SSD M.2 – Realities of the standard and review of the available Sandisk X300 model. Advantages of SSD m.2 in the latest games

With the 3.5 mm Jack becoming less and less common on smartphones, it makes more and more sense to abandon wired headphones. And it is much more convenient when the wire does not interfere with the work place, while walking, on public transport and in all other situations. The choice today is also not limited to a couple of models. At any price, there are now several decent options. Today we are getting acquainted with the top headphones from Sennheiser – Momentum M2 Wireless.

The lineup

The manufacturer has a couple of dozen in stock wireless headphones. This includes all available options. If we limit the current models to those that work via Bluetooth and are Over-Ear, then we are left with only six options, two of which will be Momentum M2 (aka HD1). These are the most expensive wireless headphones of this type from Sennheiser.

The line includes a regular model and a Pink Floyd Edition. The latter are different in appearance and cost $100 more, but technically they are exactly the same headphones as the standard version. I doubt that this will be a popular modification, but fans of this group who can afford to spend an extra hundred dollars will definitely find these headphones. There is also an exclusively wired version of these headphones and two more On-Ear options (also wired and wireless).

Equipment and first impressions

When buying quite expensive headphones, and a pair of these Sennheisers costs about $399, I would like to get a nice set of accompanying accessories. Along with the Momentum M2 there is a charging cable, a cable for wired connection sound (2.5-to-3.5 mm), an adapter for aircraft connectors and a nice velvet case, which, although not hard, will not interfere with transportation. There is also a fabric “pouch” inside, which can be useful when traveling when space in your bag/backpack is very limited. But it has almost no protective function (except that it will save you from minor scratches). The rest of the time it is practically useless.

The very moment of unpacking indicates that the owner received a premium product. Everything is neatly folded and there is a place for everything. The leather elements are actually made of leather and have a corresponding smell. Getting started does not require additional software or technical training, and an experienced user will definitely not need to refer to the instructions.

Design and usability

Sennheiser Momentum M2 Wireless – Over-Ear closed-back headphones. Since this is far from a cheap device, the case materials are chosen well accordingly. The headband is made of elastic metal and easily retains its shape after deformation. The headphones are plastic with a matte outer part and a small glossy insert between the body and the ear pad. The hoop and “pillows” are covered with leather. I spent a lot of time with the headphones (about three weeks), but the characteristic smell remained. For those who fundamentally do not use leather products, there is no other option.

The buyer has a choice of two design options for the base model – black and brown. In the second case outer part the body will be “ivory” in color, and the leather will be stitched with “bronze” thread. In my opinion, black headphones look better. Regardless of the selected design option, the base of the headband will not change color.

They fit perfectly. These are probably the first headphones in which my ears did not get tired at all, regardless of the duration of use. It's just that they get a little hot. Of course, this is subjective. The earcups can rotate slightly to better adjust the fit, and the headband can be pointed back and forth slightly. I think most users will easily find a comfortable position.

For transportation, the headphones fold up conveniently and won’t take up much space without a case. You don’t need to worry too much about the safety of the structure, but you shouldn’t overdo it either. The only place where something unpleasant can obviously happen is the earphone mount, because it is plastic. Although at first glance it is very confident and one gets the feeling that it is also durable. I don’t particularly want to criticize the design and assembly.

Appearance overall very good. Most Sennheiser models I've seen look overly futuristic in my opinion, but the Momentum M2 is more classic. This effect is created due to the leather and the simple earphone cover.

Control and noise reduction system

Let's start with the fact that you can connect headphones in three ways: with a wire via a 3.5 mm Jack, with a wire via USB, and completely without wires with using Bluetooth(4.0, aptX support available). Wireless connection can be quickly installed via NFC in the left earphone, or in the usual way through the settings. There are no special restrictions in operation, regardless of the gadget or platform. The main thing is that in any case the connection is simple and intuitive. There is no additional software for these headphones, but Sennheiser does have an app that supports the headphones. CapTune is a music player that, subjectively, reproduces the sound from the iPhone a little better, but in essence it is just a player with an equalizer, nothing more.

What I particularly liked was the stability of operation. In all conditions in which I listened to music, the signal was stable and uninterrupted. You can move around a small apartment quite freely, but in distant points the signal may not be enough. In any case, if you leave the room, say, behind the wall into the kitchen, there will be no disruptions along the way. But it’s clear that we are talking about a small radius; you won’t be able to walk freely through large rooms (office, home, etc.) due to the limited capabilities of Bluetooth.

In this case, the headphones can cope with two devices at the same time, but it is worth considering that there may be conflicts. I tried connecting the headphones to my smartphone and laptop. Music from a laptop could be interrupted by notifications on a smartphone, which naturally stops playback and can once again distract from what the user is doing. This doesn’t really fit into my personal scenarios, but there are probably users who are comfortable with it. But the delay is minimal and nothing will interfere with watching movies and videos, the sound will not lag behind the picture.

Each earbud has microphones for the system active noise cancellation(there are four in total), one microphone on the left earpiece is also used for making calls. It does not have the best voice transmission and in a noisy place it is worth answering from a smartphone, but in the workplace it will be enough. The noise canceling system itself does send some ambient sound into the headphones. You will only hear them between songs, when one track is almost over and the second has not yet started. And during playback of even quiet acoustic tracks, external noise will not particularly interfere.

The headphones are extremely easy to control. On the back of the right earcup there is a power button and a small trigger button that controls the volume, pauses and switches tracks (like a standard iPhone headphone remote), and also calls the voice assistant. I did not find any additional modes, control of the noise reduction system or other functions.

Sound Momentum M2 Wireless

As I mentioned in the last section, headphones can be connected with three different ways. I didn't notice any fundamental difference in sound between them. The headphones are designed for use with regular laptops, smartphones and players, so there is absolutely no need to buy an expensive audio interface for them, even if you plan to use more than just a Bluetooth connection. Resistance is designed for average simple devices(28 ohms).

The Momentum M2 sound good, but at first I didn’t really like the sound. Either they needed to get used to them a little, or they still needed to “warm up” a little, but they began to like the sound only a couple of days after the start of the test. It’s worth paying attention to everything right away that, unlike many popular brands (for example, Beats by Dr. Dre), Sennheiser will sound “smoother” and will not overwhelm everything with bass. Therefore, those who are popularly called bass head should immediately look for something else (V-Modo, Beats, etc.).

Unfortunately, these headphones did not seem “omnivorous” to me. So, I didn’t really like listening to songs by bands such as Royal Blood, Muse and The Pretty Reckless. For rock I would like a little less midrange and more bass, then the sound would be “deeper”. Having listened to hip-hop and trip-hop, I would describe the sound of such genres as simply good. It seems that everything is in place, nothing is in the way and there is enough of everything, but somehow there is no extra delight. The same can be said about electronic genres. And from expensive headphones you somehow involuntarily expect something more.

Where the headphones shine is in instrumental music (preferably with vocals) and in individual compositions, where not many different instruments sound at the same time. Benjamin Clementine, Aurora, Hooverphonic live recordings with a symphony orchestra - the sound here is excellent. You can listen to Hans Zimmer's soundtracks for hours. It is worth noting that there are tracks in different genres that sound very good and detailed in these headphones, but these are often exceptions to the rule (such as Kimyan Law).

Yes, I write this in all reviews of headphones, and this time there will be no exception: before purchasing, I strongly recommend listening to them in the store, carefully looking through the playlist with your favorite songs. And be sure to “hook” all the genres that are most often played. Good sound- a very subjective concept, and these headphones are unlikely to suit every potential buyer.

The power, like many wireless headphones that came to me, is not as much as wired ones. However, the existing stock will be sufficient. I most often listened to music around one or two “steps” from the upper limit. I think this will be quite enough for most situations in which such headphones may find themselves. Another thing is that I would like a little more intervals, because by pressing the volume control “trigger” once, you can quite noticeably feel the change in power, but I would like it to be a little smoother. What was also surprising was the lack of a noticeable difference in sound from different sources. The sound from the iPhone was practically no different from the sound from the MacBook and Android smartphone, which support aptX (unlike the iPhone).

Autonomy

According to the manufacturer, the built-in battery with a capacity of 600 mAh should be enough for 22 hours of music playback. It so happened that I spent three weeks with headphones. During this time, I charged them twice, and they worked every day for at least 2-4 hours. The result is very good.

It took about two and a half hours to fully charge the smartphone from the power supply. What is very convenient is the ability to simply connect with a wire and this will be enough for the headphones to continue playing music if the battery is low. Unless the noise reduction system will not work.

Site evaluation

Pros: Good materials and nice design, stable connection with minimal latency, aptX support, active noise reduction system, a variety of connection methods, sound, autonomy

Minuses: Not all genres of music play equally well, price

Conclusion: With the Momentum M2 Wireless, Sennheiser managed to create not only comfortable, but also attractive on-ear headphones. They are comfortable, easy to use, and sound great with the right genres of music. Alas, this does not apply to all songs that buyers of such headphones can listen to. And having given a fairly large amount of money for such an accessory, I would like to get complete freedom in choosing music. But do not forget that sound is a subjective concept, and here you should rely solely on your own experience.

Specifications

Movement is life. But this very old saying has more than just a biological meaning. It also applies to soulless things. For example, in computer technology: the level of productivity is constantly growing, new interfaces appear that are oriented towards this growth.

The SATA interface recently turned eleven years old. During this time, it was updated twice while maintaining backward compatibility, while the transfer speed increased fourfold. About five years ago, a compact version of the interface appeared: the drive was installed in a special slot on the motherboard.

Let's start with a little background information, followed by the M6e family of drives and a review of the Plextor M6e.

A little history

Although the mSATA interface was positioned as a mobile interface, some manufacturers began to install it on regular motherboards. And Gigabyte was the most active in this direction, which not only placed mSATA connectors, but also installed SSDs themselves in them.

Maternal Gigabyte board The GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD was equipped with an Intel 311 20 GB solid state drive.

Then other manufacturers gradually began to catch up. Now their aspirations have reached the point that two mSATA connectors began to appear on motherboards, as, for example, on the ASRock Z87 Extreme11/ac, a review of which will soon be published in the laboratory. A bit overkill from my point of view, but oh well...

In general, using mSATA is quite convenient: the solutions are compact, no cables are required, and nothing dangles in the case. However, due to a number of reasons (primarily the higher cost of models in the mSATA format), this format has not gained popularity in “desktop” systems. But he found it in his mobile phones.

However, for people striving for compactness, this format is a godsend: maternal mini-ITX board, an IvyBridge or Haswell generation processor with a compact cooling system, an mSATA drive, an appropriate case - you get a completely complete and logical, and also very productive (with the appropriate CPU) working system.

However, as noted above, there is a need to increase speeds, and there is a limit to everything. And there was talk about SATA 6 Gb/s that it was “too slow”. mSATA also came under fire for the company. But now manufacturers have taken into account their past mistakes: new interface data transfer was invented in two versions: mobile and desktop. In relation to the mobile version, the controller in the system logic set was not replaced with another (as was the case, say, with IDE and SATA), but simply thrown away altogether, at the same time saving on development and chip area. In general, we killed two birds with one stone here. And modified SATA controllers remained only in the desktop segment.

The new standard implies a change in size: mSATA comes in two sizes (Full Size, 51 x 30 mm, and Half Size, 26.8 x 30 mm), while M.2 suggests four, the smallest of which is 42 x 22 mm. But at the same time, M.2 is exactly a millimeter thinner, and the especially compact one is even thinner – exactly twice as thin as mSATA.

The company is by no means the first in the field of producing solid-state drives in M.2 format; its range has already been expanded by Super Talent (NGFF DX1 and NGFF ST1), Crucial (M500 NGFF), KingSpec (M.2 NGFF Ultrabook), MyDigitalSSD (Super Cache 2 M .2) and Intel (530 M.2). But Plextor was actually the first to popularize this format among the masses in a “desktop” version: everything that was released earlier was focused exclusively on industrial use - assembling mobile devices.

The M.2 interface was not developed for the “desktop”, its destiny is truly compact mobile devices, but for conventional systems SATA Express is offered. In fact, the relationship between them is the same as now between mSATA and SATA: the first is very compact and is installed in a small socket on the board, the second is much larger in size and requires a separate seat in the case and two supply cables (interface and power).

It’s worth noting right away: you don’t need to consider M.2 a connector purely for storage devices. M.2 is pure PCI-E, just in a different form factor. Accordingly, everything your heart desires will be produced under this standard: Wi-Fi, WWAN, GPS and other expansion cards. Manufacturers of these devices will not need to worry about developing new controllers; they will only need to change printed circuit board and the device itself, bringing them to a new format.

Therefore, M.2 and SATA Express, although they can be used to install drives, have some differences. M.2 is universal. SATA Express is focused only on data storage devices. Although it also has some versatility, it’s not for nothing that the interface actually consists of three connectors – one for power and two for interface: two regular SATA devices can also be connected to SATA Express.

ASUS Z97-A motherboard: four SATA and one SATAe - in total you can connect up to six regular SATA drives.

The unpleasant thing is that models with the SATA Express interface are simply not on sale yet. It got to the point that ASUS, in order to test motherboards with a new interface, was forced to order the development of a special device called ASUS Hyper Express at Kingston. It looks like a regular 2.5” form factor drive, inside of which there is a board with a special controller and two mSATA connectors.

At the time of writing this material this device did not yet officially exist, but by the time of publication, photographs of it should surface online. And M.2 is it. And it already appears on retail motherboards (for example, my colleague Ivan_FCB I recently reviewed the board ASUS Maximus VI Impact with such a connector, and another colleague wildchaser the other day I reviewed the ASUS Z97-DELUXE, based on the Intel Z97), although so far it’s rare.

You don't need to be a visionary to understand the obvious truth: the familiar SATA and mSATA will very soon be written off and disappear from motherboards. And they will be replaced either by M.2 (more precisely, it is already beginning to displace mSATA) and SATA Express (SATAe), or something else will be invented: manufacturers need to continue to increase the numbers on the labels, and traditional SATA has already exhausted its potential in this direction.

New to Plextor: M6e Family of Drives

Plextor has been teasing its fans and simply interested potential buyers for a long time: back in early September last year, at the IFA2013 exhibition in Berlin, it demonstrated engineering samples of its new generation drives. Then they periodically appeared at various presentations, attracting the attention of lovers of all sorts of new products.

And so, on January 9 of this year, at CES 2014, Plextor made an official announcement. But the M6e did not go on sale then. Sales began a little less than a month ago - in early April. Finally, those who want to have the opportunity to purchase a new product. But “opportunity” does not mean “go and buy it.” In relation to Russian retail, even in Moscow you can only purchase a 256 GB modification, and even then not everywhere.

And the 128 and 512 GB versions have not yet reached retail. That's right: the Plextor M6e family of drives consists of only three models.

Specifications

It should be noted that already now the retail cost of the 256 GB modification is much lower than the recommended one - price tags start at about 10 thousand rubles (or $280). However, even this price is too high for this volume: for this amount you can purchase a 512 GB solid-state drive in both the usual 2.5” form factor and mSATA. Novelty comes at a price.

Packaging, equipment, external inspection

The Plextor M6e model is offered in a rather large box in a rich red color that attracts attention.

The back of the package describes General characteristics models and provides speed parameters for the entire M6e family.

Yes, as has long been the case, the box is universal for the entire line and individual features (in this case, the indication of the device’s volume on the front side of the package) are just an additional sticker. Separately, in more than two dozen languages ​​(including Russian), it is emphasized that the drive is fully compatible with motherboards with both UEFI and the old AMI/AWARD BIOS. But this will be checked separately, since I have a supply of various motherboards (even Socket 7, if any of the readers still remember that).

The scope of delivery is very modest, although the Plextor product is packaged well.

The entire free volume of the box is occupied by foamed polyethylene. At the top there is a warranty service booklet and installation instructions, and under the divider is the Plextor M6e itself, packed in an antistatic bag.

That's all, actually. There is nothing else in the box. It would be nice, of course, if the manufacturer included a bar for installing the drive in low-profile system units. Yes, powerful gaming systems for which the M6e is positioned are usually housed in full-fledged cases, but not everyone who needs a high-speed SSD is a gamer with a couple of video cards in their PC.

Autopsy, hardware component

The Plextor M6e drive comes immediately assembled; moreover, the company protected itself from using the adapter in a separate form by installing a warranty seal.

That's right. What we have in front of us is not a single complete device, but two separate and completely independent ones, but united together by the company’s forces. And they can be used separately if you don’t mind breaking the seal and voiding the warranty on the drive.

But in this case there are no warranty obligations, so the sticker will not become a hindrance.

You can even delete everything altogether. By the way, you can glean a lot of interesting information about it from the sticker on the device itself.

Are given serial number, model name and volume, a sea of ​​logos of various certificates and notifications. The supply voltage and maximum current are indicated. There is also a mention of a company in fine print about LiteON, which is the actual manufacturer of the device that fulfills Plextor's orders. And Shinano Kenshi is the real owner of the company and the trademark Plextor.

With the labels removed, the device will appear before us in all its glory. And thanks to a simple Phillips screwdriver, it can be disassembled.

Actually, the drive itself is a narrow, elongated board.

Once installed in the seat, it is turned with its back side towards the user. As a result, only half of the installed NAND memory chips and the controller’s buffer memory are visible. The controller itself, like the other half of the chips, is located on the invisible side of the board.

This is Marvell 88SS9183-BNP2 with hardware support for PCI-E versions 1.1 and 2.0 (it will work in 3.0 slots, but in 2.0 mode). Uses two PCI-E 2.0 lanes. That's right: although the adapter is designed as PCI-E device x4, the instance in question uses only two lines of this interface.

It should be noted that Marvell 88SS9183, firstly, is an AHCI controller (it does not require installation of additional drivers for its operation), and secondly, this controller is also compatible with the SATA interface, so it will probably be found as part of conventional drives of the form factor 2.5".

The controller uses a DDR3 chip labeled NT5CC256M16CP-D1 manufactured by Nanya with a capacity of 512 MB as a buffer memory, and eight chips labeled TH58TEG8DDJBA8C as storage devices. Each of them contains four MLC NAND crystals operating in Toggle Mode, with a capacity of 64 Gbit and manufactured by Toshiba using a 19 nm process technology.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find any meaningful information on this controller, so we can only assume that it is not too different from the popular Marvell 88SS9187, and, most likely, we are again looking at a dual-core ARM with eight-channel memory access.

The PCI-E-M.2 adapter is very simple and unpretentious.

That's all the element base that is present on it. The PCI-E interface is not converted or changed in any way. All those elements that can be seen are the accompanying power harness. For example, a chip labeled PS54326 is a Texas Instruments TPS54326 controller, which is responsible for powering the drive. As you know, there is no +5 V voltage in the PCI-E connector, there is only +12 V and +3.3 V. TPS54326 is responsible for converting the +12 V voltage into the +5 V voltage necessary for the device to operate.

The reverse side of the adapter board is empty:

Now let’s move from theory to practice, put our disassembled test subject back together and install it in a test bench. Fortunately, there are quite a lot of questions about its possible operation.

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 a faster bus PCI Express. 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 happened to us: new trends, to which we had paid almost no attention until now, have spread unnoticed in the consumer SSD market. 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 win its place 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.

Taking all this into account, 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 an extremely wide range of SSDs, including those in the M.2 form factor.

⇡ Unity and diversity of the world M.2

M.2 slots and cards (formerly this format 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 noticeably higher speed data transfer compared to the usual SATA 6 Gb/s interface, and the M.2 standard allows you to establish a connection with an SSD using up to four PCI Express 3.0 lines. 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 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 consumer SSD connectivity option available.

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 a different 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, a complete list of dimensions of storage cards with which they can be physically compatible is usually indicated.

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. On this moment for M.2 SSD, two key locations are used out of eleven different positions described in the specification. Two more options are used on WLAN and Bluetooth cards in the M.2 form factor (yes, this also happens - for example, the Intel 7260NGW wireless adapter), 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 boards of the M.2 form factor, but also perform another function: their location prevents incorrect installation drives 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, it is guilty of its love for installing M.2 slots with reduced SATA functionality. ASUS company. 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 the real capabilities, compatibility and presence of the SATA interface in M.2 slots and connectors based on only one external signs impossible. That's why full information 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 the maximum length of an M.2 card that can be installed in your motherboard?

And only after you can definitely answer all these questions, you can proceed to choosing the appropriate SSD model.

The other day I received a pre-ordered ZTE Nubia M2 on Banggood, costing about $160, sometimes the price drops to $145, for this money I consider it a good purchase, in contrast to the starting price, which was 300+. I couldn’t find a review on the site, so I decided to do a quick one, maybe someone is struggling with the choice. It was sent on December 29, picked up from the post office on January 8 in central Russia, arrived surprisingly quickly and what do we see?

Appearance and equipment

Characteristics

Display: 5.5-inch, Super AMOLED, FHD, 2.5D glass
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
RAM: 4 GB
Flash memory: 64/128 GB
Memory: microSD yes
Main camera: two Sony 13 MP modules with f/2.0 (RGB + b/w)
Front camera: 16 MP
Battery: 3630 mAh, NeoCharge, 5V/5.2A,26W
Navigation: GPS, GLONASS
Wireless interfaces: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 4G, VoLTE
Operating system: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
USB Type-C
Dolby Surround 7.1
weight 168 g, WxHxD 75.90x154.50x7 mm

The processor power is enough for almost all modern tasks; if you are not a gamer, then there will definitely be no problems. In Antutu, the smartphone scores almost 69,000 parrots.

Additional Information

Additional Information

Fortunately, the day turned out to be sunny, unfortunately I spent it at work, so I only made it in time for sunset. Compared M2, Redmi Note 4x, OnePlus5, Mi Note 3.

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Despite the fact that solid-state drives, that is, SSDs, have appeared quite a long time ago, many users are just beginning to learn about them and use them on their computers. This may be due to the high price and small capacity, although they have higher performance than standard drives and are much faster.

Before delving into the types of hard drives, their manufacturing technologies, memory types and controllers, it is necessary to focus on the form factor (size). Each device is different in size, has its own connection connectors and is used in completely different ways. If a 2.5-inch SSD does not raise any questions, since it is similar in size and placement of connectors to conventional hard drives, then other types raise a lot of questions.

Today we will talk about devices such as SSD M.2 drives, what they are, what their features and advantages are. It's relative new standard, which, according to many experts, is a revolutionary solution. Let's take a closer look at this topic and find out as much information as possible.

Development of the SATA interface

The SATA interface has become a good replacement for PATA, replacing the wide cable with a more compact, thin and convenient option. The main trend in its development was the desire for compactness, and this is quite normal. Even the new interface required a variation to allow it to be used in mobile devices and where there are special requirements for the dimensions of components.

Thus, mSATA was created - the same interface, only with more compact dimensions. But it did not live long and was quickly replaced by a completely new one - the M.2 connector, which had even greater capabilities. It is not by mistake that the word SATA is not in the abbreviation, since the new version does not apply to this standard. We will talk about this in more detail later.

The only thing that needs to be said is that the M.2 SSD drive is connected without power cables and cables, thanks to which its use becomes as comfortable as possible and allows the computer to be even more compact. This is one of its key advantages.

M.2 Interface Overview

M.2 is a connector on an expansion card installed in a PCI-Express slot, or on the motherboard itself. You can install not only M.2 SSDs in it, but other modules, including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The scope of application of this connector is quite wide, which makes it incredibly convenient and useful.

When upgrading your computer, be sure to pay attention to it and install a motherboard with this connector, even if you do not plan to install a solid-state drive with this interface yet.

However, if you have a fairly old motherboard and you don't want to change it, for example, "GA-P75-D3" with a missing M2 slot, but it has PCI-E 3.0, which has a video card and a PCIe x4 slot. In this case, you can install an SSD on PCIe x4 through a special adapter, but its speed will be slightly lower.

Everything SSD drives M.2 have a recessed mount in the M.2 connectors. This form factor provides maximum performance with minimal resource consumption and is designed for technological improvements in hard drives in the future.

Moreover, as mentioned above, connection does not require cables and cables, which usually only take up extra space. To start working with the device, simply insert it into the connector.

M-key and B-key

Existing today hard disks, including solid-state drives, are connected to the SATA bus. The maximum throughput of which is 6 Gb/s, that is, approximately 550-600 Mb/s. For a conventional drive such a speed is simply unattainable, but SSD drives They can reach much higher speeds without any problems. But installing them is absolutely pointless if the interface cannot “pump” data at a higher speed than the one for which it is itself designed.

In view of this, it became possible to use the PCI-Express bus with greater throughput:

1. PCI-Express 2.0. It has two lanes (PCI-E 2.0 x2), characterized by a throughput of up to 8Gb/s, or about 800Mb/s.
2. PCI-Express 3.0. It has four lanes (PCI-E 3.0 x4), with a bandwidth of 32Gb/s, or approximately 3.2Gb/s.

Which interface is used to connect a particular device determines the position of the jumper.

Currently, M.2 SSD drives have the following key options:

1. B key “Socket2” (includes support for PCI-E ×2, SATA, Audio, USB and other modules).
2. M key “Socket3” (includes support for PCI-E ×4 and SATA).

For example, we take a motherboard with an M.2 connector with an M-key. That is, the PCIe ×4 bus is used. Can I install a SATA solid state drive in it? This is an interesting question that we will try to find an answer to.

You need to open the motherboard information and find out whether it supports M.2 SATA or not. Let's say the manufacturer says yes. In this case, you buy an SSD drive that was originally created for PCIe ×4, and absolutely no problems should arise when connecting.

When choosing a motherboard, be sure to pay attention to whether M.2 supports the SATA bus, so that you can use any hard drive.

Let's summarize all of the above and summarize:

1. M.2 is simply a different form factor (connector and size) of solid-state drives. All motherboards that are equipped with this slot use the PCI-E x4 bus.
2. The type of bus used by the drive depends on the keys. Usually the PCI-Express bus (M key) or SATA bus (M+B key) is used. The ability to connect an SSD with a SATA interface should be indicated in the specifications motherboard.

Size specification: 2260, 2280 and others

Often, when looking at the specification of a computer or laptop motherboard, you can come across the following line: “1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M Key, type 2260/2280” - this means that 1 M.2 slot with a type M key and size 2260/2280 is used. The first two digits “22” mean the width in “mm”, the second two digits “60” mean the length. Therefore, if you choose, say, Transcend TS128GMTS600, with a length of “60mm” and a width of “22mm,” then there will be no problems with its installation.

But even if we take Kingston SHPM2280P2/480G with type “2280” and as in the characteristics motherboard Support for this type of drive is stated, so installing it will not be difficult.

The motherboard can support many sizes of installed modules, and in this case, it has fixing screws that are designed for each length of the bracket.

NVMe technology

The older generation of conventional magnetic and SSD drives use the AHCI protocol, which was created relatively long ago and is still supported by many operating systems. But with the advent of more modern and faster SSDs, it does not cope with its task and cannot use all their capabilities to the maximum.

The NVMe protocol was created as a solution to this problem. It is characterized by the highest speed, lower latency and uses a minimum of processor resources when performing operations.