What is the New U.2 SSD Connection?

What is the New U.2 SSD Connection?

| Source: PCPER Author: Mark Campbell

What is the New U.2 SSD Connection?

When Intel unleashed it's super fast NVMe SSD 750 it cam is two form factors, one was a PCIe SSD and the other was a 2.5" ssd which sported the all new, but rather hard to say SFF-8639 connector.

This connector will now be called U.2, given it's similarities to the current M.2 connection which is currently used in small form factor devices and other portable devices for High speed NVMe SSDs.

In simple terms Intel's U.2 connector is a combination/ extension of the existing SATA and SAS connectors, which will offer up to 4x PCI 3.0 lanes to a connected device.

When compared to the SATA Express connector the new U.2 connector is able to offer up to a maximum of 2x the performance of SATA Express and will be able to take full advantage of new NVMe SSDs.

Below are pictures of the U.2 connector and an adapter for U.2 to M.2. Even when compared to SATA Express the motherboard connector for U.2 is smaller, giving another advantage to U.2, though SATA express is able to be used is 2x SATA 3.0 connections, which itself is very useful for backward compatibility.

When it comes to the next generation of motherboard we will definitely see SATA Express and U.2 both be used, but it is very likely that SATA Express will not see a long life due to it's lower maximum connection speed when compared to U.2.

You can join the discussion on the U.2 SSD Connector on the OC3D Forums.

What is the New U.2 SSD Connection? Meet Intel's New PCIe Storage connector for Super fast NVMe base SSD Storage.http://www.overclock3d.net/articles/storage/what_is_the_new_u_2_ssd_connection/1 Posted by OC3D on Tuesday, 9 June 2015 Meet Intel's New PCIe Storage connector for Super fast NVMe base SSD Storage, U.2 http://t.co/2W6jF86pgF pic.twitter.com/j28WFgGM3K — OC3D (@OC3D) June 9, 2015

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