Today, the M.2 format for SSDs has been standardized, and despite the fact that there are currently three different sizes depending on their length, a common denominator among all of them is 22 mm width and, based on this, the motherboard manufacturers have designed their socket M.2 . However, it appears that the next generation of PCIe 5.0 SSDs will have a slightly larger design, at 25mm wide, which could mean they won’t be compatible with many current motherboards.
Currently, we have three different sizes of SSDs in the M.2 form factor ranging from 30 to 110mm in length. For one thing, 30mm SSDs are hard to find and typically only seen in small form factor builds, while 110mm lengths are more widespread in the server ecosystem. They are the M.2 2280 SSDs , 80mm long, the most used in the industry in general, but as we have said before, they are all 22mm wide.
PCIe 5 SSDs will be 25mm wide
From the looks of it, PCI-SIG (the consortium responsible for specifying interconnect buses) has approved a wider option in the PCIe 5.0 SSD specification, and apparently forgot to mention it to motherboard manufacturers. This information has come to light because Gigabyte has specified it in its upcoming X670E and X670 chipset motherboards for the new generation of AMD CPUs, compatible with the 25110 SSD format.
We are therefore looking at an additional 3mm width, which doesn’t sound like much, but when you consider that motherboard manufacturers are forced to “crack” a large number of chips, components, heatsinks, and sockets into a fairly small space, it can mean the difference between whether we can connect an SSD in its socket or not.
On the other hand, it seems that this change may have to do with the preparation for the new generation PCIe 5.0 NVMe units, in which, as we have seen in the past, it seems that its controller is going to heat up much more than in previous generations. , thus giving it a greater surface for cooling .
The new generation of motherboards will be ready for change
This news is a bit bittersweet as it is both good and bad. The bad part is that on many current generation motherboards we won’t be able to install these new wider SSDs because they won’t physically fit in the socket, as in many cases there is no room to install them. On the plus side, this will give the SSDs more surface area for heat dissipation, so they will theoretically get a little cooler. On the other hand, another good news is that motherboard manufacturers seem to be catching up, since as we have indicated before, Gigabyte has already specified this change and guarantees compatibility in its next generation of motherboards.
Now, nothing should be taken for granted yet, as whether or not we will see SSDs using this wider form factor or not is still up in the air and ultimately depends on the manufacturers of SSD. It is up to you to decide if you want to implement this specification, approved by PCI-SIG, or if you prefer to keep the 22mm width that we have so far to ensure better compatibility of your drives with current motherboards and laptops.
In any case, what does seem clear is that the next generation of PCIe 5 SSD compatible motherboards will be ready for the new SSD format.
