If you want to upgrade your graphics card or SSD, you need to know the motherboard interface of your computer that supports the graphics card and SSD, so as to help you choose the right hardware that can give full play to the performance.
The commonly used interfaces for SSDs and graphics cards are SATA and PCI Express. SATA is considered an outdated technology, but it is still prevalent when it comes to upgrading hard drives, especially in many older laptops. On the contrary, the PCIe interface is very powerful and not only replaces SATA, but also comes in different versions.
sata: A long-standing standardHard disk interface
SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) interface has long been the standard connection for mass storage and removable storage drives such as CDs and ***.
Nowadays, SSDs use SATA less and less, and are gradually being replaced by PCI Express, and HDDs still mainly use SATA interfaces.
The current version isSATA 6G, also known as SATA-III or SATA-600, has a theoretical transfer rate of 600MB S, hence the name SATA-600.
With a SATA SSD, it is possible to achieve sequential write speeds of more than 500MB s and read speeds of about 550MBS. SATA 6G is backwards compatible, but SATA-I and SATA-II are rarely used these days.
esata: SATA interface for external hard disks
The eSATA(external SATA) leads out the internal interface to connect to an external hard disk, and the transfer rate of the ESATA is the same as that of SATA. The eSATA is unable to transmit power and usually needs to be powered by a separate power adapter.
For this reason, it is common to combine the ESATA with the USB in a single connection, where the connected ESATA device receives power through the USB section and the data is transmitted through the ESATA section.
Esata is already a rarity on laptops and has been replaced by USB. Only occasionally used to connect external hard drives to network storage devices (NAS).
satae: FailedWidely used sata 6gUpgraded
satae, or SATA Express, which was originally seen as an upgraded version of SATA 6G, was not widely used.
The concept is to use PCI Express instead of SATA for the physical transfer of SSDs. By transferring the two SATA ports** and PCI Express, the original SATA 6G speed will be doubled, creating a PCIe X2 connection to PCIe 20 down, equivalent to 1,000MB s, while in PCIe 32,000MB s at 0.
In order to maintain the backward compatibility of the Satae, the interface has a three-part design. Two SATA hard drives can be connected, and the transfer speed will be reduced to SATA speed. In addition to the two SATA sockets, the connector has areas for PCIe clock signals and power**.
However, the corresponding flash drive never gained popularity, and the main reason for this was the limitation of two PCIe lanes. In contrast, mThe 2 SSD drive utilizes up to four PCIe lanes. In PCIe 3At 0, they can reach speeds close to 4,000mb s.
pcie: A common interface for many computer components
pcie（peripheral component interconnect expressFast track for peripheral component interconnectionConnect the component directly to the processor or IO hub.
PCIe uses a structure called lanes, which can increase the data transfer rate by **, the higher the PCIe version number, the higher the transfer speed per lane.
The number of channels required depends on the individual components and is indicated by a number after the letter "x", which also indicates the size of the different slots on the motherboard, such as x1, x4, x8 or x16. The x1 slot is very short, while the x16 slot is comparatively longer.
PCIe transfer speed: This is a combination of PCIe version and number of channels. For example, in PCIe 3At 0, each lane has a rate of 8GT s (billion transmissions per second), which equates to 970MB s of bandwidth per lane, in PCIe 3At 0 x4, it can theoretically reach 39GB s speed.
The actual available data transfer rate will be lower because the transport protocol consumes bandwidth in addition to pure data transfer.
PEG slots- Used for:Graphics cardof additional slots
pegpci express for graphicsis a slot on the motherboard dedicated to graphics cards, equipped with up to 16 PCIe lanes and capable of delivering up to 75 watts of power. In comparison, other PCIe slots are limited to a maximum of 25 watts or even only 10 watts.
Since power through the socket alone is usually not enough to power the graphics card, power supply to the GPU can be increased by connecting to an additional power supply. A 6-pin connector provides an additional 75 watts, while a 6- to 8-pin cable provides up to an additional 150 watts.
For high-performance graphics cards for gamers, multiple 8-pin cables may also be required to meet power requirements. For example, since the GeForce RTX 3000 series, NVIDIA has opted for a 12-pin power connector with up to 600 watts of additional power.
PCIe slots and channel allocation
PCI Express is very flexible and backwards compatible with each generation. Therefore, you can also use PCIe 30 PCIe 4 on the motherboard0 graphics card, however, the data transfer performance will be reduced.
You can even use slots flexibly, for example, an x1 card can also work in x4 slots. But the motherboard architecture must be considered, as not every slot will automatically connect to full channels.
For example, if there are two PEG slots, one of which is occupied by the graphics card, 16 channels are required, which means that there are no channels available for the second slot.
If you insert the graphics card into the second slot, the eight channels can also be automatically switched to the second slot. There are many ways to connect, so study the motherboard manual carefully.
Passedm.The 2 slot uses PCIE's compact solid-state drives (SSDs).
m.2 is an interface specification developed from the Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF). This compact slot allows small modules with up to four channels to be connected via PCIe.
Since it easily breaks through SATA's limitations in terms of transfer speed, m2 Widely used in internal SSDs, such as particularly thin laptops.
The slot determines the m2 Dimensions of the SSD. On most motherboards,YouYou can see itM. identified as 22802 slotsIt means a width of 22 mm and a length of 80 mm. This specification is important because it not only determines the size of the appropriate card, but also the location of the set screws. Other sizes include or 22110, which differ only in length.
m.2-slot SSDs utilize the NVMe transfer protocol and are therefore also known as NVMe SSDs.
m.2 Special features of SSDs：m.The 2-slot is not only suitable for SSDs with PCIe controllers, but the socket combination can also be used for SATA SSDs. Once mThe 2 slot is used by SATA SSDs, which switches from PCIe to SATA.
Even in older laptop motherboards or chassis for external SSDs, pure SATA M. can still be found2 slots
The m. used can be identified by the cut (called key) at the junction of the module2SSD, ensuring that only compatible cards can be inserted into the slot. M. using PCIe (x2 and x4).2SSDs can be identified by the cutout Key M, with two cutouts on the right and left (Key B+M) usually only support PCIe X2 or SATA.