Hi,

This is supposed to be a great SSD, PCI based. 

https://direktkauf.idealo.de/productpage/6457188?siteid=1&offerKey=e6438b788224b7957f67fd9260bd6e70&osId=3240492304978413647?utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=affilinet&utm_campaign=103504&utm_content=feeddk&camp=affilinet&camp=affilinet&awc=15536_1597156582_1018961cb441e67d49a92cb631bde117

Does anyone know if this can be attached to most motherboards? Ideally, I would just get a fast external SSD, but if this is faster, I would prefer this solution, but not sure if this would fit my 10 year old Asus Sabertooth P67 motherboard.

 

Thanks!

If your mb has M2 fittings then you’re good to go. If not you can use an inexpensive adapter and use a free pci-e slot (hopefully running x4).

Your motherboard does not feature an M.2 slot, as this form factor did not exist 10 years ago. Looking at the specifications further, the remaining PCIe 2.0 slots have only one lane each, and the rear I/O doesn't have a port faster than USB 3.0. So if you are looking at an SSD with NVME speeds, you're out of luck unless you upgrade your motherboard.

The best solution for you now would be a 2.5" SATA SSD. Even though theoretical speeds are much slower, the difference in game load times are a lot smaller. I would recommend those three models, which not only represent great value, but also come really close to the limit of the SATA interface:

• Western Digital Blue 3D
• SanDisk Ultra 3D
• Crucial MX500

The fastest SATA SSD is the Samsung 860 Evo, but it commands a much higher price with a negligible performance difference, and there are reports that the Crucial MX500 has now switched to 96L NAND which would make it the best one currently.

If you can find a better deal, just remember to avoid SSDs without a DRAM cache (extremely important in SATA drives), with QLC flash (unless you're looking at higher capacities), with the Phison S11 controller, any RGB drive (can cause overheating), and the absolute garbage Western Digital Green.

For compatible motherboards the drive is excellent,  I have one in my system. However, even if you were to use an NVMe to pci-e adapter your motherboard would not support the speed the drive is capable of.  You would be better served with a SATA ssd if you want to use it with your current board.  

6 minutes ago, ChaoticBeauty said:

Your motherboard does not feature an M.2 slot, as this form factor did not exist 10 years ago. Looking at the specifications further, the remaining PCIe 2.0 slots have only one lane each, and the rear I/O doesn't have a port faster than USB 3.0. So if you are looking at an SSD with NVME speeds, you're out of luck unless you upgrade your motherboard.

The best solution for you now would be a 2.5" SATA SSD. Even though theoretical speeds are much slower, the difference in game load times are a lot smaller. I would recommend those three models, which not only represent great value, but also come really close to the limit of the SATA interface:

• Western Digital Blue 3D
• SanDisk Ultra 3D
• Crucial MX500

The fastest SATA SSD is the Samsung 860 Evo, but it commands a much higher price with a negligible performance difference, and there are reports that the Crucial MX500 has now switched to 96L NAND which would make it the best one currently.

If you can find a better deal, just remember to avoid SSDs without a DRAM cache (extremely important in SATA drives), with QLC flash (unless you're looking at higher capacities), with the Phison S11 controller, any RGB drive (can cause overheating), and the absolute garbage Western Digital Green.

Wow, thanks for the detailed info! Exactly what I was looking for. 

Eventually, I will have to buy a new PC but find the prices quite high. Especially the most important component, the graphics card with preferably 8GB of RAM, is expensive and it probably won't make sense to get one of those now, with my old system (and I recently upgraded to a GTX960 (before I know MSFS would come out)).

21 minutes ago, 767lover said:

Wow, thanks for the detailed info! Exactly what I was looking for. 

Eventually, I will have to buy a new PC but find the prices quite high. Especially the most important component, the graphics card with preferably 8GB of RAM, is expensive and it probably won't make sense to get one of those now, with my old system (and I recently upgraded to a GTX960 (before I know MSFS would come out)).

There are PCIe x8 (Smaller slot near where theGPU goes) SSDs that you can buy, but they are bit more pricey.

There are also M.2 adapters for the PCIe x8 slots but I don't know how good they are.

31 minutes ago, 767lover said:

Eventually, I will have to buy a new PC but find the prices quite high. Especially the most important component, the graphics card with preferably 8GB of RAM, is expensive and it probably won't make sense to get one of those now, with my old system (and I recently upgraded to a GTX960 (before I know MSFS would come out)).

Depending on where you live prices can be out of whack indeed, and building a new system from scratch now can be difficult with motherboard and PSU stock stuck in a bad state. However, several new GPUs are coming out by the end of the year, so should you feel limited by your GPU, it might be worthwhile making an upgrade once prices have adjusted depending on your current CPU and RAM specifications.

7 minutes ago, Joyal said:

There are PCIe x8 (Smaller slot near where theGPU goes) SSDs that you can buy, but they are bit more pricey.

There are also M.2 adapters for the PCIe x8 slots but I don't know how good they are.

His motherboard features the following PCIe slots:

2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8)
3 x PCIe 2.0 x1
1 x PCI

This means that adding a PCIe SSD or adapter to the second slot would limit the GPU to x8 mode. Which may not make a difference with a GTX 960, but considering we're talking about a Sandy/Ivy Bridge platform, a fast SSD will likely be bottlenecked by the CPU or RAM. A SATA SSD should be the most cost-effective option, while still providing a huge boost over an HDD in OS and game loading times. It also means that it can be reused as a second SSD in a newer system without taking up lanes.

1 hour ago, Joyal said:

There are also M.2 adapters for the PCIe x8 slots but I don't know how good they are.

I recently bought one of these to fit a third M.2 SSD to my new rig and I've had no issues so far. It fits x4, x8 and x16 slots, so adds a bit of future-proofing if you change motherboards. Comes with a heatsink too.

 

Edit: Usefulness for the above setup overtaken by ChaoticBeauty's info. But still handy for future reference.

Edited August 11, 20205 yr by 109Sqn

Should also point out that it's my OS SSD which I've put on the adapter, so - at least with my motherboard - it can be used for the boot drive. Might not work on all motherboards for a boot drive though.