A Closer Look
If you’ve seen one M.2 drive, you’ve seen most of them, as they’re relatively small and simple-looking things. This is the most common form factor of M.2, a 2280, which is to say it’s 80mm long. It’s largely compatible with most desktop motherboards, notebooks, laptops, and even the PlayStation 5, which all commonly use this same form factor.
The sticker on the top is a nice bright blue, so the drive does stand out. That being said, once it’s in your motherboard or PS5, the heatsink will cover it and you’re unlikely to ever see it again anyway. However, it’s more than just a sticker; it’s a graphene top layer. This layer further enhances the overall cooling efficiency and heat dissipation of the drive, keeping it running at its best.
Another welcome feature is that it’s a single-sided drive, even on this 4TB model, which is impressive. Being single-sided makes the drive much slimmer, and also makes it easier to keep the drive cool, as all the hardware is on the side facing your heatsink. Furthermore, systems such as slim laptops and the PlayStation 5 only support single-sided drives due to how thin they are.
