Question 1

How do I know I even need this thing?

Accepted Answer

If you are going to use one of the NVMe hard drives, (10 times faster than SSD's), which normally plug into a PCIe slot, if you've used all of the PCIe's for other cards, intel makes an NVMe hard drive that is a 2.5 form factor like an SSD that will utilize this interface. It is the M.2 2280 form factor. Sick fast... Really...!!! I have two of them. Boot from one and Steam, Origin and uPlay on the other to launch my games.

Question 2

Does this work with Z97 Motherboards?

Accepted Answer

well I bought it to install on one but still had not had a chance but from what I read it should work with ANY M.2 PCI x4 interface. But this might be a moot point since the updated Intel 750 drives now come with M.2 "adapter" which is basically M.2 board with soldiered on wires keeping the whole thing FLAT so if you have M.2 slot located by PCI x16 slot you can still use it with second video card installed.

Question 3

Does this come with the cable needed to plug in the drive and power?

Accepted Answer

It does not. I used it with an Intel 750 and the 750 came with the data cable. Power is from a standard sata power connector that plugs into the Intel cable.

Question 4

Will a SAMSUNG 850 EVO 2.5" 500GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-75E500B/AM work with this?

Accepted Answer

No it will not. This is for connecting U.2 form factor PCIe NVMe Flash devices (like the 2.5" form factor Intel 75 and Intel DCP3700 ). A U.2 cable plugs into this adapter and the other end plugs into the NVMe device. This M.2 to U.2 adapter is better than other brands as it has a PCIe re-driver chip on it (better signal quality over the U.2 cable). MSI has a youtube video on using this board with a U.2 Flash device.

Brand	MSI
Model	Turbo U.2 Host Card

MSI Model Turbo U.2 Host Card Accessory - Motherboard

ENJOY INCREDIBLE SPEED WITH THE LATEST U.2 SSD

ADD-IN CARD VIA M.2 SLOT

U.2 REDRIVER

RAID SUPPORTED ON Z170 MOTHERBOARD

U.2 Performance

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Item#: N82E16813995046