Price vs benefit. Cheaper than alternate SSDs, much faster than mechanical, and in real-world uses probably not much different to top-tier SSDs that are way more expensive. I wouldn't buy one to use at home, but at work, for the purpose of bringing new life to an ageing desktop, they'd be more than sufficient (for example).
It has to do with the thinness of the design and whether there are chips on both sides (ie: single sided or double sided). If an m.2 drive had chips on both sides, it might be a little to thick to fit into the chassis without interference, thus you always need to check with your manufacturer when you're putting it into a laptop. That being said, I think I just found the new drive for my slightly older UX31.
They're just marketed towards laptops, and it makes sense. Their performance isn't top notch and you can get more at the same price in 2.5" format, which is what most desktop buyers will prefer. But their performance can certainly be good enough for laptops, where until now you've been forced to spend more (for better performance that you don't necessarily need).
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zeeBomb - Friday, November 4, 2016 - link
Are M2 SSDs that cheap? Those IOPS speeds tho!TheinsanegamerN - Monday, November 7, 2016 - link
SATS m.2 is. NVMe M.2, which has IOPS much higher then SATA drives, are much more expensive.milkod2001 - Friday, November 4, 2016 - link
Those are rather sluggish speeds. What is there to like?MattMe - Friday, November 4, 2016 - link
Price vs benefit. Cheaper than alternate SSDs, much faster than mechanical, and in real-world uses probably not much different to top-tier SSDs that are way more expensive.I wouldn't buy one to use at home, but at work, for the purpose of bringing new life to an ageing desktop, they'd be more than sufficient (for example).
extide - Wednesday, November 9, 2016 - link
They are about the speed you'd expect for a modern SATA drive.MaidoMaido - Friday, November 4, 2016 - link
Don't quite understand why these are listed as specifically for laptops. Do laptops and desktops use different type of M.2 slots?bill.rookard - Friday, November 4, 2016 - link
It has to do with the thinness of the design and whether there are chips on both sides (ie: single sided or double sided). If an m.2 drive had chips on both sides, it might be a little to thick to fit into the chassis without interference, thus you always need to check with your manufacturer when you're putting it into a laptop. That being said, I think I just found the new drive for my slightly older UX31.shabby - Friday, November 4, 2016 - link
Im sure the evo 850 m.2 should be at the top of your list, not some adata drive, even the 1tb is still single sided.SetiroN - Friday, November 4, 2016 - link
They're just marketed towards laptops, and it makes sense. Their performance isn't top notch and you can get more at the same price in 2.5" format, which is what most desktop buyers will prefer. But their performance can certainly be good enough for laptops, where until now you've been forced to spend more (for better performance that you don't necessarily need).