Installing an SSD is pretty easy as you just need to unscrew the cover, attach the M.2 drive along with the optional cooling pad, screw in the mounting screw and reattach the cover. Unfortunately, both the cover and the mounting screw are 5-point star shaped screws, which are not very common. However, there’s a screwdriver in the box. The PCIe NVMe SSD drive FlexBay has the physical data and power connector to allow a SATA or SAS drive to be physically installed. However, the FlexBay is only configured to communicate with PCIe NVMe SSDs. SATA or SAS drives installed in this FlexBay will not work due to an incompatibility with the drive controller. A notable convenience is the inclusion of two cables: a USB Type-C cable and a USB Type-C to USB Type-A cable.

The DIY-friendly design is further emphasized by the exclusive Q-latch mechanism, which promises an easy mounting process for the SSD into the enclosure. At this price point, you can easily get an external SSD. But, ROG Strix Arion has got its own unique features. The device leverages the capabilities of USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 technology, providing data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps. But, again, it only supports M.2 NVMe SSDs, not M.2 SATA SSDs. The original SATA protocol was designed to maximize the performance of platter (physical spinning) hard drives. With the proliferation of SSD drives, the SATA storage management protocol has become a limiting factor. The NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory) protocol has been designed for solid state drives and uses the PCIe bus for optimal performance. An M.2 drive may support SATA or PCIe/NVMe but not both. Depending on the drive, and what the computer can support, not all M.2 drives work in all computers. How often will you open it? Most of the M.2 SSD enclosures we tested were made to be opened once, have a drive installed inside and then screwed closed for the long haul. While you can reopen all of them and change drives at any time, you should consider an enclosure with a tool-less design if you think you’ll be changing the drive frequently.

Crucial P3

Next is the fastest USB thumb drive I own. These predate me having the USB External M2 adapters. So I used to use them for salvage. Most of the time now they run various bootable things. But the read/write speeds are still impressive for a true USB Thumb drive. Sandisk Extreme 64GB (CZ80) Which form factor? You have to get an SSD enclosure that matches the physical size of your drive. If you have a 2.5-inch hard drive or SSD, get a 2.5-inch SATA enclosure. For a 3.5-inch hard drive, you’ll need a 3.5-inch SATA enclosure. M.2 SSDs require M.2 enclosures, but be careful if your SSD is shorter than the standard 2280 (80mm size); most but not all enclosures have mounting screws for the shorter sizes. Also, if you plan to use an M.2 SATA SSD, as opposed to an NVMe one, make sure that the enclosure supports that standard instead (or in addition), because most M.2 enclosures are NVMe only.

One last caveat to drop in before we get to our product recommendations surrounds Intel's SSD line. Intel for a while sold a family of M.2-based storage products under the brand name Optane, in two very distinct types of drive. Intel's "Optane SSDs" were SSDs like any other, bootable drives that can serve as a stand-alone boot drive or as secondary storage. They were discontinued for consumers in 2021, but you may still see them around. (Intel sold its SSD business at the end of 2021 to SK Hynix, which spun it off into a new subsidiary, Solidigm.) When I look at the military-grade toughness, it translates to a robust build quality, fulfilling the MIL-STD-810H standards for drop resistance, alongside boasting an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. This promises enhanced durability, potentially making the enclosure a long-lasting companion for users, safeguarding the housed SSD from common environmental adversities.

SIIG Full Speed M.2 M Key Nvme SSD to PCIe Adapter, PCI Express X16 Card with Heatsink, Supports Windows 7/8/ 10, Supports 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 Form Factor M.2 SSDS Setup is made easy with the device supporting hot-swapping, allowing users to change SSDs without having to power down the device first. Additionally, it offers plug-and-play functionality, removing the need for driver installations and hence promoting a user-friendly approach. If you want an SSD enclosure with some RGB bling and a swanky sci-fi design, Asus’s ROG Strix Arion is for you. The M.2 NVMe enclosure has two RGB lights, an illuminated ROG logo on the top and a small plastic fin on the side. These show a pleasing pink and purplish light show which Asus markets as being part of its “Aura Sync” RGB ecosystem. However, there doesn’t seem to be any way to actually control the lights as the Asus Armoury Crate software we tested with did not recognize the drive. A distinguishing feature is the blue indicator which informs users of the data transfer status clearly and easily, adding a functional yet aesthetically pleasing element to the enclosure.

Know which bus you're on. In a laptop-upgrade scenario, you're almost certainly swapping out one M.2 drive for another, with the intent of gaining capacity. Make sure you know the specifications of the drive coming out of your system—and whether it's reliant on the SATA or PCI Express bus—so you can install the same, presumably roomier kind going in.

M.2 Upgrades and Boot Drives: What to Look For

M.2 storage devices are classified numerically based on performance. The higher the Class, the faster the overall performance: On the last position, we have the UGreeen M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure which also has support for M.2 SATA SSDs.