M2 or 2.5" SSD?

Hi all,

My current 128GB 840 Pro SSD (in my Lenovo X240) is running out of space (only 5GB left!), so really need more storage. In fact, a huge amount of my files are currently stored in the cloud, and I would like to have a local copy of them as well. So I need a lot more storage space (500GB - 1TB).

My laptop has an empty M.2 slot (42mm), and it seems there are two options:

A) Buy a 500GB 2.5" SSD (possibly SanDisk Ultra II, other cheap alternatives will be considered), and do nothing else.

B) Buy a 128GB M.2 2242 form factor SSD (possibly SanDisk Z400s - other cheap alternatives will be considered), and put an existing 500GB 7200RPM Hitachi drive into the 2.5" slot. I.e. a dual drive solution.

Option B is approximately £30 cheaper. It offers more storage than option A), but slower speeds, as M2 drives seem pretty slow (in the 2242 form factor). Option A) also seems more "future-proof."

Any advice would be appreciated, as I cannot seem to make up my mind on which route I should go down!

Thanks!

 

I vote mSATA, unless it is noticeably more expensive that is. =p

 

I'd go with option A. Get the highest-capacity SSD you can afford. That way, you have everything on the same drive, which can help some programs run better. Also, you'll get the most out of the SSD. Larger-capacity SSDs inherently last longer and almost always run faster than smaller-capacity SSDs due to their design.

 

I'd take a 256GB mSATA 850 Evo and a 1.75TB M9T. I don't know too much about 2242, from my understanding, an 850 Evo mSATA has the same performance as a standard 2.5' SATA. The great advantage I see for you in the two-drive-configuration is, that you'll have very much more space. A 1.75TB M9T really changes a system and only costs 70€. Also, a 256GB mSATA 850 Evo afaik is cheaper than a 500 GB 2.5' . As nice as a 500 GB SSD is, it's my experience, that one doesn't need that much ultra-fast space, 256GB are more than enough for OS + all sorts of Programs, and Documents, Videos and Music don't need to be stored on an SSD.

 

keep in mind that the original poster's system does not have an mSATA port. It has a 42mm M.2 port. that means that mSATA drives won't work and any M.2 drive that's longer than 42mm won't work either.

 

I wouldn't recommend either of your options at this time.

MLC or nothing... M.2 drives are effectively stillborn and running a toy-like capacity (128GB nominal is far too small for my suggested 150GB actual capacity for the O/S drive w/30% OP'ing...) for an O/S with even an excellent HDD like the Hitachi line is a self inflicted shot to the head (performance/productivity-wise.

While you're saving for at least an MX200 500GB SSD or better, you might want to try some of these steps to increase your current drives capacity, performance and reliability.

First; make a backup of your DATA.

Secondly; make the Windows sxs folder as small as possible.

See:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-ca/library/dn251565.aspx

Thirdly; make the Windows Installer folder as small as possible using WICleanup.

See:
https://www.raymond.cc/blog/safely-delete-unused-msi-and-mst-files-from-windows-installer-folder/


I have used WICleanup in many modern installations and have seen gains of up to 30GB of capacity.

You might also want to use tools such as WinDirStat and CCleaner (hint: use the 'slim' build of CCLeaner...) to manually track down large DATA files (especially old, redundant or multiple copies of them...).

You will gain a not insignificant amount of capacity back with the above steps while you're saving for something better than an TLC or SSD+HDD solution that is worse than what you have today.

Good luck.

 

mSATA is great because one can put it in any 2.5" slot, and many m.2 slots, via adapter - while still being wallet-friendly. 2242 slot should be OK as well if b-keyed and there is enough place on top and around it; all current 2242 SSDs are overly expensive slow crap limited to 256GB in size, anyway. Here's the 2242 adapter I was talking about.

 

counterpoint: mSATA is not the preferred O/S drive format because of higher heat, less capacity and less (half...) of the channels used no matter which controller is present vs. 2.5" SSD's.

2.5" SSD's are still the best balance of sustained performance, optimal capacity and the best examples of efficiency/heat and optimal use of the controller they use (w/regards to fully using all channels, optimal interleaving per channel and using controllers that are low heat producers but have enough oomph for the demands that more than 2/4 channels of nand require to run optimally).

 

@tilleroftheearth, very true but the problem still remains - many newer machines dump 2.5" slot for m.2, while with mSATA there is still a chance to fit it. If the drive goes into workstation or gaming notebooks, 2.5" all the way of course - but given topic starter's current preference, I believe he'll be severely limited in choice if willing to keep an 2.5" drive while choosing his next machine. Some cheaper, non-overheating full-size m.2 SATA drive in 2.5" adapter may be not too bad idea...

Bottom line, I advice to research the possibility of using the adapter in X240's 2242 slot. If it fits, then mSATA SSD + HDD (or better - mSATA SSD + 2.5" SSD); if not, then the cheapest 1TB SSD available (2.5" Mushkin Reactor or something like that) would be my recommendation.

 

While SSD's are faster, I still think they should be combined together with a HDD. A Mushkin Reactor 1TB SSD costs 334€ cheapest price in Germany currently. A Seagate M9T not only would have two times the capacity, it would also cost less than 1/3, so it's 6 times as effective Space / Price! A 250 GB Samsung 850 Evo mSATA + the 2 TB Seagate together cost 200€. That's saving 130€ + getting 1TB more Space, and if the data doesn't suffer from the slower access-speeds of the HDD (like it would do in the case of music or any sorts of multimedia) , it's effectively more for less!

I don't know if the combination I propose is possible, but if it is, I'd already prefer the 2TB HDD, just because it's 1TB more Space! Imo. it totally depends on what kind of data he stores, if he does professional Audio or Video editing, ofc., then 2* SSD and nothing else, because then he needs to work with several GB large scratch-files, and he could save hours just because of the higher speed of the SSD, but for a normal user, SSD + HDD all the way.

Btw., @ Starlight5: You wrote "if workstation or gaming notebook, then 2.5' all the way" : Why that? I got an Alienware gaming notebook, and I'm currently thinking about replacing my 2.5' SSD with another 1.75TB Samsung M9T, sell my 2.5' Samsung 840 Pro and get myself a Samsung 850 Evo mSATA instead. Also, the new, ultimate mobile Workstation (the P50 from Lenovo) only has one 2.5' slot but therefore 2 M.2 Slots. So thinking about this and using Google again, what actually speaks against a 256GB M.2 2242 SSD + a 2TB M9T? There are 256GB M.2 2242 SSD's for the same price as there are mSATA drives (though other producer) . I don't know about the difference between mSATA and M.2 2242 actually, but it seems, M.2 2242 is actually the more popular standard for Notebooks. Ideal case is, that he can use the same drives for his next Notebook too, and I think it's unlikely, that that shouldn't be possible somehow. Even a 512GB M.2 2242 + a 2TB M9T would be imaginable imo. I can't imagine, that a 500GB SSD + a 2TB HD are obsolete in let's say 2-3y from now. Also very possible, that his next Notebook will have the same combination of slots as the P50, then he can buy it with 1 M.2 2242 SSD and use the drives he buys now in addition. Seems a very elegant solution to me actually .

 

@Seraiel, I believe there is no place for HDD in most modern notebooks - SSDs all the way! Still have my 2x 2TB M9 I used in desktop replacements, and intended to put inside T734. HDDs are very slow, fragile, drain more power while even the toughest modern notebooks can and often are used on battery, opposed to the usual practice of running them plugged all the time back in the day. That's just an opinion, though. Oh, and remember, most people do not use or need such vast storage capacity.

 

I'd vote for option two. Speed isn't as critical for storage as it is for the boot drive. The X240 uses a 7mm drive, so make sure your 2.5" drive fits.

 

Ok, thanks for all your replies & input. I have been thinking about this a lot. Thing is, I only really need MORE storage space, not fast storage space. In terms of speed, all I need is a fast drive for my OS files, and nothing else really.

I have decided to go for the more future-proof option out of the two, more or less ignoring cost. The SSD I buy now, I want to have in my next laptop too. So, the question boils down to - is my next laptop going to have a 2.5" HDD bay or not?

Given that (1) my next laptop is 90% going to be another ultrabook AND (2) ultrabooks seem to be ditching 2.5" bays (e.g. Dell XPS 13, let me know if I'm wrong), in favour of M.2 slots, I think buying an M.2 drive is the more future-proof option.

Also, is the 2242 form factor drive I buy today going to be compatible with 2260 or 2280 slots?

 

@Incontro 2242 is compatible with 2260 and 2280 length-wise, however 256GB is the limit for 2242 - at least so far. as @Seraiel pointed out, there already are 512GB 2242 SSDs available.

 

http://www.transcend-info.com/Products/No-642

 

I read on an Amazon review that the Transcend drive doesn't come with a screw. Does anyone know what type of screw I need?

 

It's the same size of screw that secures the WiFi card, whatever that is. Here is says M2.5 x 3 (which means 2.5mm thread diameter, 3mm long) with a flat head (looks like this). Buy one of the notebook screw multipacks off ebay which will include the correct size and you will have a lifetime supply of spare screws.

John

 

McMaster-Carr makes finding the screws you need pretty easy with their search filters.

 

Extremely useful, thanks!

 

Why I cannot find the 500G 42mm M2 ssd on the market? Just sold out?

 

It's not easy to find, but it is there ^^ .

Maybe knowing the model-number from that search-machine will help you find it more easily.

 

For that model number, I only found most sales in the European and Japanese markets. But after a bit of searching, I found this one on the US market ($190): http://www.amazon.com/ZTC-512GB-Arm..._cp_147_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1VKYGESF0T2MHK4KSX0E
There is also a Transcend model, but seems too expensive ($313).

Thanks for pointing out the initial finding; otherwise, I would think 256G is the bottleneck for the m2 ssd.

 

Not sure if you picked up one of those ZTC m2 drives, but just so you know the read speeds are solid while the write speeds are mediocre. I can run a benchmark if you want, but off hand I think its around 500mb/s read and 150mb/s write.

 

Thanks. I feel the write speed is a little low. But that should be enough for daily usage. I am still waiting for my next laptop and a better deal for the m2 SSD...

 

@LanceAvion could you please run a CrystalDiskMark benchmark? If you'd run the whole set of tests as in my Wave SSD reviews, that'd be fantastic!

 

Just ran a benchmark, so here are the actual numbers. The write speed is rather slow for an SSD, but it's fine for general usage. I don't notice the difference between it and my mSATA. Better than leaving the slot empty I'd say.

 

Here you are mate. I would have used ATTO, but the site was unsecured at the time I tried to download it. I have a 25% over provision, but haven't done anything else.

 

@LanceAvion thank you very much!

 

At this point, I feel I want to wait for a while... Thank you for sharing the test result. I have been sharing the link elsewhere

 

Not a problem mate, glad I could help.

 

In my case I prefere more m2 because it lighter )



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M.2 EVERYDAY

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By roughly how many grams?


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Wimp!

 

At the request of i2000s, I am posting this as another data point regarding the ZTC drive. I have the 128GB version (recycled from an upgraded Chromebook I decided to return).

I can't figure out how to attach photos, so I am linking to my other thread post with the screen shots of the CrystalDisk scores.

http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/threads/new-skylake-thinkpad-yoga-260-460.67477/page-129#post-463795

 

Thanks for trying, but unless one has an account on that forum, they can't see the screen shots either.

Just simply typing the results will be enough here.

 

Sorry! Let's try this:
http://imgur.com/a/d9ktU