The vast majority of motherboards already have M.2 sockets to be able to install NVMe SSDs , but we always have the option of using a PCIe adapter both if your motherboard does not have these sockets or if for space reasons you prefer to do so. However, is there any performance gain from using a PCIe adapter over installing the SSD directly to the motherboard? Let’s see it.
Despite the fact that almost all motherboards already incorporate one or more M.2 sockets to install NVMe SSDs, in some of them they are linked to the SATA interface and not to PCI-Express. Although it is not your case, a PCIe adapter for NVMe SSDs can solve several space and compatibility ballots, but the question remains whether the performance will be the same as installing the SSD directly on the board, so in this article we are going to try to clear this doubt.
Some motherboard manufacturers include these adapters among the accessories of the motherboard, although in many cases it is to create RAID systems. In any case, they are quite cheap products that you can buy separately if you want.
Advantages of using a PCIe adapter
Depending on the situation, a PCIe adapter for your SSD in M.2 format can give you a number of interesting advantages:
- If your motherboard doesn’t have M.2 sockets.
- If M.2 sockets are not PCIe.
- If you have run out of available sockets.
- If you want to mount a RAID system of several SSDs.
- If you have temperature problems on the SSD.
Actually, one of the biggest advantages that using these PCIe expansion cards will give you is, of course, the temperature. When M.2 SSDs are installed on the motherboard it is very easy for the device to end up absorbing the heat from the adjacent components, especially if you use the M.2 socket on the motherboard which is often located right between the graphics card and the processor, since it is surrounded by the two components that generate the most heat from a PC.
Does it have any advantage to install the SSD directly on the board?
The motherboards are designed so that you can install the SSD directly in their M.2 sockets, and leaving aside what was previously mentioned, installing the SSD directly in the socket of the motherboard can mainly provide you with two advantages:
- Direct compatibility, since the SSD will be detected directly in BIOS and you will not have to install any additional firmware or software (something that you will probably have to do if you use an adapter).
- Better use of space, since you will not occupy a PCI-Express socket on the motherboard, but the SSD is almost integrated into the board itself. This also allows this type of SSDs to be used in small form factor computers or laptops.
Which of the two ways gives better performance?
Many may think that installing the SSD directly on the board will give better performance because intermediate components that could degrade performance are removed, and this is partly so but only circumstantially. In other words, it will depend on the motherboard and the quality of the PCIe adapter, as well as what SSD you use and what interface the adapter uses (since a PCIe 3.0 is not the same as a PCIe 4.0 , for example).
Generally speaking, no performance is gained by using a PCIe adapter for the NVMe SSD, but not lost either . You could gain performance if you have temperature problems when installing the SSD on the motherboard and Thermal Throttling occurs, since when using an expansion card the SSD will be more separated from other components and theoretically will heat less, avoiding this phenomenon in many cases (although it is not insured either).
In other words, you should use a PCIe adapter for the NVMe SSD if you lack sockets on the motherboard, if these are not compatible with the SSD you want to install, if you want to mount a RAID system or if you are having temperature problems, but if everything works correctly you will not gain performance using one of these adapters (unless you configure a RAID0, obviously).