GA-X99-SLI with SM951 NVMe anyone?

[Yeoer]

Hi,

First question so go easy on me...   

I'm using an X99-SLI with a i7 5820K running with a couple SSD's for OS and Scratch drives and STD HD for storage,  I've been seeing a lot of hype about the SM951 NVMe drives and was wondering with anyone else has the SLI board and running one.

So my questions are;

1: will X99-SLI 'see' the SM951 NVMe if plugged in to the M.2 socket or should i go with the ACHI version if i want to use the socket?
2: will it work better if i use a 4 lane PCIe adapter as i see there is some confusion as to what speed you can get from the onboard port.
3: and finally if i need an adapter to get the best performance from the SM951 which would then be best NVMe or ACHI?   also will it boot from it?


Many thanks in advance.

[Tiger]

The GA-X99-SLI  doesn't appear on the NVMe Compatible GIGABYTE X99 list. I don't see any BIOS update for NVMe.
2015/04/03
http://www.gigabyte.com/press-center/news-page.aspx?nid=1358

You may be better off with the AHCI model.

The M.2 Socket is PCIe x2 while a compatible adapter card would be PCIe x 4.

Apr 17, 2015
Asus announces free UEFI BIOS update enable all ASUS X99 and Z97 motherboards to be compatible with the latest NVMe storage devices.
Seems Gigabyte may not be following Asus on this.

There are numerous guides for installing the SM951. The main thing is you need to have a Windows UEFI install as the drive has firmware that uses UEFI.  So you MUST UEFI boot the OS installation media.

[dmdilks]

Here is a review on that board but the guy used a SSD for the test. I do have that board for sale too from the review.

http://www.overclockers.com/gigabyte-x99-sli-motherboard-review/

[Yeoer]

Thanks for the replies and additional resources. 

There might be hope yet... 

Looking at that article i see it was written prior to the release of of the x99-sli,  I also see the NVMe patch to the bios's on all the boards was also applied/issued before the release. 

The X99-UD4P and X99-UD3P which are both on the list use the same F1 bios as the SLI so i'm hoping it might just be the timing of the article.

I have written to Gigabyte support asking the question. 

Fingers crossed.   

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks

[Yeoer]

I got a reply.

Gigabyte support: "Hello, Yes, all X99 motherboards can apply BIOS to support NVME device."

It looks as though it was as i thought, the fact the SLI on the NVMe compatibility list was due to it not being released at the time of publication.

[Yeoer]

I can confirm the GA-X99-SLI does work perfectly with the SM951 NVMe drive, the M.2 port is only a PCIe 2.0 x2 so i've installed it into a PCIe X4 adapter card.  It is VERY fast!

Windows 7 does not support NVMe without a hotfix applied which on the surface isn't a problem just install it!  however...  if you want  o create a bootable NVMe drive using Windows 7 this is where the problems arise! 

It's nothing to do with the BIOS as that see's the drive fine (drive listed in the NVMe section) the issue arises when you try and install windows 7 and it asks for a driver for the drive... to which it seems there isn't one!!!!  you can't just use the hotfix or any part of it,  there are gutty workarounds i seen but i have just opted to download the Windows 10 ISO and i'll upgrade at the same time. 


Attached are the CrystalDiskMarks for both the SM951 NVMe and my 840EVO running in Windows 7.   

[Wizard!]

I can confirm the GA-X99-SLI does work perfectly with the SM951 NVMe drive, the M.2 port is only a PCIe 2.0 x2 so i've installed it into a PCIe X4 adapter card.

Is this true? A 200£ mobo that does not support M.2 x4 ?
I am about to get a X-99 mobo, I am happy with GB since I had a X-58, however I cannot find a single mobo at the 200£ range to support M.2 x4.

[dmdilks]

My Ga-X99-UD4 supports the NVME drives with a bios update.