Do NVMe M.2 Drives Last Longer Than ‘Normal’ SSDs?

Two M.2 SSD drives and various heat sink components

Buying storage for your PC is a delicate balancing act between performance, capacity, and price. While NVMe M.2 drives are clearly more powerful, SATA SSDs provide a budget conscious option. However, which drive will outlast the other? A NVMe M.2 drive and a SATA SSD actually have very similar lifespans. NVMe M.2 drives use nearly … Read more

Why M.2 Drives Are ‘Single’ or ‘Double’ Sided (& Why It Matters)

A WD Black NVMe M.2 SSD drive

There’s always a new type of storage on the horizon. One of the most recent changes has been the addition of double-sided M.2 SSDs. These drives have been raising questions about features and compatibility that we’re going to take a closer look at. M.2 drives can be single-sided or double-sided based on how many chips … Read more

What is “TUF Gaming” and “ROG”? (Is It Just Asus Marketing?)

An ASUS TUF Gaming B550M Plus motherboard for AMD Ryzen

When I first built an AMD Ryzen system, I went with a budget Asus B350M motherboard. It sucked. It often failed to POST or boot properly, and I could never get my ‘supported’ RAM to run at the advertised speed. But I digress – the fact it was a bad motherboard isn’t relevant here. What … Read more

Do M.2 2280 SSDs Fit 22110 (Or Other Size Slots) Too?

Annotated motherboard showing where longer M.2 SSDs could potentially be installed

The M.2 form factor is just a few years old but it’s already started to change how we build PCs and laptops. This connector type has opened up the potential streamlined designed motherboards for everyone from general users do people who need hardcore, performance-optimized machines. This also creates a bunch of new questions about how … Read more

What Is The Chassis Fan (“CHA_FAN”) Connector? What Are “Chassis” Fans?

A comparison between CPU and chassis fans

Are you thinking about building your own computer? Do you want to customize your existing computer to meet your needs? If so, you are probably thinking about the performance of the computer. You may want to handle gaming, or you may be looking for a powerful computer that you can use to quickly trade stocks … Read more