PCIe and m2.

[silk186]

What is the future format of desktop storage? I thought we were moving from 2.5" to m2. pci 3.0 4x given the hype about drives like the Samsung XP941. Now all of a sudden we have the Intel 750 series. Now I'm questioning if I should be going mITX or mATX with my next build. Obviously PCI cards have far more physical space limitations for the number of chips as well as the benefit of fitting any board with a free PCIe slot. As I understand it, feature wise they are identical.

What are people predicting, PCIe for current systems and m2 for future builds or will m2 be limited to ultrabooks?

 

[Ultima99]

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/03/24/where_ssd_market_headed_in_2015/

See the above.

 

[wirk]

What is the future format of desktop storage? I thought we were moving from 2.5" to m2. pci 3.0 4x given the hype about drives like the Samsung XP941. Now all of a sudden we have the Intel 750 series. Now I'm questioning if I should be going mITX or mATX with my next build. Obviously PCI cards have far more physical space limitations for the number of chips as well as the benefit of fitting any board with a free PCIe slot. As I understand it, feature wise they are identical. What are people predicting, PCIe for current systems and m2 for future builds or will m2 be limited to ultrabooks?

M.2 will be present as a storage integrated with the motherboard, not only in laptops. Other form factors like 2.5" and PCIe will be present as solutions for big capacity, multiple expandable storage. There is thus no dychotomy between the M.2 and others but different targets. For example, having M.2/PCIe 3.0x4 1TB stick should be enough for many users of desktop motherboards but still the motherboards have only one or at most two slots for such sticks. Thus somebody needing more storage will have to use other form factors. Me having X99 mobo with the m.2 slot I am waiting for Mushkin Hyperion m.2 SSD to replace old SATA SSD.

 

[silk186]

I read the above article when it was published and it gives a nice overview of the market.
However, things can quickly change and predictions are not always correct.

I agree, for consumers 1TB is more than enough in terms of space and too much in terms of current pricing. I was surprised by the release of the Intel 750 and wondered why it wasn't release in the m.2 form factor or both as I believe the bandwidth is sufficient. So it led me to wonder if it is due to fragmentation of M.2 motherboard support (SATA/PCI, PCI 2.0/3.0 and length).

 

[Ultima99]

Anyone who needs a high performance SSD like this will have PCIe, its pretty much ubiquitous.

Does everyone have M.2 or SATA Express? My own machine, a 4770k on Z87 does not.

 

[Chris_Lonardo]

The Intel 750 requires +12V, which M.2 cannot provide (+3.3V only). It's not an issue of bandwidth, it's just that the 750's controller is a power sucker.

One other interesting thing about the 750 is the 2.5" form factor requiring an SFF-8639 cable. ASUS has an M.2 to SFF-8639 adapter available now (http://rog.asus.com/415802015/asus-...50-2-5-inch-ssd-with-nvme-and-asus-hyper-kit/ ), and there are various PCIe -> M.2 adapters..

Ultimately, there are now 2 interface standards (PCIe and SATA), with a couple of different form factors for both:

PCIe:
-Add-in card
-M.2
-2.5" SFF-8639

SATA:
-M.2
-mSATA (going extinct)
-2.5" cabled

SATA Express is pretty much a non-factor at this point. The future for enthusiasts is obviously PCIe-based. With various adapters, you'll be able to get what you need where you need it. I expect M.2 (in SATA or PCIe guise) to be much more common as SFF systems become ever more commonplace (that's like the one growing segment of the PC market, and this helps manufacturers avoid the need for drive bays).

 

[JoseJones]

Here's a thread with a lot of information and charts and other images in it that should be helpful:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1843654