M.2 SSD compatible with GA-Z97X Gaming 3
M.2 SSD compatible with GA-Z97X Gaming 3
Hello everyone, I'm trying to determine the supported speeds for my old GA-Z97X Gaming 3's M.2 slot. Do you have any suggestions? I'm considering the Samsung 980 PRO 1TB M.2, but I'm worried it might not reach its full potential. Thanks!
Gigabyte didn't produce it, yet from what I inferred, M.2 isn't available under PCIE 3.0, and your port is labeled M-key, indicating x4. However... According to my reading, Z97 usually features 16 PCIE 3.0 lanes and 8 PCIE 2.0 lanes. Thus, all the 3.0 lanes are directed to the x16 and x8 slots, leaving 2.0 lanes for other devices... It seems your M.2 slot likely received 2.0 lanes, though I doubt there are NVMes below 3.0, which is what you'd be purchasing anyway... But note this: https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z97 Extreme9/ Your slot is marked 10Gb/s, which corresponds to just 2 lanes of PCIE 2.0... This clarifies the absence of two SATA ports when you use it—it's the same chipset lanes, just using a different protocol.
The pro would be wasted regardless. The slot supports sata guaranteed, so any SATA m.2 will work great. As stated above, it's probably a nice 3500mb/s slot, so anytng above that will be limited. But it's an older system so ANY ssd will be more than adequate. Pro drive ... Why? I think there is way toouch confusion on drives these days .
I didn’t pick a Pro drive for any special reason. My aim is to find the best possible performance for this slot, maybe I’ll choose something like a Samsung 970 Evo Plus with its 3500 read/write speeds. Anything less would be a loss, as you mentioned. I’ll also look for ways to save money.
You might also find a PCIe M.2 adapter suitable for the 2.0 x4 port or take over three lanes from the graphics card, provided you have discrete graphics. When using an iGPU, allocate the three lanes in the x16 or x8 slots.