NVMe storage - fast, tiny, often referred to as...
“the way of the future!”
But what is it? And is it for me?
Don’t worry, we’ll break down everything you need to know in 5 minutes or less.
This is DIY in 5!
Hey everyone, welcome back to DIY in 5.
I’m Trisha Hershberger and today we’ll be doing a deep dive into non-volatile memory express.
What it is, what the benefits are, and if it’s possible for you to use this
relatively new speedy tech in your home setup.
You may remember that we did a video describing NVMe last year, but this is hot new tech
and a lot has changed, so hold onto your butts and get ready.
If you find the info in today’s video useful, please give us a like and subscribe
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NVMe or Non-Volatile Memory Express is a super-fast way to access non-volatile memory.
Both flash and Solid State Devices (SSDs) are a type of non-volatile memory,
hence, NVMe is a super fast way to access flash memory.
It’s a transfer protocol, not a form factor, like M.2, or an interface, like SATA or PCIe.
But because it’s the standardized interface for PCIe SSDs, you can see where people might get confused.
Now when I say super-fast, I mean CRAZY super-fast - like 2-7x faster than SATA SSDs.
Just to give you an example, traditional hard drives using the SCSI protocol had one queue for commands.
NVMe is designed to have up to 64,000 queues each capable of 64,000 commands at the same time!
Now if those are the kind of speeds you are looking for, Kingston’s got two new SSDs for 2019:
the KC2000 high performance NVMe SSD and the A2000 entry-level NVMe solution.
Both offer faster transmission speeds than their previous models
and the A2000 offers NVMe speeds at SATA prices.
But hold up!
Can your system even use NVMe?
The two things you need to look for are built-in M.2 and support for NVMe.
First, check the product page of your motherboard to see if you have an M.2 slot.
Then once you have that piece covered, you need to see if your motherboard supports NVMe SSDs.
I wish there was an easy way to tell if your hardware can support NVMe, but there really isn’t.
Some motherboards support it, but don’t call it NVMe.
They’ll use terms like PCIe mode.
You are really looking for PCIe Gen 3 or later.
Use both your motherboard’s website and good old Google to investigate.
Hardware compatibility?
Check!
Software compatibility?
Pretty decent.
Linux, Microsoft, Chrome, and Apple all support NVMe but Apple doesn’t let you
tinker much with your hardware, so a DIY upgrade probably isn’t in the works for our Mac friends out there.
Speaking of upgrading, many people trying to update to NVMe in the past ran into some
hiccups, especially with cloning software not playing too nicely with newer standards.
Well, all I have to say is, “yay for tech progress!” because now cloning software is much better.
Kingston uses Acronis True Image software with its SSD bundles which works great
and most other major cloning software has been upgraded to support newer standards as well.
Huzzah!
Also, if you happen to be upgrading from an older, smaller NVMe SSD and only have a single SSD slot,
you may need an external NVMe M.2 enclosure.
Amazon has plenty of these to choose from but make sure it has decent reviews
and supports NVMe not just SATA.
All right friends, if there’s anything we didn’t get to in this video that you’d like to know more about
concerning NVMe, SSDs, or other memory upgrade questions, let us know in the comments
and we’ll do our best to answer it.
This technology is changing faster than ever and we’re here to help you keep up.
Thank you so much for watching DIY in 5 and I’ll see you next time!