如今，固态硬盘有多种不同的术语，最流行的三个是SATA 3、M.2 和NVMe。
如果您最近考虑购买SSD，您可能会遇到这些术语，但您可能并不完全了解技术差异。
在本文中，我们将列出差异，解释哪个更好/更差，并提供有关每种SSD 类型(SSD type)的技术如何工作的详细信息。
固态硬盘(Solid State Drive)的演变
首先，让我们谈谈固态硬盘(state drive)的由来，以及为什么它近年来一直受到PC 制造商和笔记本电脑制造商的青睐。(hardware item)
笔记本电脑和 PC 中使用的典型存储驱动器(storage drive)称为传统硬盘驱动器。这些类型的驱动器具有移动部件。硬盘驱动器的工作方式与旧电唱机(record player)类似。
有一个移动磁盘（盘片）和一个大标题，可以在磁盘旋转时读取数据并注销它们。
通常，硬盘驱动器旋转得越快（7200 RPM、10,000 RPM等），存储驱动器(storage drive)的读取速度就越快。不幸的是，硬盘驱动器读取数据的速度是有限度的。等待头部物理移动也会带来延迟。这就是SSD(SSDs)的用武之地。
SSD代表固态驱动器(state drive)，它是一种没有移动部件的存储。SSD(SSDs)改为使用半导体(use semiconductor)芯片来存储和访问内存(access memory)。
特别是SSD，有大量可以充电或不充电的半导体，计算机会将其读取为二进制的“1”或“0”，并将其转换为您机器上可查看的实际文件或数据。
SSD中使用的内存类型的有趣之处在于，即使在关闭后，电池仍会保持其充电或未充电状态，这就是内存的存储方式而不是被遗忘的方式。
PC 或笔记本电脑(PC or laptop)能够从 SSD 读取数据的速度快很多倍，因为闪存(SSD)技术的工作速度比带有移动部件的旧机械硬盘驱动器快得多。
最近，我们推出了多种不同类型的固态硬盘，即SATA 3和NVMe。这些驱动器使用上述相同的半导体阵列，但由于不同的原因它们具有不同的潜力。
下面让我们看看每种固态存储类型(state storage type)有何不同。
SATA 3 vs M.2 vs NVMe –有什么区别(Difference)？
事实证明，用于从SSD读取和写入数据的技术是如此之快，以至于限制因素实际上归结为驱动器与 PC 共享数据的方法。
PC 使用两种不同的方法来读取 SSD：SATA 3和NVMe。
SATA 3连接是通过将数据线(data cable)和电源线(power cable)直接连接到主板和固态驱动器(state drive)本身来实现的。
另一方面，NVMe 连接(NVMe connection)允许固态驱动器(state drive)直接从主板上的PCI-E 插槽(PCI-E slot)读取数据。驱动器(drive draws power)直接通过主板供电。更重要的是，NVMe 驱动器(NVMe drive)还将以比SATA 3更快的速度通过主板提取数据。
你为什么问？简而言之(Simply)，由于可以访问更多 PCI-E 通道， NVMe可以一次将更多数据排队。(NVMe)
PCI-E通道本质上是主板上的数据通道。数量有限，主板上的不同端口和插槽都有特定的通道。在典型的较新主板上，您会看到与可用(newer motherboard)PCI-E通道数（x1、x2、x4、x16等）相对应的各种尺寸的插槽。
最终结果(end result)是，由于具有更多 PCI-E 通道和直接PCI-E read/write潜力，NVMe驱动器通常比SATA SSD(SATA SSDs)快得多。
然而，性能提升(performance boost)只在顺序读/写速度上真正可见。或者，更简单地说，用于移动大文件。
NVMe真正的读read/write speed potential只有在更大的文件中才能达到，因此对于游戏和日常任务来说差异可能并不那么明显。
因此，对于启动时间和游戏(time and gaming)，NVMe不会提供太大的差异。对于视频编辑和照片编辑(video editing and photo editing)，NVMe驱动器可以提供更好的效果。
以下是针对大文件的硬盘驱动器、 SATA 3 SSD和NVMe SSD的典型读/写速度。(NVMe SSD)
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- 7200 RPM 硬盘 –(RPM Hard Drive –)平均读/写速度为 80-160MB/秒
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- SATA 3 SSD – read/write速度高达 550MB/秒
- NVME SSD – read/write速度高达 3500MB/秒
M.2呢？这是从哪里来的(Come)？
到目前为止，我们已经解释了SATA 和 NVMe(SATA and NVMe)。这是用于读取和写入数据的两种方法或协议。一个使用PCI-E ( NVMe )，另一个不使用 ( SATA )。
M.2 驱动器(M.2 drive)只是描述驱动器物理外形(form factor)的术语。M.2 驱动器(M.2 drive)是如下所示的纤薄驱动器。M.2 驱动器(M.2 drive)不是( are not)NVMe 和 SATA 之(NVMe and SATA)类的另一种协议。事实上，您可以获得使用SATA 或 NVMe的(SATA or NVMe)M.2 驱动器(M.2 drive)。
这是一个带有 SATA 连接的M.2 驱动器：(M.2 drive)
这是一个带有 NVMe 连接的M.2 驱动器：(M.2 drive)
M.2 驱动器(M.2 drive)并不仅仅因为它的外形尺寸(form factor)而更快。M.2 驱动器(M.2 drive)通常使用NVMe 协议(NVMe protocol)，因为它们已经通过PCI-E连接。
如果您在市场上购买NVMe 驱动器(NVMe drive)，只需确保您看到的M.2 驱动器的(M.2 drive)描述或标题(description or title)中清楚地包含 NVMe而不是SATA。
摘要 –您应该(Should)获得 SATA 3 还是NVMe？
如果您是从传统硬盘升级，SATA 3和NVMe将为您提供惊人的改进。NVMe通常比SATA 3贵，考虑到标准SATA 3 SSD(SSDs)已经足够昂贵，这是一个问题。
NVMes确实也只对那些较大的文件传输有用，所以除非您经常移动大文件以进行照片和视频编辑，或者在(photo and video editing)NVMe 驱动器(NVMe drive)上找到大量文件，否则您最好坚持使用标准SATA 3 SSD，因为您可以以相同的价格获得更大的尺寸。
此外，对于游戏，NVMe 和 SATA(NVMe and SATA) 3 将提供非常相似的启动速度。它们都非常快，以至于其他硬件（例如RAM 和 CPU 性能(RAM and CPU performance)）最终成为瓶颈。
希望这总结了SATA 3(SATA 3)和NVMe之间的区别，并清楚地说明了 M.2 如何也适合这个等式。
以下(Below)是我们迄今为止所涵盖的所有内容的快速摘要。
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- M.2 – 更纤薄的存储驱动器外形(form factor)
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- NVMe –一种允许通过PCI-E读取和写入数据(PCI-E)的协议(A protocol)
- SATA 3 – 一种较旧的协议，通常不如NVMe快(NVMe)
你对这个话题有什么看法？
SATA 3 vs M.2 vs NVMe – Overview and Comparison
There are a variety of different terms for solid state drives these days, the three most popular being SATA 3, M.2, and NVMe.
If you’ve recently looked at purchasing an SSD, chances are you’ve come across these terms, but you may not completely understand the technical differences.
In this article, we’ll be laying out the differences, explaining which is better/worse, and providing details on how the technology for each SSD type works.
The Evolution Of the Solid State Drive
Firstly, let’s talk about the origin of the solid state drive, and why it has been such a popular hardware item for PC builders and laptop manufacturers in recent years.
A typical storage drive used in laptops and PCs is known as a traditional hard drive. These types of drives have moving parts. A hard drive works similarly to an old record player.
There is a moving disk (platter) and a large header that can read data and write off of them as the disk spins.
Typically, the faster the hard drive spins (7200 RPM, 10,000 RPM, etc.), the faster the storage drive can be read. Unfortunately, there is a limit to how fast a hard drive can read the data. There’s also a latency that comes with waiting for the head to physically move. This is where SSDs come in.
SSD stands for solid state drive and it’s a type of storage that does not have moving parts. SSDs instead use semiconductor chips to store and access memory.
An, SSD in particular, has a huge array of these semiconductors that can be charged or uncharged, which the computer will read as a ‘1’ or ‘0’ in binary and convert that to actual files or data viewable on your machine.
What’s interesting about the type of memory used in an SSD is that the cells retain their charged or uncharged state even after shutting down and this is how memory is stored and not forgotten.
A PC or laptop is able to read data many times faster off of an SSD because the flash technology just works that much faster than old mechanical hard drives with moving parts.
More recently, we’ve had a variety of different types of solid state drives, namely SATA 3 and NVMe. These drives use the same semiconductor arrays explained above, but they have different potentials for different reasons.
Let’s take a look at how each solid state storage type differs below.
SATA 3 vs M.2 vs NVMe – What’s the Difference?
As it turns out, the technology used to read and write data off of an SSD is so fast that the limiting factor actually comes down to the method the drive shares data to the PC.
There are two different methods a PC uses to read an SSD: SATA 3 and NVMe.
SATA 3 connections are made by connecting a data cable and a power cable directly into the motherboard and the solid state drive itself.
An NVMe connection, on the other hand, allows a solid state drive to have its data read straight from a PCI-E slot right on the motherboard. The drive draws power directly through the motherboard. More importantly, the NVMe drive will also draw data through the motherboard at a faster rate than SATA 3.
Why, you ask? Simply put, an NVMe can queue more data at once due to having access to more PCI-E lanes.
PCI-E lanes are essentially data lanes on a motherboard. There’s a limited amount, and the different ports and slots on a motherboard are given certain lanes. On a typical newer motherboard, you’ll see slots of various sizes corresponding to the number of PCI-E lanes available (x1, x2, x4, x16, etc).
The end result is that with more PCI-E lanes, and direct PCI-E read/write potential, NVMe drives are typically far faster than SATA SSDs.
However, the performance boost is only really seen for sequential read/write speeds. Or, in simpler terms, for moving large files.
With the true read/write speed potential of NVMe only being reached with larger files, differences may not be that noticeable for gaming and everyday tasks.
So, for boot up time and gaming, NVMe won’t offer much difference. For video editing and photo editing, NVMe drives can offer much better results.
Here is a look at the typical read/write speeds of a hard drive, a SATA 3 SSD and an NVMe SSD for large files.
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- 7200 RPM Hard Drive – average read/write speed of 80-160MB/second
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- SATA 3 SSD – read/write speed up to 550MB/second
- NVME SSD – read/write speed up to 3500MB/second
What About M.2? Where Does That Come In?
So far, we’ve explained SATA and NVMe. These are two methods, or protocols, used to read and write data. One uses PCI-E (NVMe) and the other doesn’t (SATA).
An M.2 drive is simply a term to describe the physical form factor of a drive. M.2 drives are the slim ones shown below. M.2 drives are not another protocol like NVMe and SATA. In fact, you can get an M.2 drive that uses either SATA or NVMe.
Here is an M.2 drive with a SATA connection:
And here is an M.2 drive with an NVMe connection:
An M.2 drive is not faster just because of its form factor. It’s just usually the case that M.2 drives use the NVMe protocol because they already connect via PCI-E anyway.
If you’re in the market for an NVMe drive, just make sure that the M.2 drive you look at clearly has NVMe in its description or title and not SATA.
Summary – Should You Get SATA 3 or NVMe?
If you’re upgrading from a traditional hard drive, both SATA 3 and NVMe will offer you spectacular improvements. NVMe is typically more expensive than SATA 3, which is a problem considering standard SATA 3 SSDs are already expensive enough.
NVMes really are only useful for those larger file transfers, too, so unless you regularly move large files for photo and video editing, or find a great deal on an NVMe drive, you may as well stick to a standard SATA 3 SSD because you can get a much bigger size for the same price.
Also, for gaming, both NVMe and SATA 3 will offer very similar boot speeds. They are both so fast that other hardware, such as RAM and CPU performance, ends up being the bottleneck.
Hopefully, this summarizes the difference between SATA 3 and NVMe and makes it clear how M.2 fits into the equation as well.
Below is a quick summary of everything we’ve covered so far.
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- M.2 – A slimmer form factor for storage drives
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- NVMe – A protocol that lets data be read and written via PCI-E
- SATA 3 – An older protocol that is typically not as fast as NVMe
What are your thoughts on this topic?
