Finding an external enclosure for M.2 SSD drive

[Soebr]

I've been looking for an enclosure so that I can use the M.2 SSD that came with my XPS 13 as an external drive. I found this one on Amazon, but I am unsure whether or not my specific drive will be compatible.

 

My SSD is labeled as "Samsung SSD SM871 M.2 2280 128GB". A couple reviews on Amazon state "Just be aware of the key type (B or M) of your drive." and "This device does NOT fit the M.2 drives with a 1280 designation. ". How can I make sure my SSD will work before I buy?

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

It does say it is SATAIII device, so it isn't NVME/PCI.

 

That device should be fine, IMO.

 

I'd let someone else answer, tho.

[LaP]

1 hour ago, Soebr said:

I've been looking for an enclosure so that I can use the M.2 SSD that came with my XPS 13 as an external drive. I found this one on Amazon, but I am unsure whether or not my specific drive will be compatible.

 

My SSD is labeled as "Samsung SSD SM871 M.2 2280 128GB". A couple reviews on Amazon state "Just be aware of the key type (B or M) of your drive." and "This device does NOT fit the M.2 drives with a 1280 designation. ". How can I make sure my SSD will work before I buy?

 

According to newegg the enclosure doesn't support m keyed sata bus ssd (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=1HD-0032-00001).

 

Look at that chart to know which type the sm871 is. It's oem so can't find the spec.

 

http://www.electronicdesign.com/blog/what-s-difference-between-m2-modules

 

This said i would advocate against buying an enclosure from an unknown company. I can't even find their website ...

Edited November 22, 2017 by LaP

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

 

The enclosure should work fine with your Samsung M.2 2280 SATA SSD.  ZTC is a Chinese manufacturer of computer accessories and peripherals such as SSDs.  I have used a couple of their M.2 and mSATA SSDs before without any issues.

 

Regards,

 

Aryeh Goretsky

[Mockingbird]

 

PCIe M.2 drives are generally M only.

 

SATA M.2 drivers are generally B+M.

[DevTech]

https://www.asus.com/Motherboard-Accessory/HYPER-M-2-X16-CARD/

 

They also make a a cheaper simpler version

 

Also great for computers with mobos that don't have M.2 to get advantage of Samsung 960

 

 

 

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

 

The Hyper M.2 cards are quite nice.  I have used the Hyper M.2 X4 Mini Card in an Asus P9X79 PRO with modified UEFI firmware to support booting from NVMe (which is not normally available with that motherboard).  However, that's a desktop system, not a laptop like @Soebr is using.  To use an M.2 NVMe SSD with a laptop, you need a laptop that either has a (1a) legacy ExpressCard interface; or (1b) a Thunderbolt interface; and (2) an ExpressCard or Thunderbolt to PCIe enclosure.  These types of enclosures are normally used for eGPU setups, but there are smaller ones like this model from Sonnet Technologies which can be used with a Hyper M.2 PCIe card to access an M.2 NVMe SSD.

 

Regards,

 

Aryeh Goretsky

 

On ‎12‎/‎1‎/‎2017 at 1:58 PM, DevTech said:

https://www.asus.com/Motherboard-Accessory/HYPER-M-2-X16-CARD/

 

They also make a a cheaper simpler version

 

Also great for computers with mobos that don't have M.2 to get advantage of Samsung 960