Explaining M.2 SSDs
Ғылым және технология
M.2.is one of the latest means of fitting a solid state drive (SSD) in a desktop or other computer. This video explains the different M.2 specifications, as well as comparing M.2 with traditional 2.5” SATA SSDs.
You can learn more about the latest NVME M.2 SSDs in my more recent video: • WD Black NVMe SSD
You may also be interested in my playlist of storage and related videos: • Storage & Related Hard...
More videos on computing-related topics can be found at: / explainingcomputers
You may also like my ExplainingTheFuture channel at: / explainingthefuture
Пікірлер: 1 000
This channel is far better than Linus' channels. No annoying overacting just raw information. Thanks a lot for all the information.
Life is simple. You see the title in the video. No click-baits, bs music, straight up content. You hear the exact same thing. You listen to this man attentively and you’re good.
This is the best explanation of M.2 technology I’ve seen. Well done.
@KTHKUHNKK
3 жыл бұрын
I totally agree because I just put one in my computer. NVme.2 2260 A one terabyte
@user-mi7zd2gi1r
2 жыл бұрын
@@KTHKUHNKK ذ#$٦ .ششش.ذش
>I see old man explaining computers, >I sit and listen quietly
@ozmobozo
4 жыл бұрын
Chris is a young man!
@ExtraLargeWindow
3 жыл бұрын
@@ozmobozo how old
@ExtraLargeWindow
3 жыл бұрын
holy sh*t nevermind hes 54 years old.
@nezmustafa4271
3 жыл бұрын
He's middle aged not old.
You deserve a million subs
@ExplainingComputers
7 жыл бұрын
Thanks! :)
@imeakdo7
7 жыл бұрын
Naif he deserves even more than that.
@imeakdo7
7 жыл бұрын
like 10 milion.
@tejasbaing1671
7 жыл бұрын
LapisSea by quality of content
@scotthannan8669
7 жыл бұрын
LapisSea why shouldn't Zombie Hitler have a popular channel? Obviously at least nein subscribers....
Another great video :) although I'm far from a serious "tech guy" I am doing my first PC build for electronic music / home studio production, and I'm including a Samsung 970 Evo Plus with 1TB of storage as my main boot / daily apps drive plus a 6TB Western Digital Black HDD for main storage. I know "just enough" about computers, and have been alive for enough of the home PC generation, to just.. have my jaw drop at what we're able to put into our personal computers these days and how rapidly it has all evolved. Imagine NASA of the 1960s seeing these components we have! Just think, the entire US government's best computers, backed by millions and millions of federal funding, probably had less power than a few off-the-shelf components we can all buy for under $1000 and have delivered in 24 hours by Amazon Prime - with KZread videos on high speed internet delivered for FREE to teach us how to put everything together. We truly live in an incredible, amazing time. Hope everyone reading this comment takes a moment to appreciate it :)
@JustBlondie
Жыл бұрын
I just appreciated it by reading this :)
I like the clear, rock-solid video and clear well-pronounced audio with no distractions. I subscribed. Well done!
@ExplainingComputers
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the sub -- welcome aboard!
Probably the best channel on KZread, clear presentation, no silly loud background music, clear graphics, accurate information.
@ExplainingComputers
4 жыл бұрын
Thanks.
This is like an old BBC program.
@tanveerhasan2382
5 жыл бұрын
Philson when i first saw his videos i thought it published back in 2007-8! Lol
@Ziplock9000
5 жыл бұрын
Microlive or Tomorrow's World lol
@midiman25
5 жыл бұрын
Open University style. It's good lol.
@Gyppor
5 жыл бұрын
We'd all learn a lot more if all how-to videos were as clear as this!
@haque7104
5 жыл бұрын
😂😂😂 & this host too
Great video, thanks! It's worth pointing out that the normal ssd drives are mostly empty, and have the same sized chips as in the M.2 drives, it's just the form factor that is different, and they have the advantage of an extra layer of protection from dust and accidental damage. The transfer speeds for M.2 can be much faster when using PCIe over SATA, depending on motherboard support.
Probably the best explanation of M.2 SSDs. No BS. Clear, straightforward and to the point. Good quality video as well. Well done!
6:13 One simple detail that you've allowed to slip on your brilliant (as usual) presentation: That motherboard allows for the installation of 2242, 2260 or 2280 drives, and that is marked on the motherboard with the digits and the screw holes for mounting. I wish you were my teacher back in the 90s when there were no computer classes in Portugal yet for my age and we used to learn by gathering all the gang together and had fun opening someone's computer, messed up with the cables and fiddled up with the motherboard jumpers, hoping to get the thing running without burning. Trial and lots of errors but a chaotic fun way to learn anyway. Now in my 40s I watch your videos and recognize a good professional when I see one. Kudos for all your lifetime work, Sir!
God!!! so clean & clear ExplainingComputers. Thank you. Wish you were my maths & science teacher. So that I could have passed with better marks, which would have enable me for better job & buy a M.2 Nvme 2TB.
You're so gentle with hardware man!
@najmalsumairy906
4 жыл бұрын
Thanks
I'm amazed that you actually made this video without even having a PciE device to show, and without discussing or measuring the speed differences between the two M.2 for factors! A brave man end an early adopter! Time for an update methinks.
@ExplainingComputers
4 жыл бұрын
Well, its great that I amazed you. But it is not essential to have hardware available to discuss a concept and technology. :) As you imply, several years ago when I made this video, PCIe M.2 drives were far less common and far more expensive than they are today. I have mad ea more recent video showing NVMe drive speeds here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/nap8t7icl9KeqLw.html
@Beevreeter
4 жыл бұрын
@@ExplainingComputers Thanks for your response, I have been having bad luck (?) with SSD's with two failing completely and irrecoverably within 6 months without so much as a hint of trouble before they did. They were not even particularly heavily used. It has shaken my confidence in the technology. Even your WD black video is now more than a year old - Have you any further recent experience or new technology information or recommendations to share on this topic?
@ExplainingComputers
4 жыл бұрын
My last video of this month is on QLC vs TLC SSDs, and tests out two of Samsung's latest EVO and QVO models. As you have discovered, SSDs can just fail. :(
God, I love this channel. No bullshit, just pure information. And best of all, no annoying, shreaking and obnoxious music made by a kid with his DJ app. Sir, thank you for explaining computers :D
Great, informative video. I did not understand that there were PCIE and SATA M.2 hard drives. I learned something new today that I'll use for a long time in the future. And as another user said, it's nice that you do a straight-forward video, no stupid music or other BS.
You are an excellent teacher. Well done. THANKS.
Just found your channel, I work in IT, and I can say I absolutely love the format of your videos, you explain things clearly and in perfect detail, keep up the great work!
@ExplainingComputers
4 жыл бұрын
Thanks.
Excellent explanation. Straight up data with no blah blah about history of disk drives.
Finally, someone cleared up my confusion. Thank you!
I enjoyed the entire presentation; very informative and interesting--I hope to see more from you soon!
Man you are the best computer geek. Old school style videos, very informative!
This is the best video explaining PC tech. Straight to the point
@ExplainingComputers
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks.
ExplainingComputers : Thanks Sir ! ~ For explaining M.2 compared with traditional 2.5" SATA SSDs , plus your hands on tutorial on how to install a M.2 SSD onto a motherboard PCB , for use in a Desktop / Laptop computer ! Thanks Scarboro
@scarborosasquatchstation1403
5 жыл бұрын
New Subscriber !
@ExplainingComputers
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks for your sub -- welcome aboard!
You are really good at explaining things! Thanks for the videos!
Powerful! Just bought a laptop with a missing M.2 and my technological expertise only goes as far as SSD. Thanks!
A variety of lengths and widths, insertion into slots... this is gold. Subscribed. In all seriousness though: I needed this information and it’s very clear. Thanks.
Love when people have original normal human outros that you remember and don't get tired of
I learned a lot, thanks John Lennon!
@swiftysway1849
4 жыл бұрын
With lips like that, I'd have said, John Lemmon!
I understood everything that was not well explained on other channels and web pages with this video alone... Great work!
I see so much rubbish on KZread but this is a really good video. Explained by someone in English that clearly knows what they are talking about. Well done, and keep up the good work Chris.
@ExplainingComputers
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks.
i did a TON of reasearch before buying an m.2 and i still learned a lot from this video! i went directly from a 7200rpm HDD to a gen 3x4 m.2 and on my first boot up it blew my effing mind! i kept hitting restart just to marvel at the speed. now i just have to wait for the tech to advance a little more so that 1TB sata SSD prices begin to dip so i can transfer all of my games and other files onto one (of course by the time i will be able to afford that the tech will be so much better and i will feel like im lagging behind again...)
@ExplainingComputers
6 жыл бұрын
Great story -- that was quite an upgrade, so the changing in boot speed must have been amazing! :)
@johnm2012
5 жыл бұрын
I remember when switching from a floppy disk to a hard disk sped up boot times too. Don't worry, software bloat and inefficient compilers will eventually slow things down again. What gives me some wry amusement is that fact that while operating systems now take up several gigabytes of disk space their error messages are as meaningless as ever to the actual user.
@PrinceAlberts
5 жыл бұрын
Wanna see something that'll REALLY blow your mind? I put two SATA III SSDs in my computer in a striped raid configuration. The thing boots so fast that I never see the Windows start screen unless it's applying updates.
@Chris.Brisson
5 жыл бұрын
@@PrinceAlberts Ooooo, now repeat that exercise with two PCIe NVMe SSDs (using a RAID controller that would allow the OS to boot from the RAID). I once designed a boot controller for a Nokia transceiver that reduced its boot time from 40 seconds down to 30 milliseconds (including full RAM tests). I had to include a "Reset Occurred" status in the logging else it would reboot so fast no one would notice.
@PrinceAlberts
5 жыл бұрын
Chris Brisson: That sounds amazing! I wish I had the money to do it.
great video as always
Another great video. Thanks Chris for making all the terminology so clear.
Wow when simple well narrated video on a rather complicated subject makes sense to wide audience. Subscribed instantly!
@ExplainingComputers
4 жыл бұрын
Welcome aboard!
good info, well presented. Thanks.
Great video explaining the technology
@ExplainingComputers
6 жыл бұрын
THanks.
As always, your descriptions are 100% correct, and 100% helpful. thank you.
I've been wanting to upgrade my laptop's SSD drive since it has a free M.2 slot, but was really confused about different interfaces. This video clears up a lot for me. Thank you
Fyi, M.2 ssd's of any variety tend to become quite hot during operation so you need to be careful in how you handle these devices. Specifically it is not recommended to directly touch the surface of these devices with your fingers because there are residual oils on a person's skin that can become transferred onto the integrated circuits (chips) of the device resulting in "hot spots" or area's where the heat can become concentrated and not radiate away properly which can and often does result in poor performance and/or permanent damage to the device. Best if you use a new pair of latex gloves when installing, unless you can be careful enough not to touch the surface of the device with your fingers (hold the drive by the edges, the green part of the card) and don't touch the black "chips". It doesn't matter how much you wash your hands you can never get them so clean as to wash away these oils and salts which are constantly produced by your skin. Just wanted to add this little bit of info which is also true for computer memory and any sort of peripheral add on card. I didn't even mention that you should, just to be totally on the safe side, avoid touching the gold contacts because these oils can easily result damage to them and impede the electrical connection. Also you should wear a grounded wrist strap to avoid causing damage to the device from static electrical charges, etc. This video, though quite informative, can show a person enough bad habits to result in an unnecessary RMA situation, that is if you don't say enough to the vendor during the process to result in a totally voided warranty.... Most devices, these days, will arrive to the final consumer untouched by human hands. I will generally assume, however, that someone along the chain of custody has been careless and handled the device in an "unsafe" manner and use isopropyl or ethyl alcohol and a clean cotton cloth to clean the surfaces before installation as this situation can result in damage to these modern, hot running devices.
My laptop has an M.2 SSD and boots up amazingly quickly, even compared to a previous 2.5" SSD. Definitely worth any extra cost.
@Nidhogg84
7 жыл бұрын
Izzie boot times aren't quicker on m.2 versus 2.5" SSD. the improvement has to do with initialization optimization included with newer UEFI. Using full UEFI mode with Windows 8.1/10 (or any supported O/S) is what helps.
Hi you are a great person explaining on computer. I like seeing your video's. You teach people on computer and we learn from you. I am not a profession, I am green learning from your video. Thanks for your help. I hope that people would appreciate the work that you are doing
Another brilliant video. I am getting a lap top with M.2 PCIe and was told it was faster than SATA but didn't know why, and now I do now. Thank you. Fascinating thoughts also about the future of PCs, etc.
technology is getting its sense, the M.2 SSD is an amazing thing uses less power, occupies very small space, zero noise and even more memory capacity this is great but i hope they will make it more small and big in its capacity, thank you for your video
Excelent video and explanation
These thorough explanations are amazing. Thank you for providing this.
Thanks for a excellent explanation of the M.2. technology. It hard to imagine how far secondary storage device technology has changed since the days of IDE and SCSI.
Great info. thanks.
I actually _like_ having the storage separate. Makes upgrades more convenient. Though, I suppose a M.2 drive being easily removable by just taking out a screw if the motherboard dies wouldn't be too bad. Still, the fact that dedicated drive bays are physically larger does allow more functionality to be fit in there, and there are lower limits to how small you can make certain devices. You're not going to fit a blu-ray drive into anything smaller than the 120mm diameter of the discs, after all. All this integration is a bit annoying, though. Really limiting how much you can control what's in your machine and forces you to make compromises ("If I want that network chip, I have to have this drive controller" sort of stuff). What would be better would be if the motherboard was just for supplying power and passing signals around, and the actual functionality, such as network, USB, SATA, etc was handled by dedicated cards. The form-factor of the M.2 drives could be great for all the little stuff that's built into the motherboard chipset now. USB, Ethernet, and SATA could be covered by mini PCIe cards and audio by a regular card, like it used to be back in the ISA and PCI days.
What a great vid explaining how it works. Do love how simple and straight to the point you are... THUMBS UP!!!
@ExplainingComputers
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks.
Great video! Very focused, very clear, no distractions! Much appreciated!
Good Job.... very informative. I happen to think that these M2 boards could have been available shortly after the SSD's and SD's were released..... just to save the spinning rust drives from a total collapse they extended the development and release of M2 over the course of a decade.... Otherwise these M2 technology drives would have been available in 2007-ish.
Thanks for the informative video Now that you have covered the m.2 drive, do you have plan to cover nvme drive or comparison video?
@ExplainingComputers
7 жыл бұрын
I may indeed do this at some point. So many new standards!
@asrarbaksh3500
7 жыл бұрын
Can you install kali on the little panda computer??
@antoniuskelvinkurniawan
7 жыл бұрын
ExplainingComputers I'm looking forward for that :) Also, would you explains the pinouts for each type? So that we might understand it better
@techtipsuk
7 жыл бұрын
Antonius Kelvin Kurniawan good idea
My last computer dated back to 2009 and to this day is still working despite integration issues with today's technology, because of this, I recently purchased a premium i7, 16 GB, 4K ultrabook and I knew it had m.2 but I had no idea what was meant by that, but now I do. :) Excellent video. Very simple to understand and well filmed. Thanks for helping to bring me up to date with today's tech! Oh Boy, have hard drives evolved!
Fantastic explanation Sir. Thank you for sharing your computer knowledge with the rest of the world.
God damn it, I love this channel.
I have one laying around, I really need to buy one of those adapter cards, my MoBo doesn't have any m.2 ports! :(
Thank you very very much for this content. I’m just starting out exploring the possibility of being able to build my own computer and try and understand the complexities of doing it. Thank you for helping me gain confidence and knowledge.
I have been following you for a very long time. As usual, very informative and concise information. Infinite Thanks for sharing!!!
It's like watching a documentary
@ExplainingComputers
6 жыл бұрын
Thanks! That is my intention. :)
@ericscaillet2232
4 жыл бұрын
Maybe John will adopt the Irwin approach, that would make him superstar status.
Question : What is the Compared Durability of an SSD SATA vs the M.2 ?
@ExplainingComputers
6 жыл бұрын
They should be the same for the same drive specs -- the flash memory chips and controllers will be pretty much the same, or identical.
Excellent explanation, no music, I understand m.2 now. Thanks
Excellent video, explaining the topic very clearly and expertly done.
Imagine while you're installing it it slips and falls into the abyss from which only the great knight Artorias returned... I shudder to think of it.
Small note this video missed which is still true even today is that not all PCIe SSD's they come in both 2 and 4 lane versions the former is only 16 Gb/s (2 lanes * 8 Gb/s/lane) also some motherboards that have multiple M.2 slots wont support 32 Gb/s if all of them are used or will only do so if certain PCIexpress slots are not used etc so do check both your drive and motherboard specs to be sure.
That's, the video I was loooooooooking for!. To the point ,well explained ,someone out here is doing a nice job .BIG THUMB UP.
I absolutely LOVED this video!!! Thank you for the lovely video! I can't wait to build my first m2 desktop!!
141k subs!!!!!!! looking forward to 150k the 200k then a huge jump to 1m subs!!! great I subscribed you when you are at only 35k nice progress
@ExplainingComputers
7 жыл бұрын
Thanks for this. It is indeed nice to watch the channel continue to grow.
Spot on, no BS and clear concise information. Whoever gave a thumbs down for this video must be off dragging their knuckles as they go look for banana's!
I love your videos. It makes me travel back in time to the 90s. I don't know why I feel this way lol
Great job! Very well informed easy and precised.
thank you
Participation medal goes to me!
@ExplainingComputers
7 жыл бұрын
And a good medal to have that is. :)
Great video. Informative and clearly presented. It was 9:20 minutes well spent. Thank you.
Chris Thank you for the explanation of the M.2. This answers many questions, especially about the bus and speed changes. The evolution of computers as you know will be much about the end of the moving disk drive. This fills in many blanks I had in fully understanding how that technology will work. Thank you, sir, for all you do! Rich
@ExplainingComputers
7 жыл бұрын
Thanks Rich. :)
Awesome video!! Please do a video on RAID!!! :)
@ExplainingComputers
7 жыл бұрын
I have a RAID video here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/mKCDyqWOYNbNprQ.html
@AprilMayRain
7 жыл бұрын
Thanks Chris!! The video explained a lot. Are M.2 SSDs able to RAID 0? Would that require a mother board with 2 M.2 slots? Do you recommend RAID 0 to run OS?
@DanLMH
7 жыл бұрын
If the Mobo has more than one M.2 slot, you use IRST (Intel Rapid Storage Technology) to RAID them. I would personally not recommend RAID 0 at all.
Interesting video ! Two (or maybe 3) years ago I had the money to buy parts to build another PC, as my 'old' one was about 9 years old, but still worked just fine, but I had the itch to make a new one. I ended up with an Intel 750 400GB Nvme Pcie jobbie, and 2 x Samsung 950 Pro 250GB M.2 drives.....because my Gigabyte board had two slots, and it seemed a shame not to use them....:) So only my Gfx card - in slot 1 - and the Intel drive in slot 3 (to give air space between them) are using the Pcie slots. I do have some regular 500GB and 1TB 7200rpm HDD's and a pair of WD 500GB 10,000rpm Velociraptors spare from my 'old' PC. I have Win 7 and Win 10 installed on 500GB 7200rpm HDD's, disconnected as emergency drives should something go wrong with the Nvme drives... The Nvme drives were not cheap, but could not resist....:)
Strewth! I remember when I found a guy locally producing circuit boards for adding a massive new-tech 10 MEG hard drive to my then Z80 computer (initially Tape Storage). That was a real hoot back in those days... what, wow, 10 meg, jeez. Now I read this excellent presentation about current trends and hardware and will never stop being in awe of the speed of tech change these days. Boxes are becoming yesterdays hardware before one gets them out of the shop. Thank you for passing on the knowledge.
@ExplainingComputers
6 жыл бұрын
The speed of progress in tech is indeed amazing.
Great video with lots of pertinent data. Thank you.
Computer with sata ssd: "ZOOOOMM!!!" Pc enthusiasts :"NO!! , IT MUST BE FASTER!!!!"
Excellent video. I didn't read all 837 comments but whoever decided to use those teeny, tiny screws to hold them in place needs to be severely beaten.
Every new video of yours makes my day! Like the video and the topic!
That really cleared up my conception. Thanks a lot!
Imagine such a vid in 2036, have to use a quantum microscope to explain the differences
Very good video!! 2280 thumbs up! :)
@NicholasWiewiora
7 жыл бұрын
Why not 22110?
Best video explaining m.2 yet, thanks! :D
Thanks for this very informative and sparkling clean video:) carry on mate you are on the very right path.
Thanks for the information although it brings up the seemingly eternal problem of obsolescence. I've got a ton of IDE drives, DDR2 sticks and mobo with obsolete CPU sockets. Every time I build a PC a new technology shows up. So what's a nerd to do?
@ExplainingComputers
7 жыл бұрын
Yes, agreed!
@wildbill23c
7 жыл бұрын
Buy a new computer? LOL. Wait, by the time you buy the stuff to build that fancy new high speed computer, alas its already old technology HAHA!!!!
@yussef961
7 жыл бұрын
if you build a computers every 10 years yeah... but thumbs down cause technology won't wait for your slowness
@wildbill23c
7 жыл бұрын
Yussef Ibn la ahad If its on the shelf for purchase its already outdated. By the time a product hits the market whether its a complete computer or parts its already old LOL. For most people they'll never notice a difference in power from an older machine to a newer one because all they do is play on the internet with it so processor speed and RAM isn't that important, those who do video & audio processing is where you will notice a huge difference.
Did you even wear a antistatic wrist strap ? i can see there is no static free cloth the items are laying on. Was the anti static stuff just a gimmick to sell useless crap? My friend just tossed computer parts in a carboard box and most that stuff still works years later. I try to use my wrist strap though.
@ExplainingComputers
7 жыл бұрын
I am always grounded with a wrist strap, but no longer show it on camera due the plethora of negative comments wearing one -- and talking about the use of one -- generates. Usually you will get away without one fine. But when I have paid for the components, I wear one! :)
@thearchiveable
5 жыл бұрын
You can ground yourself by touching metal before handeling the components.
@peterknutsen3070
5 жыл бұрын
thearchiveable I just touch the radiator in my apartment.
@thearchiveable
5 жыл бұрын
@@peterknutsen3070 That is good, it works 95% of the time. But getting proper grounded is the best and safest way. But i never had problems. Also check if you floot is laminated and you walk on socks. Then you can build up static very easy.
Very informative, a great source for someone who is trying to pass the comptia A+ certification.
You are just so good at explaining Computers! Brilliant vid!
@ExplainingComputers
7 жыл бұрын
Many thanks! :)
Thanks for not saying 'SATER" like some people.
@skandababy
7 жыл бұрын
WTFC?
@t00by00zer
5 жыл бұрын
@@skandababy you know, like some people say "warshing" instead of "washing"
@skandababy
5 жыл бұрын
@@t00by00zer No shit, I KNOW what the OP meant, that WHY I said: WTFC. The OP is a glib, shallow, pretentious douche-water-drinker. It's called accents, dialects or patois... People who expect everyone else to talk exactly like THEM are ignorant, arrogant and closed minded.
@rossevansit5770
5 жыл бұрын
do you mean sayter? Or satar? Clearly it's pronounced sata. ;)
Thanks. I have found M.2 a bit confusing.
Second video in your series that I've watched. Very informative. I am getting ready to buy a new laptop and am going with the 500 GB M.2 NVMe (PCIe) boot drive. (Along with a 1 TB HDD for extra storage) I have subscribed.
@ExplainingComputers
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the sub. If you've not seen it, you may find interesting this video that features a 500GB NVMe M.2 SSD being tested. Wow it is fast! kzread.info/dash/bejne/nap8t7icl9KeqLw.html
Very informative and straight forward. Thank you.
We need to fit one of these on a raspberry pi!😂😂
@ExplainingComputers
6 жыл бұрын
We do. So far M.2 SSDs are limited to SBCs like an UDOOx86 AP and a HiKey 960. I will be covering such issues in more depth in two weeks time. :)
178 people disliked vieo are driver manufacturers.
Great overview of the M.2 drives and a good job as always. I did miss the un-boxing though, that's always my favorite part. I just built a new system over the holidays with a Samsung 850 EVO M.2 and it was just as easy as you showed in your video. I've got Linux Mint loaded on it as my primary daily driver and love how easy and fast this build was compared to others I've done over the years.
Wonderful video! For once, the video was to-the-point and no-nonsense. I just subscribed to your channel cause of this. Thanks a ton. :)
@ExplainingComputers
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the sub. Welcome aboard!