On 2017-09-21 20:32, Greg Freemyer wrote:
On Thu, Sep 21, 2017 at 11:47 AM, Carlos E. R. <> wrote:
...
I forgot to say that you can get both NVMe and AHCI SSDs in the M.2 form factor.
You want to get the NVMe if possible.
As far as I can tell the AHCI version were a short lived stepping stone to the full NVMe version. Others might correct me on the details, but regardless go with NVMe.
I see that the cards are pretty expensive.
Define expensive in this context.
My initial look pointed at 300€ for the card alone. Probably I entered a bad search term or something, I can't replicate it now.
I think I have this one (~$20): https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboard-Accessory/HYPER_M2_X4_MINI_CARD/
Ah, interesting. .-)
I see this, though:
Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD PCI-e 250GB 134,95€
https://www.pccomponentes.com/samsung-960-evo-nvme-m2-ssd-pci-e-250gb
The link is in Spanish, but you can see the photos. I understand this things connects directly to a "PCI Express 3.0" interface. I'll have to check whether I have that.
My x99 MBs (24-months or newer) have a small connector to plug that into. One has the SSD lay parallel to the MB. One has it stand up vertically away from the MB.
http://www.legitreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/m2-slot-645x443.jpg
But those MBs accept 64GB and 128GB of ram respectively. I will be shocked if your MB that only takes 8MB of ram has a native M.2 connector.
Me too, but I still need to dig out the MB specs. Wait, I may have a pdf... Yes. The board is a "MSI P45 Diamond" In the photo, it seems to have it or similar. But... It has: - 2 PCI Express x16 slots compatible with PCIE 2.0 spec a. for CrossFire mode, please install both graphics cards on both PCIE x16 slots b. to use 2 PCIE x16 slots, the PCIE x 16 lanes will auto arrange from x16/ x0 to x8/ x8 - 2 PCI Express x 1 slots - 2 PCI slots ... PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Express Slot The PCI Express slot supports the PCI Express interface expansion card. The PCI Express 2.0x 16 supports up to 8.0 GB/s transfer rate. The PCI Express x1 supports up to 250 MB/s transfer rate. ... "The interface of X-Fi Xtreme Audio Card is PCI-E x1." ie, it is used for audio. And the PCIE 2.0 x16 is used for graphics (it supports ATi CrossFire (Multi-GPU), two cards). I have one nvidia. No, I don't think it has it. What you say next applies:
I think you will need something like: https://www.pccomponentes.com/silverstone-ecm21-adaptador-m2-a-pcie-x4
Very interesting find, thanks!
Look at the picture. There are no active components. Basically all that board does is convert a normal PCIe MB connector to the M.2 connector used by NVMe SSDs.
Yes.
If the adapter says it has "M.2 SATA" support, run and hide. You want M.2 PCIe or M.2 NVMe support.
There is a note about that in the specs. It says (I translate): "M.2 PCIe-NVME needs Intel 9 series (Z97 H97 Z170 X99) or a MB with superior chipset with Windows 8 or superior operating system." I think they have translated it from some other language. They also warn that it may not boot, ask the board manufacturer. Manufacturer link: http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=703&area=en
To boot off of a M.2 NVMe SSD requires bios support in the MB. Using it as a data drive doesn't as far as I know. (But I've only tried it with newer MBs.)
Ah... it won't do, then, because I am thinking of using that disk to hold the system.
There is one on plain PCI, but very expensive:
https://www.pccomponentes.com/kingston-hyperx-predator-m2-ssd-480gb-adaptado...
Kingston HyperX Predator M.2 SSD 480GB + Adaptador PCIe 344,59€
It is a combo with a PCI to PCI-e interface, then an SSD in M.2 form factor.
Another solution, but expensive.
It's primarily expensive because of "480GB". If you want that much capacity it will cost you well above $100. If you're only doing this to address swap space, you should be able to get it done with a 128GB SSD. Around $100 for the SSD / adapter card pair.
Well, if I go for one, it will hold swap and system, not data. It will improve things more. But I don't need that much space for that. Another possibility is dcache or similar. I will then go for a plain SSD SATA disk. 100..200 GB range. I will then have to consider what port I have free or that I can make free. Thank you! :-) -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from 42.2 x86_64 "Malachite" at Telcontar)