What is an NVMe^™ PCIe^® SSD?

NVMe PCIe SSDs are the next step in storage innovation. The two technologies, NVMe and PCIe, work together to produce faster performance. But what is NVMe PCIe?

NVMe

NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is an interface specification that works with the PCIe bus. The previous bus, SATA, was developed for hard disk drives and was adopted for solid state drives to maintain backwards compatibility. However, SSDs use different technology than HDDs, and there are opportunities to speed up data exchange using parallel tracks. NVMe was created to take advantage of these opportunities to trim input/output overhead and reduce latency. Using an interface and a connection created specifically for SSDs results in much higher data exchange speeds.

PCIe

PCIe is an existing serial expansion bus that is now being adopted for data storage. PCIe works on serial communication, but there are multiple lanes of the serial communication. This increased bandwidth speeds up the data exchange for SSDs. For a user this will result in faster read and write times.

NVMe PCIe

The NVMe interface and the PCIe connection work together to accelerate performance. This is layered on top of the speed and dependability of an SSD.

Considerations

The appearance of the PCIe connection can be confusing as PCIe looks very similar to SATA, especially in the M.2 form factor. In many computers, the M.2 slot can accommodate either a SATA or PCIe SSD, but not all computers have this ability. It is best to check the Crucial® Advisor™ tool or System Scanner tool or your computer's user manual to ensure you order the correct part.

If you are building a PC, it is important to note that the increased speed of an NVMe PCIe SSD can result in more heat generation. It is important to gauge the air flow in the PC accordingly.

Conclusion

NVMe and PCIe are two technologies that increase the speed of an SSD by designing an interface and a connection that works with the specific structure of solid-state technology.