Originally Posted by
GamerusMaximus
Over-blowing the issue a bit there.
At the height, there were 5 interfaces for SSDs, SATA III, PCIE, M.2, and U.2. Sata express, but that was DOA and was a half hearted effort to stop M.2. SATA III is not a priority for SSDs, so PCIE, M.2, and U.2 were the only true markets for superfast SSDs.
PCIE SSD drives are typically used in servers, which leaves m.2 and u.2. It took, what, maybe 3 months for it to become very evident that U.2 is a dead format? Have you even seen a U.2 port on a motherboard? I think I've seen one. maybe. And M.2 and PCIE use the same signals, the only difference is the form factor.
Most z170 boards support a M.2 slot, and all of them are capable of booting off of one. Getting a M.2 to PCIE adapter is dirt cheap and easy.
the real issue is that diminishing returns kicked in hard. For the vast majority of users, M.2's extra speed makes no difference. Only professionals really notice it. But it's physical size gives it an advantage in mobile and in ITX rigs.