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Considering m.2 for my new rig.

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Sannakji

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Joined
Feb 6, 2013
I already have this motherboard:

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z170M-PLUS/

and at some point I want a 380/380X in there, along with a HD60 capture card; https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/game-capture-hd60-pro.

So my first question is, will all the hardware run at full times speed with those three components? I want the HD60 in the slot closest to the centre of the board, and the 380 in the far one, for thermal reasons. Will the 380 run at full bandwidth being in the second slot of that motherboard? My knowledge of that area is limited.

Secondly, are Transcend's m.2's 850's or 950's in terms of speed? If they're SATA-esque, is there another brand other than Samsung coming out with proper m.2's soon? I want to try and reach for 512/500gb if I can, and Samsung's are a bit rich for my blood at the mo.

Thanks in advance.
 
sorry the gpu goes in slot #1, it is x16, the other slot is x4 and will hamper the card.
 
Ah ok, thanks :) Guess the capture card will just have to deal with it :)

And I was having a look around Amazon yesterday, I take it the 950 is pretty much the only consumer choice for decently priced full speed m.2's right now?
 
just keep shopping it around.

I don't use m2 drives so I really can't say, you will have to search reviews for that info.
 
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950 pro, XP941, HyperX predator.

Those are the three that I know of for m.2 form factor. Intel has a 2.5 nvme 400 gigs for a super reasonable price though, which is very tempting to me, had I the money to use it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167358

Has that got m.2 level read speeds? Cause if its just SATA III speeds that's not a great price.

EDIT: Never mind; 2200 read, pretty awesome. Will add this one to the potential list, thanks!
 
If you want NVMe and M.2, I think your only choice is the 950. I have one and love it, but I'm comparing it to an older Intel 520, so of course it'll be much faster. Love the form factor though, perfect for my mATX rig!
 
Has that got m.2 level read speeds? Cause if its just SATA III speeds that's not a great price.

EDIT: Never mind; 2200 read, pretty awesome. Will add this one to the potential list, thanks!

That intel drive is U.2. Slightly different, but it comes with a U.2 to M.2 Converter at the time of post. U.2 is an enterprise form factor that isn't very popular with consumer based products, and is still newish as well.
 
I was considering going with an Ultra II for games storage due to the controller issues some 840/850 EVO's have been having, but is that a bit overdramatic? 850 EVO's still seem to beat Ultra II's in benches. Or, any other brand out there at the moment that's as reliable, fast and cheap?
 
Yeah will probably do that. Will depend on something going on sale.

My Asus Z170 mATX board didn't come with a SATA express wire which I found weird so I did a bit of googling and apparently this isn't a new standard for any ol' SSD? It's gonna have to be a whole new type of 2.5" drive? Any compatible SSD's out yet? Kinda disappointed with that.
 
Yeah will probably do that. Will depend on something going on sale.

My Asus Z170 mATX board didn't come with a SATA express wire which I found weird so I did a bit of googling and apparently this isn't a new standard for any ol' SSD? It's gonna have to be a whole new type of 2.5" drive? Any compatible SSD's out yet? Kinda disappointed with that.

Right now there's an amazing sale on Amazon for them:
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E500B-AM/dp/B00OBRE5UE/

I'm not aware of SATA Express SSD's yet. They're mostly 2.5" SATA, mSATA, SATA M.2, or PCIe M.2.
A simple 2.5" 850 EVO will do everything you need without breaking the bank like a lot of the bleeding-edge drives.
 
If only it wasn't rent day! :p Thanks though. Yeah will probably go for an EVO, 1TB though. Then when I can afford it jump to an m.2 for boot on W10 with a clean install.
 
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