. The same applies to M.2 card connectors.

There is another problem. It lies in the fact that many motherboard developers ignore the requirements of the specifications and install the “coolest” slots with an M type key on their products, but only install two of the four assigned PCIe lanes on them. In addition, the M.2 slots available on motherboards may not be compatible with SATA drives at all. In particular, ASUS is guilty of installing M.2 slots with reduced SATA functionality. SSD manufacturers also adequately respond to these challenges, many of whom prefer to make both key cutouts on their cards at once, which makes it possible to physically install drives in M.2 slots of any type.

As a result, it turns out that to determine real opportunities, compatibility and the presence of a SATA interface in M.2 slots and connectors only external signs impossible. Therefore, complete information about the implementation features of certain slots and drives can only be obtained from the passport characteristics of a particular device.

Fortunately, at the moment the range of M.2 drives is not so large, so the situation has not yet become completely confusing. In fact, there is currently only one model of M.2 drive with a PCIe x2 interface on the market - Plextor M6e - and one model with a PCIe x4 interface - Samsung XP941. All other flash drives available in stores in the M.2 form factor use the familiar SATA 6 GB/s protocol. Moreover, all M.2 SSDs found in domestic stores have two key cutouts - in positions B and M. The only exception is the Samsung XP941, which has only one key - in position M, but it is not sold in Russia.

However, if your computer or motherboard has an M.2 slot and you plan to fill it with an SSD, there are a few things you need to check first:

• Does your system support M.2 SATA SSD, M.2 PCIe SSD, or both?
• If the system has support for M.2 PCIe drives, how many PCI Express lanes are connected to the M.2 slot?
• What arrangement of keys on the SSD card is allowed by the M.2 slot in the system?
• What is maximum length M.2 card that can be installed in your motherboard?

And only after you can definitely answer all these questions, you can move on to choosing suitable model SSD.

Kingston SSDs are the ideal productivity solution for both consumers and organizations. Available in a wide range of models and capacities, Kingston SSDs extend the life of your PC and provide significant improvements in speed, performance and reliability over conventional hard drives.

Kingston SSDs come with a two-, three-, or five-year warranty, free technical support and feature legendary Kingston reliability; they provide data security and reserve resources for future performance improvements.

If you have questions about Kingston SSDs, you'll find the answers here. If your question is not answered here, please visit the product pages below or contact your Kingston representative.

FAQ

SSD 101

What is an SSD?

SSD is short for solid-state drive. SSDs use NAND Flash or DRAM memory chips to replace the magnetic platters and other mechanical components found in standard hard drives (HDDs).

How much faster are SSDs?

It's difficult to say, because... no two systems are alike. Performance can be affected by the OS, loaded drivers, applications used, processor speed/configuration, and many other factors. There are various websites and magazines that have done test comparisons between SSD and HDD and SSD is found to be much faster. For example, when comparing random read speed, SSDs are more than 20,000% faster than high-speed HDDs.

It is worth noting that SSD drives do not have the physical limitations of hard drives. HDD platters are circular (like CDs) and data closer to the center is accessed more slowly than data near the edge of the platter. It takes the same amount of time to access all data on the SSD. HDD efficiency also decreases with increasing data fragmentation, while SSD performance is not significantly affected even if the data is not arranged in a contiguous sequence.

What is IOPS?

Input Output per Second (IOPS, number of input/output operations per second) is a value indicating the number of transactions (read or write operations) per second that a storage device (HDD or SSD) can support. IOPS should not be confused with read/write speed; The IOPS value is largely related to the load on the server.

What does "wear leveling" mean? How important is it?

SSD drives use NAND flash memory to store data. One of the disadvantages of NAND memory is that flash memory cells wear out over time. To extend memory life, the SSD memory controller uses various algorithms to help distribute data across all memory cells. This prevents any given cell or group of cells from being used too often. The use of wear leveling technology is widespread and very effective.

Why is my SSD capacity smaller than some others?

To increase performance and service life, some SSD manufacturers reserve part of the drive's capacity from the user area and transfer it to the controller. This technique is called allocating (increasing) the reserve area of ​​the drive, and it increases the performance and service life of the SSD. All of Kingston's current SSDs feature expandable spare capacity and come in capacities of 120GB, 240GB, 480GB, 960GB, 1.92TB and 3.84TB. .

Does the SSD wear out or lose speed with long-term use?

NAND flash memory used in USB drives, SD memory cards and SSD drives has service life limitations; this means that you cannot write data to it forever. Flash memory products wear out over time, but with features such as wear leveling and increased spare capacity, SSDs typically last longer than the systems in which they are installed. We measure the service life of a drive in terms of the amount of data written in terabytes (TBW, Terabytes Written); Depending on the storage capacity, you can record hundreds of terabytes to petabytes of data. SSD speed does not change throughout the life of the drive. .

What are SMART attributes?

S.M.A.R.T. stands for “Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology” (self-diagnosis, analysis and reporting technology) and is part of the ATA standard. SMART attributes are used to assess the “health” of a drive and are intended to notify the user (administrator, program, etc.) about the threat of drive failure.

Can an SSD be used in an external enclosure via USB or e-SATA?

Yes. Yes, Kingston SSDs can be used in external USB enclosures, e-SATA, Thunderbolt and Firewire. Please note that if the user chooses to enable the password via the ATA security command, the drive will not be accessible through the external enclosure.

Comparison of SSD and HDD

What is the difference?

HDD hard drives use “rotating magnetic platter” technology, which has been used since the mid-50s of the last century. Data is written to these disks and read from the disks using moving magnetic heads. HDDs represent mechanical devices with many moving parts, so they are more susceptible to mechanical breakdowns and failures due to negative influences external conditions, such as high or low temperature, mechanical shock and vibration.

Why are SSDs more expensive than HDDs?

Although the SSD market is growing and gaining popularity, it is still relatively new. As with other technologies, you need to wait until sales increase to a point where production costs decrease. Over the past few years, the price gap between SSD and HDD has become significantly smaller.

Are there any disadvantages to switching from HDDs to SSDs?

The only factor in favor of hard drives is the price per gigabyte. Currently, HDDs are sold in capacities of 500GB or more, and SSDs are sold in capacities of 120GB or more. Kingston currently offers SSDs in capacities ranging from 120GB to 3.84GB.

You should buy a traditional HDD if you need to store large amounts of data, and choose an SSD if speed is more important to you. Typically, an SSD is used as a boot drive containing the OS and applications, and a HDD is used to store data files.

Can I migrate data or OS from my existing HDD to a new SSD?

Yes. Kingston offers SSD upgrade kits that contain everything you need to replace your laptop or desktop HDD with a Kingston SSD, including software for convenient transfer of OS and important data. Please note that SSD-only manufacturing units (SKUs) do not include software. If you need to clone your hard drive to a new SSD, you will need a computer software package.

Does SSD require defragmentation like HDD?

No. SSDs never need to be defragmented. Defragmentation can shorten the life of an SSD. If your system is set to defragment automatically, it is best to disable defragmentation when using an SSD. Some operating systems defragment automatically, so you may need to disable this feature for Kingston SSDs.

M.2 M.2 SSDs Explained

What is M.2? Same as NGFF?

M.2 was developed by the PCI-SIG and SATA-IO standards organizations and is described in the PCI-SIG M.2 and SATA Rev. specifications. 3.2. It was previously called Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF, new generation form factor), and in 2013 it was formally renamed M.2. Many people still refer to M.2 as the NGFF standard.

The compact M.2 form factor applies to many types of expansion cards, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, satellite navigation, Near Field Communication (NFC), digital radio, Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig). communications), Wireless WAN (WWAN), and solid state drives (SSD).

M.2 has a subset of special form factors specifically for SSDs.

Why should I install it?

All M.2 SSDs have a recessed mount in the M.2 connectors of motherboards. The M.2 form factor enables increased performance with reduced resource consumption, as well as future SSD technology enhancements. Additionally, no power or data cables are required to connect the cards. Like mSATA SSDs, M.2 SSD drives simply plug into a slot.

What do "one-sided" and "two-sided" mean?

For some space-constrained embedded systems, M.2 specifications provide different M.2 SSD thicknesses - 3 single-sided versions (S1, S2, and S3) and 5 double-sided versions (D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5). May apply for some platforms special requirements due to limited space under the M.2 connector.

Kingston's SSDM.2 meets the specifications of dual-sided M.2 and can be installed in most motherboards compatible with dual-sided M.2 SSDs; contact your sales representative, if you require single-sided SSDs for embedded systems.

What systems does it work on?

There are many laptops and motherboards that support M.2 SSD. Before purchasing an M.2 SSD, review the system specifications and user manual to ensure compatibility.

What are the different sizes of M.2 SSD?

For M.2 SSD modules, the most commonly used sizes are 22mm (width) x 30mm (length), 22mm x 42mm, 22mm x 60mm, 22mm x 80mm, and 22mm x 110mm. The boards are named according to their dimensions given above: the first 2 digits determine the width (all 22mm), and the remaining digits determine the length from 30mm to 110mm. So, M.2 SSDs are listed as 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 and 22110.

The picture below shows a 2.5-inch SSD and M.2 SSD 2242, 2260 and 2280:

Why are there different lengths?

There are 2 following reasons to use different meanings length.

1. Various lengths allow you to use various containers SSD drives; The longer the drive, the more NAND chips can be installed in it along with a controller and sometimes a DRAM memory chip. The 2230 and 2242 lengths support 1-3 NAND chips, while the 2280 and 22110 support up to 8 NAND chips, allowing for up to 1TB SSDs in the largest M.2 form factors.
2. M.2 size may be limited by the size of the motherboard socket: some laptops may support M.2 for caching, but have few free space, in which only the M.2 2242 SSD can be installed (the M.2 2230 SSD is smaller in size, but in most cases is not required where the M.2 2242 SSD can be installed).

Is M.2 SSD the same as mSATA SSD?

No, they are different. M.2 supports SATA and PCIe drive interface options, while mSATA supports only SATA. Physically, they differ in appearance and may not connect to the same system connectors.

M.2 2280 (higher) compared to mSATA. Note the keys (or slots) that prevent the card from being placed in incompatible slots.

What was it created for?

The M.2 form factor is designed to provide a variety of card options in compact form factors, including SSDs. Previously, SSDs used mSATA due to its smallest form factor, but mSATA cannot scale to 1TB capacities at a reasonable price. Therefore it was chosen new specification M.2, providing various sizes and capacities of M.2 SSD cards. The M.2 specification allows system manufacturers to standardize on a common, compact form factor that can be used with large containers drives.

Do I need a special driver for an M.2 SSD to work?

No, M.2 SATA and PCIe SSDs use standard AHCI drivers built into the OS. However, M.2 SSD may need to be enabled in the system BIOS to use it.

Why do I need to enable M.2 SSD in BIOS?

In some cases, the M.2 SSD connector may share PCIe lanes or SATA ports with other devices on the motherboard. Check your motherboard documentation because using both shared ports at the same time may cause one of the devices to become disabled.

What do the different modular keys mean?

The M.2 specification provides 12 types of keys or slots on the M.2 card or connector interface; many of them are reserved for future use:

Already assigned M.2 keys (M.2 SSDs only include B and M)
Source: All About M.2 SSDs, SNIA, June 2014.

Especially for M.2 SSD drives, 3 types of keys are usually used:

1. Key B can support SATA and/or PCIe protocol depending on the device, but is limited to PCIe x2 speed (1000MB/s) on the PCIe bus.
2. The M key end pin can support SATA and/or PCIe protocol depending on the device, and supports PCIe x4 speeds (2000MB/s) on the PCIe bus if the host system also supports x4 mode.
3. The B+M key's end pin can support SATA and/or PCIe protocol depending on the device, but is limited to x2 speed on the PCIe bus.

Various types keys are marked on or near the end contacts (gold plated) of the M.2 SSD, as well as on the M.2 connector.

Please note that M.2 SSDs with B key have a different number of end pins (6) compared to M.2 SSDs with M key (5); This asymmetrical design avoids the mistakes of placing an M.2 SSD with a B key in slot M, and vice versa.

What is the advantage of having a B+M key?

B+M keys on M.2 SSDs provide cross-compatibility with various motherboards, as well as support for the corresponding SSD protocol (SATA or PCIe). The host connectors on some motherboards may be designed to accept only M-keyed SSDs or only B-keyed SSDs. B+M-keyed SSDs are designed to address this issue; however, plugging an M.2 SSD into the slot does not guarantee it will work, it depends on the overall protocol between the M.2 SSD and the motherboard.

How do I know what length of M.2 SSD my motherboard supports?

You should always read the motherboard/system manufacturer's information to confirm which lengths are supported, however many motherboards will support 2260, 2280, and 22110. Many motherboards have multiple offset screw screw options to allow the user to secure the SSD 2242, 2260, 2280 or even 22100 M.2. The amount of space on the motherboard limits the size of M.2 SSDs that can be installed in the slot and used.

What does "socket 1, 2 or 3" mean?

Various connector types are part of the specification and are used to support special types devices in the connector.

Socket 1 Designed for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, NFC and WI Gig

Socket 2 designed for WWAN, SSD (cache memory) and GNSS

Socket 3 designed for SSD (SATA and PCIe, speed up to x4)

Is it possible to hot-plug an M.2 SSD?

No, M.2 SSDs are not hot-pluggable. Installation and removal of M.2 SSDs is only allowed when the system is powered off.

Comparison of M.2 SATA SSD and M.2 PCIe SSD

Is an M.2 SATA SSD faster than a regular 2.5-inch SATA or mSATA SSD?

Performance will be comparable; it also depends on the type of controller of the host system in which the SSD is used, as well as on internal circuit and the controller of each SSD. SATA 3.0 specification supports up to 600MB/s in SSD form factors 2.5-inch, mSATA or M.2.

What happens when you connect a PCIe M.2 SSD to a SATA M.2 port, and vice versa?

If the host system does not support the PCIe protocol, the PCIe M.2 SSD will likely not be recognized by the BIOS and therefore will not be compatible with the system. Likewise, if you install a SATA M.2 SSD in a slot that only supports PCIe M.2 SSDs, the SATA M.2 SSD will not be usable.

What happens if you connect a PCIe x4 M.2 SSD to a port that only supports PCIe x2 speeds?