ZFS Reliable M.2 or mSATA SSDs

M

mefizto

Hi Oko,

Oko said:
P.S. I have quite a few M2/mSATA PCIe SSD Adapters mad by Addonics as I like to install my FreeBSDs on ZFS mirror 2x32 GB SSDs and use SATA drives for ZFS pools
Click to expand...

Thank you for this. Can you recommend reliable M2/mSATA SSD?

Kindest regards,

M
 
I have bunch of Transcend mSATA 32GB SSDs bought on Newegg and so far no problems with them 2+ years. Addonics adapters come with two mSATA slots and one M.2 and can be connected with SATA cable to the motherboard if your bios doesn't support boot from PCIe card.
 
You need to make sure you get the right length module if your dealing with M.2 mSATA(ie. 2242, 2260, 2280). They have different length modules compared to MiniPCIe mSATA slot which are all the same dimensions. Some M.2 modules also use different key's well.
These considerations are more important than brand.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.2
 
Plextor used to be very reliable, today I do now know but worth to take a look.

PS. They offer 5 years warranty!
 
I've used Toshiba and Samsung 840/850 mSATA and Sandisk and Transcend M.2 modules with no problems. Whether they are worth it for boot drives depends on the system. If you need a mSATA or M.2 to SATA adapter... well, standard SATA 120G SSDs are only about $40 now.
 
Greetings all,

thank you for all your replies and suggestions.

Hi wblock,

the decision whether it is worth is, for me, driven by the fact that I need all six SATA ports built into the motherboard, so the solution is either a SATA adapter or the adapter for a boot drive.

Kindest regards,

M
 
If you plan to use a motherboard M.2 connector, check the motherboard docs. Using the M.2 connector might mean one of the SATA ports no longer works, being a shared connection. I have a motherboard like that.
 
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Reactions: Oko
Hi wblock,

thank you very much for the warning. That would, of course, invalidate my plan.

Can you please let me know under which section of the manual have you found the information, as I cannot find it in my motherboard manual (Supermicro) at all?

Kindest regards,

M
 
mefizto said:
Can you please let me know under which section of the manual have you found the information, as I cannot find it in my motherboard manual (Supermicro) at all?
Click to expand...

Search for "M.2" in the manual PDF file

I searched for a SM X11SSH-LN4F mainboard and found out, the M.2 Slot on this mainboard is not shared with any SATA Ports,
and it is connected to the PCH with 2x PCIe 3.0 Lanes (around 2 GByte/s).

But it depends on the mainboard model, so check the manual!
 
The board I was thinking of was a Gigabyte Sniper B6 gaming motherboard. And I was wrong, the M.2 slot does not tie up one of the SATA ports, it shares bandwidth with one of the PCIEx4 slots. There are systems with eSATA ports that do share, and I think I was thinking of that.
 
H User23, wblock,

thnak you. When I get back home, I will scan the manual and look for the information.

Kindest regards,

M
 
wblock@ said:
There are systems with eSATA ports that do share, and I think I was thinking of that.
Click to expand...
Most desktop boards share the M.2 Slots with SATA Ports or like in your Board with a PCIe Slot. In any case it is worth looking before buying the M.2 SSD, so you was absolute right. :)
 
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