Question 1

Is this compatible with a X99A SLI Plus MSI Motherboard?

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is, YES, the MSI X99A SLI Plus does support one M.2 port (M Key) Gen3 NVME which is what this XPG SX8200 PRO is. This is 2280 in length which is supported by your mobo. I have this SX8200 1TB mounted on a different mobo but am very impressed with the performance. I also have the Samsung 970 EVO Plus on a different system and find no detectable performance difference although the machines are different. The performance for the price of this XPG is fantastic - I am back to purchase another.

Question 2

Will this card work on a MSI Z77A - G45 motherboard?

Accepted Answer

I don't know about MSI but it worked with my Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro when it wasn't on any compatibility list. I had to put it in a particular slot though, the other one didn't work.

Question 3

Is this compatible with an hp spectre x 360 15 inch pc?

Accepted Answer

After perusing the maintenance and service guide available on HP's website, this drive will physically fit the drive slot and will connect.  Just make sure to back up your data and have a windows 10 installation usb drive ready before you swap the drives.  As for whether or not you'll get the same HP specific software as before, I don't know.

Question 4

Does this SSD have DRAM?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it has a DRAM Cache buffer.

Question 5

How does this compare to the Samsung 970 Evo Plus? Why is this so much cheaper?

Accepted Answer

Because Samsung prices their products higher. The only justification for this is their "soft" 10-year lifespan on SSDs. This isn't very significant, since even budget SSDs have considerably longer lifespans than rotating magnetic drives. If you're storing data for over 10 years on a single device or platform, then your backup policy is QUITE lacking. I wish I could justify the Samsung Pro's price, but I cannot, since this drive completely trounces it considering real-life performance and price.

The answer to your question is marketing. The drives are nearly identical, but Samsung has built itself up in the market to the point where it can still sell it's "pro" line at a higher cost, even though a lesser cost competitor performs almost identically. See AMD's 5700 XT vs. Nvidia's 2070 Super in real world games performance (not doctored graphs and benchmarks) for another example of this concept at work.

Questions & Answers