As usual in m.2 threads, the OP was forgotten to mention the number #1 spec: the physical size.

This is 2280 so won't fit in a laptop with only 2242 or 2260.

Important to point out: this is SATA III 6Gb/s, 1.5 mm, Read 540MB/s, Write 520MB/s

If you're looking for M.2 PCIe (up to 2100MB/s read/1400MB/s write on Samsung 950 pro) look... well at the samsung 950 pro :wink:

Decent deal for anyone with an M.2 2280 SATA slot in their mobo or laptop

good price for the type, at a quick look next cheapest is £62.39 @ http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/harddrives-internal/ssdsolidstate/m.2ssd/sd8snat-256g-1122.html

Cheaper here if you don't have free delivery - http://www.kikatek.com/P697512/SD8SNAT-256G-1122-Sandisk-Enterprise-SD8SNAT

As usual in m.2 threads, the OP was forgotten to mention the number #1 spec: the physical size.

This is 2280 so won't fit in a laptop with only 2242 or 2260.

Important to point out: this is SATA III 6Gb/s, 1.5 mm, Read 540MB/s, Write 520MB/s

If you're looking for M.2 PCIe (up to 2100MB/s read/1400MB/s write on Samsung 950 pro) look... well at the samsung 950 pro :wink:

Decent deal for anyone with an M.2 2280 SATA slot in their mobo or laptop

Heat added a great SSD but scan have the figures incorrect. The correct read write for this drive are Up to 546MB/s read & 342MB/s write....

Sandisk Z400s Solid state drives specification

Heat added as its still a great SSD and you won't notice the small decrease in speed in use..

They're the same drive - SD8SNAT-256G-1122.

It's "slower" because Scan's speeds are wrong. They're showing specs for the X400, not the Z400s.

https://www.sandisk.co.uk/business/computing/z400s

This got pretty slated in reviews I've read. It's very slow. Designed as a very cheap OEM drive for NUC type machines.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/sandisk-z400s-dram-less-ssd,review-33390-6.html

this is a sata controller chucked on a m.2 interface, which is kinda pointless

Also look at the SM951 - it's the OEM version, so can be found cheaper than the 950. Speeds are 2150MB/s read, 1550MB/s write.

not as good warranty though
for a first gen product I'm inclined to get the longest warranty available

M.2 is the socket. Both PCi-e and Sata drives use M.2 connector. You need to make sure your system either uses PCi-e or Sata and buy the correct drive. They are not cross compatible even though they share the same socket.

for laptops it is very useful as long you understand that and b) the manufacturer states it clearly. Older systems will use the sata 3 version and I expect that it to be pcie based on newer /higher spec models...

For motherboards it is pointless you might as well stick with sata 3.. The whole pcie-on-sata has turned into a mess with sata-express, u2 and m.2 fighting for motherboard space ...

Heat. Great for thise that got a Dell 7559 recently.

I myself got the smaller 128gb from a previous deal but even though it's not pcie etc it's still perfectly fine. All you need is the ssd style boost for an os and everything flies.

The spec is very clear in that it's up to the manufacturer to choose which interfaces to support. Loads of laptops don't support pcie (thus NVMe), but do for SATA3. This is absolutely allowed in the specification for m.2

Plus the added complication for M.2 about slot sizes. Most motherboards are okay with 2242, 2260, and 2280 but 22110 seems less common at least on mATX boards:

Laptops are of course a totally different matter with some for instance having 60mm space but a permanent screw in the way meaning you can only use 2242 (I'm looking at you HP Elitebook 820/840/850 in their G1 guises)
Helpfully, there are some M.2 compatibility pages and I have come across at least two:
http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com/m.2-ngff-ssd-compatibility-list.html
http://laptopmedia.com/laptop-m-2-ngff-ssd-compatibility-list/
(the first one seems far more complete).
Apparently there is another complication in that M.2 can have different thickness and single/double sided too:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.2#Form_factors_and_keying
Verdict: M.2 is possibly the most confusing PC 'standard' in a long time!

you can do pcie ahci also v1.2 nvme is coming !! soon the motherboard interconnects will be the bottleneck (actually in my mind they already are)

Yes, but you can only do it if the manufacturer has supported it. As above - it's perfectly allowed to have a m.2 slot that only supports SATA3.

NVMe is awesome, but just so expensive.

Just make the 20 odd posts on scan and get free one day delivery from them for life.

Or go with Kikatek, as mentioned they are the same drives, scan simply has wrong specs.

Will this work for a pc or just a laptop?

Good find worth buying if want a M2 sorted. Would rather wait for a 480 in same price TBH :smiley:

Although this plugs into a M.2 slot, this runs SLOWER than most Sata 3 SSDs. This isn't an M.2 protocol SSD, it is slow, and should be only considered if you do not have a SATA connector!

The Samsung 850 Evo is both faster and cheaper.

M.2 isn't just a socket, it allows for a different interface compared to Sata III.

You can join the PCI Express lanes with M.2, rather than using the Sata III.

500mb read and 340mb write is actually bad for an SSD. The Samsung 850 Evo beats it in both categories!

This is essentially a sheep in wolf's clothes. It's a low performing Sata III pretending to be new tech (M.2).

If you only have an M.2 slot, this is ok, but it's nothing spectacular, and definitely not when considering the price of 55 quid is a bit much.

crap explanation from me just have a read of this it explains it better...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.2

Look, you are being pedantic here. When someone talks about an M.2 SSD, they are not referring to the Sata III interface cards. Almost no one needs an alternative to the Sata III interface. That's a joke, really.

When someone talks about an M.2 card, they are nearly always referring to PCIe.

All different keyed M.2 slots can interface with the PCIe bridge.

Maybe you are confused and think some M.2 lack the ability to connect to the PCIe interface.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/02/understanding-m-2-the-interface-that-will-speed-up-your-next-ssd/

That should help you understand the full features of M.2

To note, M.2 is supposed to be a transition into a more universal connector system. You can use the M.2 on whatever you want.

Going back to this deal. This is a bit of a gimmick. Very few motherboards lack a Sata III connector. Maybe a few newer laptops only have an M.2 interface. If this is the case, fine, this is a reasonable drive to consider.

However, if you are not restricted by only having M.2, there is no reason to buy this card!

It's almost a bait-and-switch tactic as when you talk M.2 and SSD, people just associate it with the new tech offered (SSD via PCIe).

Different incompatible standards on same interface connector (M.2), different keying on the connector, different lengths, different thicknesses, double sided poss not compatible, etc. Other competing standards, etc. I've upgraded and repaired all my PCs and laptops since 2001 but this is a nightmare before you even start.

I think you are being a bit pedantic by quoting my deleted post.

You are arguing against yourself which is funny this is an M.2 Sata drive there are a lot of systems that use M.2 Sata drives like the Dell Inspiron 15 7559 Dells best selling laptop. It has a single M.2 Sata and a single Sata 6GBPS port. As does the Asus G552VW and also the MSi GE62 Apache to name a few of the top of my head.

People looking to buy this drive will not have the option of using an M.2 PCi-e drive so why keep saying PCI-E drives are better ? We know that and if your machine supports a PCI-E M.2 drive then great.

As for this drive for people limited to M.2 Sata then this is not a bad drive it's not quite as quick as the Samsung 850 Evo but in real world usage it will be a negligible difference you won't notive unless benchmarked they have the same read speeds. It's also a fair bit cheaper than an equivalent size Samsung drive.

I'm not trying to be rude but you are arguing a case that does not exist. This is not meant for people who have a PCI-E compatible M.2 device.

I mean, I quoted your post before it was deleted. It's not like I undeleted it.

And I'll quote myself here:


As I said, there are use cases, but it's going to be very, very specific. As you have shown, those laptops have a Sata III connector.

I suppose if you have a Sata III already plugged in, you can use the M.2 as well, but I will repeat myself. The only use case for an M.2 via Sata III is if you don't have any other option.

Unless the price/performance beats the available Sata III SSD, there is no point!

The point is you can have an SSD with a large mechanical drive in a smaller space. If you have an M.2 Sata SSD for the operating system and you will still have a Sata port free for a large storage drive.

M.2 is actually a mess. hopefully U.2 will be the motherboard interface of choice.

I'm thinking more for laptops that have a single Sata M.2 and a single Sata III port. In a desktop with plenty of space it would make sense to use standard 2.5" Sata SSD's.

Scan do the SK Hynix SC300 256GB for £62 - have gone for this as it seems a more frequent OEM choice than the Sandisk. Will be replacing the 128GB version in my Inspiron 15

What do you mean by more frequent OEM? The read speed seems slower for a more expensive price?

Some motherboards only support the PCIe bus protocol (direct to CPU) with M.2 SSDs. Even though you install an M.2 SSD (such as this) which uses the SATA bus protocol it won't work.