AXC-780-UR16 slot M.2 compatibility

Hi, Acer's gurus! Could someone give me an example of an SSD that I can buy today, which would fit into the M.2 slot of the motherboard AXC-780-UR16? I dug out from the internet the following contradicting information:
1. This slot's connectivity supports M.2 2280 SATA 3.0 devices.
2. M.2 NVMe devices will not work with this motherboard.

Its connector has one groove only on the right side, as designed for M.2 NVMe devices. M.2 SATA devices, which I saw on the market, have two grooves, one on each side.

Therefore, it seems that if I purchase a SATA M.2 device with two grooves, it should meet the speed and protocol specifications; however, it will not fit the physical slot with only one groove, or will it?

If I buy an NVMe M.2 device with one groove, it will physically fit the connector, but it should not work due to a protocol mismatch.

So, does anyone know of any available device that can be purchased today that would fit this slot?

Accepted answers

Puraw

Hi VSProjects

The Aspire AXC‑780‑UR16 has a storage M.2 slot that supports M.2 SATA 2280 drives only. It does not recognize NVMe (PCIe) models, so you’ll want to choose a B+M keyed SATA SSD in the 2280 form factor.

Examples that fit and work reliably in this desktop:

Crucial MX500 M.2 SATA 2280
WD Blue 3D NAND M.2 SATA 2280
Samsung 860 EVO M.2 SATA 2280

All of these are standard 6 Gb/s SATA drives, available in capacities from 250 GB up to 2 TB. They install directly into the M.2 slot and can be used as a boot drive once Windows is installed or cloned.

All comments

Puraw

Hi VSProjects

The Aspire AXC‑780‑UR16 has a storage M.2 slot that supports M.2 SATA 2280 drives only. It does not recognize NVMe (PCIe) models, so you’ll want to choose a B+M keyed SATA SSD in the 2280 form factor.

Examples that fit and work reliably in this desktop:

Crucial MX500 M.2 SATA 2280
WD Blue 3D NAND M.2 SATA 2280
Samsung 860 EVO M.2 SATA 2280

All of these are standard 6 Gb/s SATA drives, available in capacities from 250 GB up to 2 TB. They install directly into the M.2 slot and can be used as a boot drive once Windows is installed or cloned.

VSProjects

Thank you, Puraw! I did not know that the B+M keyed cards could be used in the M slot. After you provided me with the correct terminology, I researched it and now understand.

One more related thing is well hidden in the Acer documentation: What is the maximum SSD capacity supported by AXC‑780‑UR16? Does anyone happen to know?

Puraw

Hi VSProjects

Crucial officially lists M.2 SATA SSDs up to 2TB as compatible with the AXC-780-UR16:

2TB is the largest capacity Crucial validates for this model.
Higher capacities aren't vendor-confirmed and may exceed controller or firmware limits.

If you're aiming for 2TB, that’s within safe, supported limits.

StevenGen

Some further information that will assist you, as the below is all the information on the M.2 SSD dries that Acer tested and recommends for the Aspire XC-780 desktop, so use the B&M Key type M.2 SATA III type drive only, like shown below.

Drives used by Acer with this desktop, note that the capacity is not restricted to a max 512GB only, you can use 1Tb and 2TB capacity drives if you can still buy a SATA III M.2 SSD type drive today.

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StevenGen

Some further information that will assist you, as the below is all the information on the M.2 SSD dries that Acer tested and recommends for the Aspire XC-780 desktop, so use the B&M Key type M.2 SATA III type drive only, like shown below.

Drives used by Acer with this desktop, note that the capacity is not restricted to a max 512GB only, you can use 1Tb and 2TB capacity drives if you can still buy a SATA III M.2 SSD type drive today.