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    Notebooks That Support PCIe SSDs

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by notbook, Feb 2, 2014.

  1. notbook

    notbook Newbie

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    What notebooks currently support PCIe SSDs? I can only think of the current Macbooks and the Vaio Pro ultrabooks. Surely that's not it? Are there any upcoming laptops that will support them?
     
    notbook, Feb 2, 2014
    #1
  2. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    I'm assuming you mean M.2/NGFF ? It's supposedly the "next gen" slot for SSD's but for now mSATA drives are predominant and cheaper and perform as well as or better than the NGFF.
     
    HTWingNut, Feb 3, 2014
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  3. Jobine

    Jobine Notebook Prophet

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    ^ That's because very few M.2 drives were made at all, the only ones that do exist at the moment are just rebranded flash drives from Lite-ON, and some "homebrew" SSD's from vendors like MyDigitalSSD.

    Intel's successor to the 530 series will have M.2

    This being said, most Lenovo laptops have M.2 SSD's, as well as chromebooks. MacBooks have M.2 SSD's as well, however they are made in a proprietary way so you cannot upgrade them.
     
    Jobine, Feb 3, 2014
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  4. notbook

    notbook Newbie

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    Bear in mind the Lenovo laptops and the Chromebook use a SATA 3.0 controller for their M.2 slots, so M.2 PCIe SSDs won't work. The SSD from MyDigitalSSD works with these because it also uses SATA 3.0. I'm interested in PCIe SSDs, such as the Samsung XP941, and notebooks that support them.
     
    notbook, Feb 3, 2014
    #4
  5. Peon

    Peon Notebook Virtuoso

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    What exactly is the difference between M.2, NGFF, and SATA Express anyway? Or do they all refer to the exact same thing?
     
    Peon, Feb 3, 2014
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  6. maverick1989

    maverick1989 Notebook Deity

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    maverick1989, Feb 3, 2014
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  7. RodB

    RodB Company Representative

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    Right now it's just the Sony Vaio Pro 13. Be careful though because the Vaio has a SATA-based M.2 SSD model and a PCIe-based M.2 SSD model. The latter is the one you want if you are to upgrade to a larger capacity model of the Samsung XP941. If you get the M.2 SATA version, then the Crucial M500 M.2 or the Intel 530 M.2 (when they are released) is your only path to a higher capacity/performance drive. The MacBooks use them as well (PCIe M.2), but they have a custom connector and there isn't any 3rd party upgrade available for them.

    Coming out soon will be the Samsung Series 9 ultrabook with a PCIe-based M.2 SSD. A pre-production model was seen at Pepcon last month, but your guess is as good as mine as to when they will be readily available.
     
    RodB, Feb 25, 2014
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  8. msgopikiran

    msgopikiran Newbie

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    Any new laptops have been released with m.2 pcie ssd support?

    Thanks.
     
    msgopikiran, May 2, 2014
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  9. RodB

    RodB Company Representative

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    Not so far....at least not one that anyone is talking about...
     
    RodB, May 4, 2014
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  10. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    I think the Razer Blade 2014 has one.
     
    HTWingNut, May 5, 2014
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  11. RodB

    RodB Company Representative

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    I wish it did! The only reference I have found is this press release which says that the SSD is M.2 SATA.

    Did you find a reference somewhere else with more information on the SSD?
     
    RodB, May 5, 2014
    #11
  12. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    No, sorry, after some more searching, it's inconclusive but everything points to SATA.
     
    HTWingNut, May 7, 2014
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  13. MSMNick

    MSMNick Notebook Consultant

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    M.2 NGFF SSD Compatibility List | My Digital Discount

    If this is correct, my HP Zbook 14 has the SATA style connection for a 42mm M.2 drive. I have not purchased one yet as I'm waiting till later in the year for more availability.

    That article cleared up the difference easily for me, if anyone needs clarity on the subject I'd check it out.

    Nick

    **Looking through my product documents it is listed here. Took a bit of searching but if you search M.2 it brings you to the 120gb sata 6gb/s m.2 drive section.
    http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/14721_na/14721_na.pdf
     
    MSMNick, May 11, 2014
    #13