M 2 Slots. Above is a picture of two m 2 slots on the motherboard of an hp stream mini. While the m 2 drive is compatible with pci express up to four lanes x4 the computer uses only two lanes x2.
M 2 formerly known as the next generation form factor ngff is a specification for internally mounted computer expansion cards and associated connectors. Above is a picture of two m 2 slots on the motherboard of an hp stream mini. Your motherboard might not have the appropriate m 2 slots for both types sata and nvme m 2 drives are often keyed slightly differently and even if it does you don t want to waste money on a pricier nvme drive if the motherboard you ve chosen can only access data using the sata protocol not every motherboard allows for pcie data transfers.
The m 2 format formerly known as next generation form factor ngff is technically a replacement for the msata standard which was very popular among manufacturers of ultra compact laptops and other small accessories.
Your motherboard might not have the appropriate m 2 slots for both types sata and nvme m 2 drives are often keyed slightly differently and even if it does you don t want to waste money on a pricier nvme drive if the motherboard you ve chosen can only access data using the sata protocol not every motherboard allows for pcie data transfers. M 2 replaces the msata standard which uses the pci express mini card physical card layout and connectors. The m 2 format is specially designed for manufacturers to replace various specific devices. The slot on the left uses module key e and the one on the right uses module key b.
