Topic: Modern Storage Architecture — NVMe, PCIe, SATA, and Performance Engineering

Essential Question:

How do storage interfaces and protocols influence real-world system performance and application behavior?

🎯 Learning Intention

I will evaluate modern storage technologies and explain how interface and protocol differences affect speed, latency, thermals, and application performance.

✅ Success Criteria

• I can compare PCIe- and SATA-based storage in terms of throughput and latency.
• I can identify M.2 slot capabilities by examining keying and motherboard specs.
• I can explain why NVMe drives behave differently under heavy workload.
• I can relate storage bottlenecks to software, compiling, rendering, and development workflows.

📝 SENIOR FOCUS NOTES — Monday

1. Modern Storage Stack (Conceptual Model)

Storage performance depends on three independent variables:

Form Factor

Physical shape: 2.5", M.2, mSATA.

Has nothing to do with speed.

Interface

The electrical/data transport layer: