Comparison MSI SPATIUM M450 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 S78-440K090-P83 500 GB vs MSI SPATIUM M390 NVMe M.2 S78-440K070-P83 500 GB

Connection interface supported by an M.2 drive (see Form Factor).

All such drives use a standard hardware connector, however, different electrical (logical) interfaces can be implemented through this connector — either SATA (usually SATA 3), or PCI-E (most often in PCI-E 3.0 2x, PCI-E 3.0 4x, PCI-E 4.0 4x, PCI-E 5.0 4x). The M.2 connector on the motherboard must support the appropriate interface — otherwise the normal operation of the SSD will not be possible. Let's consider each option in more detail.

SATA 3 connectivity provides data transfer rates up to 5.9 Gbps (approx. 600 Mbps); it is considered a very simple option and is used mainly in low-cost M.2 modules. This is due to the fact that this interface was originally created for hard drives, and for faster SSD drives, its capabilities may no longer be enough.

In turn, the PCI-E interface provides higher connection speeds and allows the implementation of special technologies like NVMe (see below). The designation of such an interface indicates its version and the number of lines – for example, PCI-E 3.0 2x means version 3 with two data lines. By this designation you can determine the maximum connection speed: PCI-E version 3.0 gives just under 1 GBps per line, version 4.0 – twice as much (up to 2 GBps), 5.0 – twice as much a...s the “four” (almost 4 GBps). Thus, for example, for PCI-E 5.0 4x the maximum data transfer speed will be about 15 GBps (4 lanes of almost 4 GBps). However, we note that newer and faster drives can be connected to earlier and slower M.2 connectors – except that the data transfer speed will be limited by the capabilities of the connector.

Model of the controller installed in the SSD.

The controller is a control circuit, which, in fact, ensures the exchange of information between the memory cells and the computer to which the drive is connected. The capabilities of a particular SSD module (in particular, read and write speed) largely depend on this particular scheme. Knowing the controller model, you can find detailed data on it and evaluate the capabilities of the drive. For simple everyday use, this information is usually not needed, but for professionals and enthusiasts (modders, overclockers) it can come in handy.

Nowadays, high-end controllers are produced mainly under such brands: InnoGrit, Maxio, Phison, Realtek, Silicon Motion, Samsung.

The highest data exchange rate with a computer (or other external device) that the drive can provide in read mode; in other words — the highest speed of information output from the drive to an external device. This speed is limited both by the connection interface (see "Connector"), and by the characteristics of the device of the SSD itself. Its values can vary from 100 – 500 MB / s in the slowest models to 3 Gb / s and higher in the most advanced ones.

The abbreviation TBW stands for drive time between failures, expressed in terabytes. In other words, this is the total amount of information that is guaranteed to be written (rewritten) to this module. This metric measures the overall reliability and lifespan of a drive—the higher the TBW, the longer the device will last, all other things being equal.

Note that knowing the TBW and the warranty period, you can calculate the number of rewrites per day (DWPD, see the relevant paragraph), if the manufacturer did not specify these data. To do this, use the formula: DWPD = TBW / (V * T * 365), where V is the drive capacity in terabytes, T is the warranty period (years). As for specific numbers, there are a lot of drives on the market with a relatively low TBW — up to 100 TB ; even these values are often sufficient for everyday use for a considerable amount of time. However, models with TBW at the level of 100 – 500 TB are more common. Values of 500 – 1000 TB can be classified as "above average", and in the most reliable solutions this figure is even higher.

The number of full overwrites per day allowed by the design of the drive, in other words, how many times a day the entire drive can be guaranteed to be overwritten without fear of failures.

This parameter describes the overall reliability and durability of the drive. It is similar in meaning to TBW (see the relevant paragraph), one value can even be converted to another, knowing the warranty period: TBW = DWPD*V*T*365, where V is the drive capacity in terabytes, and T is the warranty period in years . However, DWPD is somewhat more specific: it describes not only the total time between failures, but also the limit on the number of rewrites per day; if this limit is exceeded, the drive may fail earlier than specified in the warranty. However, even small DWPD values — 0.5 – 1 time per day, or even less than 0.5 times a day — often turn out to be sufficient not only for simple everyday use, but even for professional tasks. Higher rates — 1 – 2 times a day or more — are rare; at the same time, it can be both high-end and low-cost SSD modules.

Module support for the TRIM command.

A feature of the operation of SSD modules is that when deleting data in the normal mode (without using TRIM), changes are made only to the “table of contents” of the drive: certain cells are marked as empty and ready for new information to be written. However, the old information is not deleted from them, and when writing new data, you actually have to overwrite it — this significantly slows down the speed of work. The TRIM command is designed to correct the situation: when it arrives, the drive controller checks if the cells marked as empty are empty and cleans them if necessary.

Of course, this function must be supported not only by the drive, but also by the system, however, the ability to work with TRIM is built into most popular modern operating systems.