Looking to snag one of the new 860 EVOs to finally upgrade to Windows 10, etc. Should I stick to the cheaper typical Sata or go M.2? I guess my Z270 supports M.2 pretty well and even may have seperate lanes for it? Let me know your 2 cents! 
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Evo 860 SATA or m.2 with Z270?
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BlueLineSwinger
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It seems you're confusing the physical form-factors (m.2, 2.5"), with the electrical/data protocols (NVMe/PCIe, SATA). It's quite common for recent SATA SSDs, including the 860 Evo, to come in m.2.
It's rare for a desktop/workstation workload to see any real-world benefit from NVMe SSDs, so they're generally not worth the additional cost over SATA-based units. The 860 Evo, Crucial MX500, etc. would be fine. Double-check your mainboard's manual, but you should have no problem installing such a SATA m.2 unit into your system.
https://techreport.com/review/30993/samsung-960-evo-ssd-reviewed/5
If you were to go NVMe, you'd need something like the 960 Evo/Pro. The cost is substantially more for no real gain.
It's rare for a desktop/workstation workload to see any real-world benefit from NVMe SSDs, so they're generally not worth the additional cost over SATA-based units. The 860 Evo, Crucial MX500, etc. would be fine. Double-check your mainboard's manual, but you should have no problem installing such a SATA m.2 unit into your system.
https://techreport.com/review/30993/samsung-960-evo-ssd-reviewed/5
If you were to go NVMe, you'd need something like the 960 Evo/Pro. The cost is substantially more for no real gain.
craigdt
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Here's a screenshot of the various drives I have.
It really shows you the difference between the various form factors and protocols.
The XPG6000 is really an awesome drive. It actually feels a bit faster than the slightly slower 850 Evo.
But it's M.2 so you don't have cords to worry about. Easy.
I got it when it was like $40 on sale- its the drive that my wife's operating system is on.
Screaming fast- I dont think these get enough credit. You can get this one for $50 now, and a 256GB model for about $80.
They also make a faster SX8000 line- a bit more expensive tho.
The 960 Evo is orders of magnitude faster, but, honestly, there is not a noticeable difference between it and the XPG6000.
Could not tell a difference, other than benchmarks.
I just got it because I like the high benchmark numbers, and this wasn't a budget build.
The 850 Evo I use for my Steam game storage. It loads them waaaay faster than my previous 7200RPM spinner.
When used as the primary OS drive, it feels a bit slower the the XPG SX6000.
But it (and now the 860 you are looking at) are the standard SSD. Super good value.
The Barracuda 5400RPM 4TB is just for Plex movie storage.
It really shows you the difference between the various form factors and protocols.
The XPG6000 is really an awesome drive. It actually feels a bit faster than the slightly slower 850 Evo.
But it's M.2 so you don't have cords to worry about. Easy.
I got it when it was like $40 on sale- its the drive that my wife's operating system is on.
Screaming fast- I dont think these get enough credit. You can get this one for $50 now, and a 256GB model for about $80.
They also make a faster SX8000 line- a bit more expensive tho.
The 960 Evo is orders of magnitude faster, but, honestly, there is not a noticeable difference between it and the XPG6000.
Could not tell a difference, other than benchmarks.
I just got it because I like the high benchmark numbers, and this wasn't a budget build.
The 850 Evo I use for my Steam game storage. It loads them waaaay faster than my previous 7200RPM spinner.
When used as the primary OS drive, it feels a bit slower the the XPG SX6000.
But it (and now the 860 you are looking at) are the standard SSD. Super good value.
The Barracuda 5400RPM 4TB is just for Plex movie storage.
BlueLineSwinger
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No, it isn't. All else being equal (make/model, NVMe/SATA, size, controller, etc.) it makes no real difference if the unit's form-factor is m.2, AIC (i.e., PCIe slot), or 2.5" (i.e., uses a SATA or u.2 cable). If anything, 2.5" may have a slight advantage because it's away from the heat generated by the mainboard and/or GPU and can use its case as a heatsink.