KIOXIA 128GB PCIe NVMe M.2 2230 SSD, Gen 3 x 4, 09946M, KBG40ZNS128G, OEM Package

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Do not add a lot of thermal paste as it is not strictly needed. Nor do you need expensive thermal paste, as this is not a high-performance CPU. You want a very thin layer when spread out, as too much paste defeats the purpose. We mentioned NVMe above. NVMe is another technical hurdle to consider, because systems and motherboards need board-level support for these drives to be bootable. All late-model motherboards now support NVMe M.2 drives, but older boards are not guaranteed to support booting from an NVMe-based drive. Outside of new motherboards, these high-bandwidth, NVMe-capable slots are also found in some recent laptops. Also note that in some cases, a laptop may support a PCI Express NVMe drive, but it may be soldered to the motherboard and thus not upgradable. So, if you're thinking of upgrading a recent laptop or convertible, be sure to consult your manual very closely before buying one of these drives. (Credit: Zlata Ivleva)

Some people mount the M.2 SSD directly, but it may rattle due to the thinness without the enclosure. Users can add a shim to stop the rattle or put the new SSD into the old enclosure with (or without) adding the thermal paste.Even in mSATA's heyday, though, a replacement was in the works. During development, it was known as NGFF, for "Next-Generation Form Factor." As it took shape, though, it took on its current, final name: M.2. The drives would be smaller, potentially more capacious, and, most important, not necessarily reliant on SATA. However, from an engineering point of view, SSDs didn't needto be that big. The enclosure an SSD comes in has a lot of dead space inside. It's designed in that 2.5-inch size and shape to make the drive fit into those existing bays. So when mobile-device designers, challenged with slimming down laptops and tablets, reassessed this issue, the consensus was clear: The bulky 2.5-inch form factor, eventually, would have to go. One last caveat to drop in before we get to our product recommendations surrounds Intel's SSD line. Intel for a while sold a family of M.2-based storage products under the brand name Optane, in two very distinct types of drive. Intel's"Optane SSDs"were SSDs like any other, bootable drives that can serve as a stand-alone boot drive or as secondary storage. They were discontinued for consumers in 2021, but you may still see them around. (Intel sold its SSD business at the end of 2021 to SK Hynix, which spun it off into a new subsidiary, Solidigm.) M.2, pronounced m dot two [1] and formerly known as the Next Generation Form Factor ( NGFF), is a specification for internally mounted computer expansion cards and associated connectors. M.2 replaces the mSATA standard, which uses the PCI Express Mini Card physical card layout and connectors. Employing a more flexible physical specification, M.2 allows different module widths and lengths, which, paired with the availability of more advanced interfacing features, makes M.2 more suitable than mSATA in general for solid-state storage applications, particularly in smaller devices such as ultrabooks and tablets. [2] [3] [4] Liu, Zhiye (6 August 2019). "Toshiba Unveils XFMEXPRESS Form Factor for NVMe SSDs". Tom's Hardware . Retrieved 10 July 2022.

The Crucial T500 is for users willing to pay a little extra to get the best PCI Express 4.0 SSD performance. At a time when many low-priced DRAM-less SSDs are hitting the market, the T500 has a full DRAM cache (as well as a top-shelf Phison controller and 232-layer TLC NAND flash), which could give it an advantage in sustained large-file transfers, as well as in use with the PS5. The Addlink AddGame A93 is a good choice for budget-conscious users looking for a high-performing general-purpose PCI Express 4.0 SSD, either as an upgrade for a desktop computer or to add extra storage space to a PS5. The M.2 standard is based on the mSATA standard, which uses the existing PCI Express Mini Card (Mini PCIe) form factor and connector. M.2 adds the possibility of larger printed circuit boards (PCBs), allowing longer modules and double-sided component population. Consequently, M.2 SSD modules can provide double the storage capacity within the footprint of an mSATA device. [2] :20,22–23 [4] [13]a b c d e f g h "M.2 Connector (NGFF) Introduction" (PDF). ATTEND. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2014 . Retrieved 17 January 2014.