I always wondered about that. I found myself saying "M dot two" as well, but had no idea if that was standard. I figured if I wasn't supposed to say "dot" they wouldn't have put it there, right?
it's kinda funny that thunderbolt 3 will soon enable similar speeds plus power over a much more convenient usb type-c connector, while inside the case we continue to use ugly and huge abominations like this. even m.2 is a smaller connector than this, why not simply make cables for that?
the second i saw first images of sata express i wondered what idiot came up with that idea and u.2 hardly seems like the improvement i would wish for.
+1 but: - backwards compatibility: solder a U.2 receptable onto your mainboard and the consumer can: - connect any sata drive - any sata express drive also: - M.2 has 66 pins = huge/expensive cable - thunderbolt is a proprietary standard from intel
however i doubt U.2 will ever truly take off in consumer space: - SSDs price is essentially a function of die mm2 price, so the consumer price points will always fit onto a M.2 ssd. (and for NVMe ssds a pcie add-in board with more M.2 slots only supporting pcie is cheap) - SATA3 will be fast enough for a very long time for high capacity HDDs - which leaves hybrid drives... which are the only ones who would truly benefit from U.2, but then these only make sense in very limited scenarios...
I'm optimistic on this connector. My next SSD will have one (waiting for Samsung NVmE reply to Intel 750). So much better to have a standard 2,5" drive than M.2.
Well, the problem is cost. Of the controller. TB3 is going to add a noticeable bit to price tag and you won't get anywhere near 6+ ports that motherboards now love to claim (not that everyone needs those 6+ ports especially if the devices can be easily connected/disconnected).
Another issue with Type C is that for an internal connection you want a connector that locks in place at least a bit so you can't disconnect it by accident. And I suppose cables that support this speed aren't cheap either, current ThunderBolt cables are already somewhat expensive.
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AndrewJacksonZA - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
"U.2" as in, the band? Cool!Kristian Vättö - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
It's pronounced "U dot two"AndrewJacksonZA - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
Awww. :-)Drumsticks - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
I can't imagine anybody is going to go through all that trouble to say the dot :)Side note: I knew about this news a whole day in advance! Whoo!
icrf - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
I always wondered about that. I found myself saying "M dot two" as well, but had no idea if that was standard. I figured if I wasn't supposed to say "dot" they wouldn't have put it there, right?profquatermass - Saturday, February 27, 2016 - link
Geeks will say U2, Nerds will say U dot 2. ;)Kevin G - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
So 'dot' is replacing Bono?Impulses - Thursday, June 11, 2015 - link
And the Edge, Dottie was always the star of Animaniacs.TeXWiller - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
You know this connector is going to be really popular and save the world in the process.pogostick - Tuesday, June 16, 2015 - link
nice.fokka - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
it's kinda funny that thunderbolt 3 will soon enable similar speeds plus power over a much more convenient usb type-c connector, while inside the case we continue to use ugly and huge abominations like this. even m.2 is a smaller connector than this, why not simply make cables for that?the second i saw first images of sata express i wondered what idiot came up with that idea and u.2 hardly seems like the improvement i would wish for.
bernstein - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
+1 but:- backwards compatibility: solder a U.2 receptable onto your mainboard and the consumer can:
- connect any sata drive
- any sata express drive
also:
- M.2 has 66 pins = huge/expensive cable
- thunderbolt is a proprietary standard from intel
however i doubt U.2 will ever truly take off in consumer space:
- SSDs price is essentially a function of die mm2 price, so the consumer price points will always fit onto a M.2 ssd. (and for NVMe ssds a pcie add-in board with more M.2 slots only supporting pcie is cheap)
- SATA3 will be fast enough for a very long time for high capacity HDDs
- which leaves hybrid drives... which are the only ones who would truly benefit from U.2, but then these only make sense in very limited scenarios...
TelstarTOS - Monday, June 15, 2015 - link
I'm optimistic on this connector. My next SSD will have one (waiting for Samsung NVmE reply to Intel 750). So much better to have a standard 2,5" drive than M.2.Senti - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
Well, the problem is cost. Of the controller. TB3 is going to add a noticeable bit to price tag and you won't get anywhere near 6+ ports that motherboards now love to claim (not that everyone needs those 6+ ports especially if the devices can be easily connected/disconnected).Metaluna - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
For one thing, I don't think either m.2 or USB-C will work that well for hot swap trays, which are important for servers.nils_ - Thursday, June 11, 2015 - link
Another issue with Type C is that for an internal connection you want a connector that locks in place at least a bit so you can't disconnect it by accident. And I suppose cables that support this speed aren't cheap either, current ThunderBolt cables are already somewhat expensive.close - Thursday, June 11, 2015 - link
Just look at the USB 3.0 type B connector to see what backwards compatibility does to a connector :).Senti - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
That should've being the next SATA standard from the start as SATAExpress is definitely not worth switching from regular SATA.Maltz - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
Oh c'mon, ANOTHER one?? lol http://xkcd.com/927/Drumsticks - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
To be fair, this one already existed!AlmightyCushion - Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - link
This should give SSD manufacturers the edge. http://images5.fanpop.com/image/answers/381000/381...profquatermass - Saturday, February 27, 2016 - link
If you want to kill a connector before it's been launched.1. Slap a license fee on it.
2. Make it more expensive than a bunch of multi-strand wires.
3. Give it a stupid name....
4. Change it's name, thereby confusing everyone.