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M.2, NGFF AND MPCIE
Considering that an MPCIe drive won’t be available for retail purchase for probably a year or more, it doesn’t really make sense that ASUS marketed a motherboard with this feature. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a bonus for reviewers with access to such SSD tech as it develops, but other than that, there will really be no use for MPCIe for the consumer for some time. Perhaps that is why ASUS included this feature in an attachable combo adapter with 802.11ac WiFi and not as a permanent fixture on its own.
At the time of this report, ASUS is the only manufacturer to offer such and, not so impressive is the fact that their MPCIe interface is only a single lane connection, allowing speeds of about 500MB/s tops. It is not even as fast as SATA 3. Looking at the photo above, you may notice how tight that M.2 blade style SSD sits; this definitely wasn’t idealized where there would be changing of SSDs whatsoever.
The ASUS Maximus VI Extreme does have other qualities though, and one specifically geared towards the SSD enthusiast. In the bios, there is a Secure Erase utility that permits safe, quick and easy erasing of SSDs.
The inclusion of 802.11ac WiFi was also a definite plus and caused our immediate purchase of a NetGear R6300 WiFi Router which has increased WiFi speeds of our network considerably. I now receive just over 600Mbps in my upstairs office, whereas, I can reach 850Mbps on the MBA when downstairs and within 20 ft of the router.
The processor in use is a Intel i7-4770K which runs at 3.5Ghz unless we are playing with the OC Panel which again is relatively new to the Asus mobo lineup.Also unique about the Asus Maximus VI is the fact that there is a very easy to use Secure Erase utilities for SSDs which is run through the bios.
Last but not least, our selection of Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer memory for this project was a natural considering the chassis being used. Tactical Tracer memory contains thermal heat sensors and a MOD utility that allows complete monitoring of the RAM at all times. This utility also allows the changing of LED colors and patterns for each module, as well.
It’s a long weekend and I started this article a few hours back just to speak a bit about one of the favorite builds I have completed to date. We expect to be getting up articles with this new Bench in the next week; one of the first to be a MPCIe card review on the ADATA AXNS360E SSD, as well as a walk through on the ASUS Secure Erase utility. Until then, here are a few parting shots…
Four things:
1: Terrifically useful site.
2: Thank you for posting this. I discovered that a 2X water cooler can fit in the D-frame chassis. I’m using the Asus Crosshair V mobo with the AMD FX-9590 5 Gigahertz CPU.
I’ve ordered the NZXT Kraken 61 cooler, which is 20 mm wider than the Corsair. Hope it fits.
I have 2 Toshiba 850 Pro SSDs on order. Might stuff in a Velociraptor for backup.
3: I’m a software developer, so interested in CPU/Memory/Disk speed rather than graphics.
I’m more than willing to test various components, especially if they are provided or subsidized. Perfectly capable of executing/writing reviews. I do live in Australia – don’t know whether that is a positive or negative.
4: I was about to pull the trigger for the PlexStore M6e drive (256 Mb) as the boot drive, but since I read your m.2 overview, perhaps you can suggest something different…
Dave
Cairns North, Queensland Australia.
Thanks for the comps and I am going to believe you meant that you have two ‘Samsung’ 850 pro SSDs on order…not Toshiba. When considering your predicament, I would wonder what your motherboard (or adapter) can accomodate, a X2 or x4 M.2 SSD. If I had the choice, I would go for the Samsung XP941 M.2 PCIe X4 SSD… RAMCity sells them up your way…or rather down your way.
Pass the word on to other regarding our site if you get a chance and thanks…
I looked at the XP941, but it doesn’t appear to boot under Windows. Thinking to run the development system (Delphi RAD) on the XP941, and boot off one of the “Samibas”. I think it’s wise to invest in M.2 drives, as they can be reconfigured as things change – the SATA SSD & spinning rust drives get moved down the chain & Girl Friday ends up with them.
When the ROG site opens up again, will be happy to spruik up SSDR.
What are you using for a mobo? The XP941 boots off of newer boards, such as the ASRock Extreme6, 990FX and newest OC Formula…as well as other manufacturer boards I am sure.
I’m using the Asus Crosshair V Formula-Z – We use AMD because we don’t want to see an Intel monopoly. The board does not have m.2. Next build, perhaps. In the meantime, PCIe adapters seem to be the way to go.