NVMe 2242 M-Key MakerDisk SSD - 256GB (Preloaded with RPi OS)

Note: This M.2 SSD is:

• NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory express) SSD, normally via PCIe bus. This is NOT SATA SSD
• 2242, mechanical size/dimension, please ensure the size fits the board
• M.2 M-Key, please make sure the M.2 socket supports M-key
• Comes Pre-loaded with Raspberry Pi OS and ready to boot up on:
  • Raspberry Pi 5 (with the latest bootloader firmware and a PCIe to M.2 M-Key HAT, such as the Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+)
  • Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (with the latest bootloader firmware, via a USB to NVMe adapter)
  • Raspberry Pi 400 (via a USB to NVMe adapter)
  • Compute Module 4 with an NVMe SSD carrier board that has a 2242 M-Key slot.
• Please DO NOT format it if you intend to use it with the Raspberry Pi board.
• Loaded with Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit) - Bookworm (Cytron: units shipped from January 2024 onwards carry the latest Bookworm release).

The USB boot firmware for Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, 400, and also CM4, had a stable release in 2020. With Compute Module 4 (CM4), the PCIe Gen2 bus is extended out on some carrier boards. Furthermore, the NVMe boot is also officially released by Raspberry Pi. On CM4 carrier boards and on the Raspberry Pi 5 this is a native NVMe SSD boot via the PCIe bus; it does not go through any USB to NVMe adapter. The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B and Raspberry Pi 400 have no PCIe slot, so they boot it through a USB to NVMe adapter.

This NVMe SSD is in M.2 2242 (M Key) form factor. Cytron called it MakerDisk! A Disk from Makers to Makers :) This listing is the 256GB M.2 2242, M-Key, NVMe Solid State Drive (SSD), preloaded with Raspberry Pi OS.

Do check out Jeff Geerling talking about CM4 boots off an NVMe SSD, natively in this video:

If you prefer to read the article, check out the blog by Jeff Geerling here: The Raspberry Pi can boot of NVMe SSDs now.

From Jeff's benchmarking with eMMC, microSD card and USB 3.0 (UASP) adapter, the native NVMe interface is 12x faster on the Pi for normal file operations that include: copies, random read/write. And that also improves day-to-day performance.

Features

• Brand: MakerDisk
• Form factor: M.2 2242 M-Key NVMe SSD
• Pre-loaded with Raspberry Pi OS
• NOT SATA Drive
• High level of ability to endure shock, vibration, and high temperature
• SMART & TRIM support
• PCIe Interface: PCIe Gen 3 x 2
• Compliance: NVMe 1.4, PCI Express Base 3.1
• Capacity: 256GB
• Performance:
  • Read: Up to 1700MB/s
  • Write: Up to 600MB/s
• Shock: 1500G/0.5ms
• Operation temperature: 0°C-70°C
• Up to 30X faster than a typical hard disk drive
• Boosts burst write performance, making it ideal for typical computer workloads
• Faster boot-up, shutdown, application load, and response for Raspberry Pi