The interface of the hard disk has undergone many changes and innovations, such as SATA, M.2, PCIe, mSATA, U.2, etc. What are the differences between these interfaces, and how do we choose the SSD of the interface? Today, we will share with you the difference between different interfaces.

Different interfaces

1. SATA3.0

This interface is the most popular hard disk interface, ordinary 2.5-inch solid state hard drives and mechanical hard drives are this kind of interface, bandwidth 6Gbps, good compatibility is its biggest feature.

2. mSATA

In the past, the mSATA interface was the mainstream interface for notebook hard drives, suitable for thin and light notebooks. Like SATA, it was just a reduced version of the SATA interface. However, with the emergence of the M.2 interface, this interface has basically been eliminated.

3. M.2

This is a new generation of interface standard, very small, faster transmission speed, the most commonly used for notebooks.

The M.2 interface is divided into B key and M key, namely socket2 and socket3. Socket2 takes SATA channel and PCI-E2.0 X4 channel, the speed is 700MB/s and 550MB/s. And socket3 adopts PCI-E 3.0 X4 channel, the speed can reach 32Gbps, the bandwidth is about 4GB/s, very fast, the current M.2 interface has been popularizing socket3.

4. PCI-E/U.2

PCI-E solid-state hard drives are relatively few, and they are all flagship-level ones. Because the PCI-E interface can achieve very fast transmission speeds and strong performance, the cost is also high.

The U.2 interface penetration rate is not high, and hard drives with this interface are rarely seen now.

SATA and M.2

The mainstream interfaces now are SATA and M.2 interfaces. SATA has been used for a long time, so all motherboards will provide this interface. The compatibility is very good. M.2 may not be provided on some motherboards. The SATA interface is completely sufficient in the era of mechanical hard drives, but now solid state drives are becoming more and more popular, and the speed of the SATA interface is no longer sufficient.

That's why the M.2 interface was introduced. In fact, in addition to the M.2 interface, there has also been a SATA express interface, and the speed is also very fast. But because the solid state drive is changing from SATA to PCIE, the equipment of this interface has not been developed, and this interface is no longer used on the motherboard.

The reason why the M.2 interface can be popularized is that it is not only fast, but also very small. It is suitable for both desktop motherboards and also thin& light motherboards.

If it is an old computer to upgrade the hard drive, it is best to find out whether your motherboard has an M.2 interface. At present, Intel 100 series and AMD 300 series motherboards will have M.2 interfaces in the future. For notebooks, the current M.2 interface usually is only one, and it has been provided for the pre-installed solid state drive, there will be no extra.

If it is a new computer, when choosing a solid state drive, it is best to choose the M.2 interface. The speed difference with the SATA interface is still quite obvious. Although it will be more expensive, the price difference is about 100 yuan, which is not too much big.

Are you searching for a SSD supplier?

Shenzhen KingSpec Electronics Technology Co., Ltd. was established in 2007. KingSpec factory has the abilities of hardware design and development, manufacture and wholesale. 

Since 2008, KingSpec has been dedicating time and investments into SSD technology development and upgrade production process. As a professional SSD manufacturer, our product range involves mSATA SSD, M2 SATA, portable SSD and so on. If you have any need for our products, please do not hesitate to contact us.