How to Check PCIe M.2 NVMe SSDs compatibility with your motherboard’

So, today get ready to learn How to Check Compatibility of PCIe M.2 NVMe SSDs with a Motherboard because we've got it all here.

Such frustrations are experienced when the end-users are unable to configure the motherboard to detect the PCIe M.2 NVMe SSD. Most of the time, this issue is a problem caused by an incompatibility between the SSD and the motherboard. This could be due to a slot incompatibility with the SSD, or probably a setting within the BIOS of the motherboard that is not set to detect PCIe storage.

When looking to buy a high-performance SSD, many reach for the Samsung 970 Evo NVMe. Image courtesy of Samsung.

The main reason for this issue is that NVMe, required for faster PCIe SSDs, is supported by M.2 slots on only some motherboards. Sometimes, the SSD also may not be detected because of some outdated firmware or due to incorrect BIOS settings. Not all NVMe devices are supported by all types of CPUs and chipsets.

To see which slots in your motherboard support PCIe NVMe drives, check your BIOS settings to confirm they are correct, and check with the user manual of your motherboard. When installing an NVMe drive, pay attention to your motherboard model because adding an NVMe drive disables some SATA ports, and a user has got to be very careful in connecting multiple drives.

What to Look for When Buying an NVMe Drive

Since NVMe SSDs have gained their popularity due to much higher performance with a lower price compared to traditional SATA SSDs, there are some things to consider before upgrading to an NVMe disk. This article will predominantly focus on the compatibility of PCIe Gen 3 NVMe SSDs with various systems in order to help you make an educated choice. Our Buying Guide to Buying an SSD goes much deeper about the various types of SSDs out there, as well as their form factors, including but not limited to NVMe. Buying an NVMe SSD? Here's some things you should know.

M.2 Form Factor

While standard SATA SSDs support both 2.5" form factor and the M.2 slot on the motherboard, NVMe drives support only the M.2 slot. Because of the flexible M.2 architecture, a wide range of M.2 cards-from SATA and NVMe SSDs to.

SSDs in the M.2 form factor come in two flavors: SATA and NVMe. M.2-slot SATA SSDs are smaller and provide a cable-free alternative to 2.5" SATA SSDs, while still managing to offer comparable performance.

Despite the similarities in design, including occupying the same slot, NVMe drives connect via the PCIe bus and are, by design, faster than SATA drives. The choice between selecting an NVMe SSD or a SATA SSD-considering the shocking contrast between the two-is a decision to be made. Furthermore, M.2 SATA drives, while similar to NVMe disks in regard to the positioning of the slots, are considerably faster. While the theoretical speed of M.2 NVMe SSDs reaches 4000 MB/s, most SATA SSDs barely reach 550-600 MB/s. In this fashion, SATA is slower.

Compatibility of Motherboard

Basically, the motherboard is very important when it comes to making sure that an NVMe drive one is about to buy will work with one's system. 

M.2 Slot

NVMe SSDs can only be installed to motherboards that are equipped with an M.2 slot. You will need to check if your motherboard has an M.2 slot. You will generally find the M.2 slot near or under the PCIe slots. The M.2 slot is 22mm wide and can be inserted horizontally. Some motherboards nowadays house two, even three M.2 slots. On the other hand, older ones, and some low-cost models, may not have them at all.

Without M.2 slots, modern motherboards are never complete. M.2 slots can accommodate a wide range of cards: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth cards, SATA SSDs, NVMe SSDs.

Just because your device has an M.2 slot does not mean you can assume that it's compatible with NVMe. That M.2 configuration also allows PCIe, SATA, and USB 3.0. For most M.2 slots, SATA was the first available option. You really need to look into your motherboard's handbook to be sure if it supports both SATA and NVMe drives for compatibility. As far as storage goes, this is what the handbook for the motherboard MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX says:

Refer to the B450 Tomahawk MAX motherboard manual for further details - extra lines removed

No need to freak out if your motherboard doesn't have M.2 slots. You still can install the NVMe drive to the motherboard through a PCIe x4 slot using only a slightly reduced-performance cheap PCIe M.2 adapter card.

Keys

Other important elements of this equation include the configuration of the motherboard's M.2 slot and the NVMe SSD itself. One can also research the drive and the slot to see which sockets are incompatible, but installation of connectors in some sockets requires keys.

The two primary "keys" on the board pretty well dictate the compatibility of the M.2 slot with PCIe x2 and PCIe x4. On a B-keyed slot, six contacts-or pins 12 through 19-set it apart from the rest. On an M-keyed slot, five contacts-or pins 59 through 66-do so. If you want to know whether the M.2 slot supports B-key or M-key drives, or both, you can check these contacts on the slot itself.

This will let you know whether the slot uses PCIe x2-the slots may be either B-key or M-key-or PCIe x4, which uses only the M-key. Because four lanes are being utilized instead of two, PCIe x4 drives are faster. Since many of the older B-key slots were SATA-only, it's important to check the instructions for your motherboard for compatibility. You may install SATA drives in either the B or M-key slots.

Length

Note that M.2 cards or SSDs are produced in some different lengths. The popular sizes of NVMe SSDs are "2242" corresponding to a length of 42mm and "2280" equivalent to 80mm in length. Both the SSD product Website and the motherboard's manual have this information, so it is quite easy to check. Generally speaking, compatibility issues usually do not arise because most of the new SSDs hitting the market have the 2280 standard, and many recent motherboards were designed to take up to four M.2 sizes. In practice, this will lead to some limitations due to the tight area on Mini-ITX or laptop boards. Be sure to check the motherboard manual for what length is supported maximum. M.2 2280, 2260 and even 2242 SSDs may be too long for some boards. Maybe M.2 2230 may work or similar smaller sizes would. NVMe Drives-Differences

Not all NVMe drives are created equal. Any NVMe drive should significantly outperform a regular hard drive or SATA SSD, but some are designed to be even leaner and more efficient. When shopping for an NVMe SSD, keep in mind that:

M-key x4 PCIe NVMe SSDs are faster than their predecessors, B-key and M-key x2 PCIe.

Smaller capacity drives are often slower than their larger siblings because the controller splits data faster and therefore stores it faster when more NAND chips are used.

Performance could also be affected by the kind of NAND Flash used: in single-level cell-SLC, which is the fastest; three-levels-of-cells MLC-mid-grade; four-levels-of-cells QLC, the slowest.

It can also significantly enhance the speed and endurance by incorporating the implementation of a host memory buffer, SLC cache, or DRAM on board.

That is all from 'How to Check Compatibility of PCIe M.2 NVMe SSDs with your motherboard', hoping we have been able to help you a great deal.