What is m.2 format on ssd? And what is it used for?

The M.2 format has become the most popular for the construction of very high performance SSDs, since it allows the construction of very fast models, with a high capacity and with a very small size, but what exactly is the format? M.2? And what does M.2 2242, 2260 and 2280 mean?

The keys of the M.2 format and their meaning

To understand the importance of the M.2 format we have to go back to the origins of SSD disks, these came to the market quite a few years ago and used a 2.5-inch disk format with a SATA III 6 GB / s interface, with They were nearly identical in size to the mechanical disks used in notebooks.

The great evolution of SSD technology has made the SATA III interface no longer sufficient, since its transfer limit of 600 MB / s is much lower than what the best SSDs of today can achieve. In this situation, it was decided to use the PCI Express interface to connect the SSDs to the processor, at least the fastest since there are also SATA III-based SSDs today. The Express 3.0 X4 interface allows a bandwidth of 4000 MB / s, which leaves the possibilities of the SATA III Interface in its infancy .

We recommend reading about the best SSDs of the moment SATA, M.2 NVMe and PCIe

But the advancement of SSD technology has not only made them faster, but the components used to manufacture them are getting smaller and smaller so the size of the disks can also be greatly reduced while make faster

This is where the M.2 format is born, it is still a very small form factor that makes use of a PCI Express 3.0 X4 interface to communicate with the processor. This format allows manufacturing SSD disks much faster than traditional ones based on the SATA III interface and also much smaller. Another advantage of M.2 is that the connector is removed from power since SSDs require so little power that they can be powered directly from the PCI Express 3.0 X4 slot.

M.2-based disks connect directly to the motherboard, so no cables need to be used, making the PC mount much cleaner to look at and airflow within the computer is improved. Space saving is especially important in notebooks, where it is a very scarce commodity.

Within the M.2 format there are several types, for example M.2 2242, M.2 2260 and M.2 2280, this refers to the dimensions of the device, in the first case they are 22 mm wide x 42 mm long while in the second it is 60 mm long and the last and most common is 22 mm wide by 80 mm long. The M.2 2280 drives are the most common and are the ones with the highest capacities and fastest speeds. For example, the famous Samsung 960 EVO or the Corsair MP500.

In conclusion we can say that the M.2 format is a new form factor that has been born to allow the manufacture of new generation SSD disks, much faster and smaller than those that can be manufactured using the SATA III interface and a factor of 2.5 inch shape.