when you compared performance, you are comparing speed. i'm not sure what you wanna know if you took speed out of equation.

yes there are real performance difference if you get m.2 ssd which supports pcie 2.0 x4 and above. (it's like 2x sata ssd raid0) lesser than that there is only slight difference. again, this difference is subject to your usage and expectations.

although it's not necessary for common usage, it's better to use m.2 pcie ssd mounted on a pcie adapter with heat sink. for instance, samsung 950 pro has auto throttling mechanism, so when the chip is overheating, it will throttle to sata speed. so it's safe to use in m.2 form. to avoid throttling, use the adapter.

ok hehe imo in m.2 form, the main downside is overheating of controller.

i use bplus m2p4a currently. it's good. apparently it supports pcie 3.0 x4 also.
- http://www.hwtools.net/Adapter/M2P4A.html
- taobao link: http://world.taobao.com/item/37633868328.htm

i have posted an image about bplus m2p4a previously, https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...post&p=71040951

after all this while, there might be other options. previously this was the only one with heatsink.

edit: btw, you need some thermal pads to ensure proper contacts between the ssd and heatsink. for some sata ssds, their aluminum case is actually used as heat spreader.

sweet
yeah if you looked at most hhhl versions of m.2 pcie ssds, usually they are covered with heat sinks; there is a thermal pad between the m.2 ssd and the adapter in kingston hyperx predator also.

for common usage, many said it's ok to run in bare m.2 form. however, i just don't wanna risk it.

ok hehe imo in m.2 form, the main downside is overheating of controller.

i use bplus m2p4a currently. it's good. apparently it supports pcie 3.0 x4 also.
- http://www.hwtools.net/Adapter/M2P4A.html
- taobao link: http://world.taobao.com/item/37633868328.htm

i have posted an image about bplus m2p4a previously, https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...post&p=71040951

after all this while, there might be other options. previously this was the only one with heatsink.

edit: btw, you need some thermal pads to ensure proper contacts between the ssd and heatsink. for some sata ssds, their aluminum case is actually used as heat spreader.

uh? maybe i'm lucky. i just went to garage sales, click on hdds and ssds garage sales, and type sm951 in the quick search field, i found this: https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3593258 (clawhammer sells a lot of good stuff imo. he's still very active here)

go for sm951, not xp941 (older, slower)

looking at the price, i think you should go for 256gb. 256gb is better anyway. (much closer to top speed that can be found in 512gb)