Z97X Gaming 7

[Musket]

I have recently built a system around a Z97X Gaming 7 motherboard. I am interested in the speed improvement of the M.2 drives.
Will a Samsung SM951 Pcie M.2 drive work with this board. I am confused with all the various flavours of M.2
Thanks
Tony

[Tiger]

Z97X Gaming 7 motherboard has:
1 x M.2 PCIe connector
(Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 SATA & PCIe SSD support)

A drive that is 22mm wide and 80mm long would be listed as being a 2280 (22mm x 80mm). Common lengths for M.2 drives and mounting right now are 30mm (2230), 42mm (2242), 60mm (2260), 80mm (2280), and 110mm (22110).

The Samsung SM951 M.2
Part #. MZHPV256HDGL-00000. Capacity. 256GB. Interface. M.2 (M). Cache. 512MB. Form Factor. M.2-2280.

On the motherboard there are three length adjustment holes for the M.2 SSD. Select the proper hole for the M.2 SSD to be installed and refasten the screw and nut.

[Musket]

Z97X Gaming 7 motherboard has:
1 x M.2 PCIe connector
(Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 SATA & PCIe SSD support)

A drive that is 22mm wide and 80mm long would be listed as being a 2280 (22mm x 80mm). Common lengths for M.2 drives and mounting right now are 30mm (2230), 42mm (2242), 60mm (2260), 80mm (2280), and 110mm (22110).

The Samsung SM951 M.2
Part #. MZHPV256HDGL-00000. Capacity. 256GB. Interface. M.2 (M). Cache. 512MB. Form Factor. M.2-2280.

On the motherboard there are three length adjustment holes for the M.2 SSD. Select the proper hole for the M.2 SSD to be installed and refasten the screw and nut.

Thanks, That sounds as if it will work. Does anyone have any practical experience?
Tony

[bassfisher6522]

With this mobo (btw I have the same mobo) if you do use the M.2 slot, you loose two SATA ports (4 and 5). It tells you this in the manual and something to keep in mind if you have a lot of SATA devices.

[free_refil]

I have recently built a system around a Z97X Gaming 7 motherboard. I am interested in the speed improvement of the M.2 drives.
Will a Samsung SM951 Pcie M.2 drive work with this board. I am confused with all the various flavours of M.2
Thanks
Tony

It will work, however, at half speed.  The Z97X Gaming 7 only offers 2 PCIe lanes on the onboard M.2 header.  For the fastest speed, you will need to use a PCIe x4 adapter such as the Lycom DT-120 to get the full speed of the SM951.