Are there any M.2 4x PCI-e SSD drives worth getting?

I have an XMG P505 (rebadged Clevo P651SE), this is currently using a 7mm 1Tb Samsung 850 EVO SSD drive for storage, as when I bought it lots of people seemed to have concerns about M.2 4x PCI-e SSD drives running hot, as well as other issues. Now that 10 months have passed, I was wondering if the situation has improved with M.2 4x PCI-e SSD drives - are there any worth getting now? I want to keep system temps down as much as possible, so any M.2 PCI drive that generates a ton of heat is a deal breaker.

My P505 supports M.2. devices of 42, 60, or 80mm size.

I'm interested in using a M.2 4x PCI-e SSD as my boot/system drive (so would only need to be a smallish one, though would probably go for at least 256Gb, as a bit of extra storage space wouldn't hurt and larger SSDs seem to offer better performance), to benefit from the extra speed of this, and to use my 1TB Samsung 850 EVO for everything else.

Is the Samsung SM951 worth considering? Seen at least one decent review of it:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8979/samsung-sm951-512-gb-review

It's reasonably affordable too: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-MZVPV256HDGL-00000-SM951-256GB-PCI-/dp/B015CWQY4Q

Though the 950 Pro badged version may be a better bet for support in Windows 10, from what I've read:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-MZ-V5P256BW-Solid-V-NAND-Controller/dp/B015SOI392/

 

In my opinion, nothing has changed with M.2 drives (and certainly not the Samsung offerings).

If you search this forum with my username you will find many reasons to avoid them still and wait for what X-Point may possibly bring us in the new year.

Also; 256GB SSD's are worth less than $1... - these toy-like capacities (yeah; even for 'just' the O/S + Programs) are a waste of resources (time and $$$).

Here is a couple of threads as an example of how this tech has been stillborn.

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/samsung-sm951.781057/


See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...-ssd-m-2-take-two-and-still-not-there.771517/


(Sorry, can't seem to find with a quick search the more recent conversations).

 

Okay, I'll probably hold off on getting an M.2 drive for now, then

 

@tilleroftheearth you make my heart bleed. =\

 

I kind of have to agree with tiller.. Really need to get those 960GB Sandisk Extreme Pro as soon as my wallet allows it

 

I have two 256GB SSDs in my system, and I'm running short of usable space (after overprovisioning) on one. If I hadn't deleted a couple virtual machines, the other might be in a similar state. I'd definitely recommend anyone getting the highest capacity SSD in their price range, but if one can't afford a higher-capacity SSD, then any SSD is still a good investment. Lower-capacity SSDs may just require more aggressive data management.

 

In that laptop you can flash the Prema bios mod and run a 256Gb or 512GB Samsung sm951 nvme or a 950 Pro ! Find Prema here on NBR and check if he has finished the mod for that laptop model !The Sata offerings are not worth it, but the nvme-drives sure are I am running one right now as an OS drive on my Clevo p751zm and you won't find anything that beats it on that laptop. Be aware that low queue depths (read) and random mixed workload (read & write) will not be bettered much versus drives like Samsing 850 pro or Sandisk Extreme Pro, but everything else will blow you and them away - from latency, through 4k read and write to sequentials that beat the crap out of sata drives.
If you want to read a review that actually gives you smth, here : http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/samsung-sm951-nvme-versus-ahci-sata,4137.html

 

But this drive still runs very hot, though, no?

 

The key is( and this is important) airflow. I installed a small micro fan( 40mm x 40 mm) inside my Clevo p751zm, and the drive is now NEVER above 60 degrees celcius. Before the fan I was over the throttle - temp of 83 ALL THE TIME :-(
So if you really want it you can make it work. If not, well......

 

There's not a lot of spare space inside a Clevo P651SE for esoteric cooling solutions like this...

 

There is not a lot of room in the p751zm either. But it was doable. I would not recommend the drive in the case that you don't have access to cooling for it.

 

I agree about 'no fan - don't install' for these M.2 drives.

See:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9856/angelbird-wings-px1-m2-adapter-review-do-ssds-need-heatsinks


Although Anandtech downplays the need for the cooling 'in real life workloads', it clearly shows how broken this stop gap tech is.

Putting another fan inside of a (brand new) notebook just so that the storage subsystem works as advertised is not my idea of progress. But I'm sure Samsung is happy that some are promoting this hack so they can sell their defective/beta hardware.

 

Are You sure, that the SM951 will work in NVMe mode with the XMG P505? No question, the 950 PRO has an OptionROM. But even with Prema Mod there is no NVMe support for the notebook.

 

I hope you can get an answer from Prema about this, because I don't remember... I am sorry for the late reply.

 

Hey guys, what would be the best 250 GB SSD drive, for the money, for this thing right here. http://rjtech.com/shop/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=30520

 

There are no 250GB SSD's worth buying right now. Particularly M.2 format versions which run hot, throttle (themselves and other components) and are generally inferior in real world use vs. their 2.5" counterparts (depending on your actual workloads, of course)...

Either look for a 1TB 2.5" version like an EVO 850 or better or keep saving until you can.

250GB SSD's right now are dirt cheap, for a reason (slow, stuttery, ~232GB actual capacity, ~156GB with 33% OP). Avoid them at all costs if you want to keep your new system (and have it usable) for more than the next 18 months or so.

Either way; buy the cheapest HDD you can with the system (if you need to specify a drive at all) and then replace it with a much cheaper version you can buy yourself.

Clean install the O/S on your new SSD (don't worry; Windows 10 will automatically activate itself when you're online...) and install the required drivers for your system. If you include the 33% OP'ing as mentioned above, you will have the fastest and most stable system possible to enjoy for many years to come.

Good luck.

 

What does 33% OP'ing mean, and 2.5" is the way to go. Thanks! I HATE slow, unstable computes!

 

Hey guys, do you think that this drive is worthy to put in a laptop.

https://www.sandisk.com/home/ssd/extreme-pro-ssd

 

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/why-over-provision.760922/#post-9766709

With 2.5", I mean the SSD's form factor (vs. the inferior (at least in a most mobile chassis', M.2 factor).

The 2.5" SSD simply has more room to breathe and can better dissipate it's heat output in a way which usually doesn't affect other components (or at least; doesn't affect them as much).

HATE is a strong word; but in this case, I agree!

 

HATE is a strong word. I would never apply that, to a member of mankind. Heat dissipation, thanks for the heads up!

 

Hmm, I will have to see if PCIE interface is available in 2.5".

 

You may find an adaptor, but the 2.5" interface is almost universally SATAIII today.