How to Tell If SSD is SATA or NVMe in Windows 10

Wondering if your computer or laptop SSD is SATA or NVMe? Follow these simple steps to learn how to find if SSD is SATA or NVMe.

For the past few years, SSDs are becoming a lot more common. Even if the system is not using an SSD for mass storage, a vast majority have it as a boot drive. For example, my three-year-old laptop has a 2TB spinning drive for mass storage and a 256GB SSD boot drive for Windows 10. This gives you the best of both worlds a the mechanical hard drives are quite a lot cheaper than the SSDs for the same capacity. In general, SSDs come with one of the two major interfaces. i.e, SATA interface or NVMe interface.

Compared to SATA which is older, a lot slower, and clunkier, NVMe is a modern interface that offers better speed and reliability. Not only that but the NVMe SSDs are quite a bit smaller than the regular 2.5″ SATA SSDs. You can see the below image for quick size comparison. Put simply, if you have an SSD in your computer or laptop, it will either be with a SATA interface or NVMe interface.

If you are trying to benchmark the SSD, knowing if the SSD is SATA or NVMe gives you a better insight. Not only that but if you are trying to replace the SSD in your laptop or desktop, knowing if the SSD is SATA or NVMe can help you in the decision-making process. The good thing is, Windows 10 makes it easier to tell if the SSD you have is SATA or NVMe.

In this quick and short guide, let me share the different methods to find if the SSD is SATA or NVMe in Windows 10.

1. Find SSD is SATA or NVMe from Disk Management

The good old Disk Management tool tells you exactly if the SSD in your computer is of SATA or NVMe interface. All you have to do is open the disk properties and you will find it under the Hardware IDs section. Here is how to do it.

1. Right-click on the Start menu.
2. Select the “Disk management” option.
3. Right-click on the SSD disk.
4. Select the “Properties” option.
5. Go to the “Details” tab.
6. Select “Hardware Ids” from the dropdown menu.
7. If the SSD is NVMe, you will see “NVMe” under the Value section.
8. If the SSD is SATA, you will see “SATA” under the Value section.

First thing, right-click on the Start menu and select the “Disk Management” option. You can also open the Disk Management tool by searching for it in the Start menu. In the Disk Management tool, right-click on the SSD disk and select the “Properties” option.

In the properties window, go to the “Details” tab. Next, select the “Hardware Ids” option from the dropdown menu under the “Property” section. If the SSD is NVMe, you will see NVMe under the Value section. If it is SATA then you will see SATA.

2. Tell if SSD is SATA or NVMe from Settings

The Windows 10 Settings app now has a built-in disk management section. In fact, like with most tools, this will replace the old Disk Management tool. As such, you can tell if an SSD is SATA or NVMe from the Storage options in the Settings app. Here is how.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Click on “System.”
3. Go to the “Storage” page.
4. Click on the “Manage Disks and Volumes” link on the right page.
5. Click on the SSD disk.
6. Press the “Properties” button.
7. If the SSD is NVMe, you will see “NVMe” next to “Bus type.”
8. If the SSD is SATA, you will see “SATA” next to “Bus type.”

That is all. It is that simple to find if your SSD is of SATA or NVMe interface.

I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible.