NVMe SSDs in Canada — PCIe Gen3, Gen4 & Gen5

NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is the protocol an SSD uses to talk to the computer over PCIe lanes instead of the older SATA interface. Most NVMe SSDs are M.2 sticks that plug straight into the motherboard with no cables. PCIe has far more bandwidth than SATA's 6 Gb/s, so NVMe drives are several times faster: about 3,500 MB/s on PCIe 3.0, 7,000 MB/s and up on PCIe 4.0, and up to about 14,000 MB/s on PCIe 5.0.

M.2 is the connector and form factor, and 2280 means the module is 22mm wide and 80mm long, the most common size in desktops and most laptops. Some compact drives use 2242 or 2230 (42mm or 30mm long) for small-form-factor PCs and handhelds. Check your motherboard or laptop's M.2 slot length before buying.

High-bandwidth PCIe Gen4 and Gen5 NVMe drives can throttle their speed under sustained heavy use if they get too hot. A heatsink, built-in or your motherboard's own M.2 heatsink, helps sustain peak performance during large transfers or gaming. It's less critical for lighter everyday use.

Yes. PCIe is backward compatible, so a Gen5 M.2 NVMe SSD will physically fit and function in a Gen3 or Gen4 slot; it will just run at that slot's lower maximum speed instead of full Gen5 bandwidth. You won't damage the drive or the board by mixing PCIe generations this way.

Shut down and unplug the PC, then find a free M.2 slot (the motherboard manual says which slots take NVMe drives and at which PCIe generation). Remove the slot's screw or heatsink, insert the SSD at a slight angle, press it flat and fasten it. In Windows, open Disk Management to initialize and format the new drive; to move your system onto it, use the SSD maker's cloning tool or reinstall Windows.