M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSDs Might Not Fit Older Motherboards

Modern NVMe M.2 SSDs available on the market in various sizes - from 30 to 110 mm long, but they all have the same width - 22 mm. It has now been revealed that upcoming M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSDs will have a width of 25mm, as specified by the PCI-SIG organization responsible for standards for PCIe bus products. That is, new SSDs may not fit in current systems, especially laptops. Information about the sizes of future SSDs appeared in the specifications of new Gigabyte motherboards based on AMD X670 and X670E chipsets. They indicate that the boards support the installation of drives in the new M.2 25110 form factor. At the same time, the manufacturer does not indicate support for drives in the usual M.2 2280 and M.2 22110 form factors.

A difference of 3 mm in media width may seem insignificant. However, many models of M.2 drives already seem too oversaturated with various components and power elements. Because of this, the fastest models on the market may experience some cooling problems. Using a slightly wider circuit board for an NVMe drive will create a little more free space between its components. This should have a positive effect on heat dissipation. It should be noted that PCIe 5.0 NVMe memory controllers will operate at a higher temperature than PCIe 4.0, as their bandwidth will be up to two times higher than current solutions.

Using wider PCBs for PCIe 5.0 NVMe drives may limit their compatibility with older motherboards. In particular, the problem may be relevant for laptops, where there simply may not be enough room for even a slightly wider SSD.