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Apologies this may be a basic question, but after much reading of sometimes contradictory information I wanted to check whether my understanding is correct.

I'm upgrading a PC, and want to add M.2 storage as a boot drive.

Most of the guidelines I've read suggest to "read your motherboard manual to check it supports M.2 NVMe".

My manual states "1 x M.2 (M Key) Connector (support SATA SSD)". As you can see, no mention of NVMe.

However I've also seen claims that M Key slots always support NVMe, and that the whole point of the keyed slot is that incompatible hardware will not fit.

Based on what is printed in the manual, would you conclude that this motherboard does support NVMe M.2? Or would the manual need to explicitly state NVME?

My feeling is that I should install SATA/AHCI M.2 storage, but would like to confirm that I'm correct in this belief.

Andy Harvey
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2 Answers2

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Unfortunately not. There is no way to tell without checking the motherboard manual.

I have an Asrock B450M Pro4-F with two M-keyed connectors. One of them only supports NVMe, the other only supports SATA. To quote the manual:

  • 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_1), supports M Key type 2242/2260/2280 M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s)
  • 1 x M.2 Socket (M2_2), supports M Key type 2230/2242/2260/2280 M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module

There is no way you would know this from just looking at the motherboard, the connectors are completely identical. I even bought a second NVMe drive by mistake and it fits in the second slot perfectly fine but just doesn't work.

This answer has many upvotes specifically for "M.2 is a horrible mess" which is quite telling.

SystemParadox
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M.2 is just the form factor. M.2 drives can come in SATA versions and NVMe versions, which describes the bus they use to electrically communicate with the other PC components. SATA M.2 SSD drives and 2.5" SATA SSDs actually operate at virtually identical spec, while NVMe drives are much faster.

As the connector is defined as M.2 SATA, it might not support NVMe. You are right in that NVMe has to be specifically included in the description to be sure, but if it's not included that still does not mean much beyond "be careful".

While it's true that M.2 NVMe SSDs for PCIe 3.0 x4 lane are all M-keyed, this is also true for all fast SSDs. The M-key just means that the controller supports fast SSD.

A modern M-key PCIe has a good chance of supporting NVMe, while if it was made before 2016 it's unlikely to support NVME.

For a full verdict we will need to know what is your motherboard model and when was the computer bought.

According to the article BioStar Racing B360 GT5S Motherboard – Video Review:

Two m.2 slots, one of which supports nVME or Intel Optane drives, the other supports both m.2 SATA or nVME storage.

This is supported by the Biostar B360 manual, where there's one socket that has a chance : PCIE-M2_1, described on page 12:

PCIE-M2_1: M.2 (Key M) Slot (x4 speed)

  • The M.2 slot supports M.2 Type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SSD module. When installing M.2 SSD module, please place the screw and hex pillar to correct position.
  • Support M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32Gb/s).
  • Support Intel® Optane Technology.

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harrymc
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