SSD Types

SSD Sizes and Interfaces

When Solid State Drives first appeared, most were designed to replace existing Hard Disk Drives, using case dimensions and connectors that people already had, so they came in 3.5″ and 2.5″ containers to fit desktop and laptop computers respectively, and with SATA interfaces. But without the physical restraint of a spinning platter, they were not restricted to these forms for very long.

PCI interface

One of the early forms of SSD came with a PCIe interface. This allowed the drive to make use of the high-speed bus, and gave room for on-board cooling and a larger collection of memory chips.
The PCIe has many pro’s, it’s still in wide use today in desktop computers, both as a native SSD and as an SSD to PCI converter, with more compact SSD’s hosted on the PCI card.
But with emerging requirements for smaller form drives for use in laptops and tablet devices, other interfaces began to be used.

SATA

The SATA interface used on HDD’s soon became physically too wide for the smaller form factors being designed, so a connector was designed that thinned down the connector from a plugged type to a card-edge connector type. Manufacturers realised there needed to be a standard (with the exception of Apple, who began using customised interfaces in their computers) so JEDEC (Joint Electronic Device Engineering Council who define technical standards in the electronic industry) released the MO-300 standard.

Mini SATA

The mSATA connector was based on the PCI Express card-edge connector. The card dimensions of 50.8mm x 29.85mm were specified, though some manufacturers elongated the card to accommodate extra memory chips.
Before too long, even the mSATA specification became too large, and a new smaller form factor was called for.

NGFF or M.2

The Next Generation Form Factor, later renamed M.2, defines a broader range of physical card sizes. This is the form factor most common in PC’s, laptops and tablets. It uses a 22mm wide card-edge connector designed for either PCIe or SATA interface, and notches along the interface edge to determine the cards use. Card length’s range from 30cm to 110cm to offer additional room for components.
The cards are referred to by their dimensions, so a M.2 2230 would be the shortest M.2 card, while a M.2 22110 would be the longest. The longer the card, the more room for memory chips.
If you’re upgrading or fitting a new M.2 SSD, you’ll need to know the length of the card your board is designed for, while some can accommodate multiple length cards, some only have a single screw anchor point (opposite end of the card from the connector) that holds the card firmly in the interface bus.

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If you need any help with your SSD/HDD or other storage requirements, or if you would like to find out how you can convert your computer to SSD to make use of the faster storage format, then contact us today. We can supply and fit the right drive for your needs.

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