GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 Samsung 950 PRO PCIe NVMe M.2 slow read / write speed

[Ben00it]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your feedback it helped me a lot. 

Like Goose997, I'm about to buy SSD nvme 960 EVO.
My current dear mom is : Z97X-Gaming 3 (BIOS Rev F7).

Remind :
I know, there is limited speed because of the M.2 slot can only provide 2 Lanes at PCIe 2.0 speed (2*5 GT/s = Up to 10GB/s transfer speed)
If I use a PCIe adapter card my M.2 NVME SSD can use x4 PCIe 2.0 Lanes of the chipset with (4*5 GT/s = Up to 20Gb/s transfer speed).

Do you know the difference speed between embedded port M.2 and PCI express card ? - for answering to 'pauleden' above :

Could we use a PCIE-4 adapter to get nvme to work at better speed than the embedded m.2 port on this motherboard?

Depending on the difference I'm ready to buy a PCIE card 3.0 x4 lanes. What do you think ?

Of course I will let you know the results.

Q1 : Which PCIe card brand do you advise me ?
Q2 : Which port should I plug this card ? PCIEX4 (I know all other PCIE x1 will be disable, but don't care )

Regards.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,
I doubt you will get x4 speeds, even if you install with adapter in x4 slot.  It been a while, but I seem to recall others trying this unsuccessfully.  Not only did they not get full speeds, but they also couldn't boot from the m.2.  MVMe is not "officially" supported in the BIOS. 

I did see a thread with a guy offering a modded BIOS with support, but I use my Z97 as a daily driver so wouldn't risk using a modded BIOS myself.

If you do embark on this endeavor, please post your results.  There are some here who are always curious about these things. 

[Ben00it]

Hi everyone,

So topic solved. After reading several documentation and review, please find below all my tests 
Shadowsports, of course the SSD samsung EVO 960 can't get the full speed on this mobo (PCIE gen 2.0 x4 lanes) ; but it's largely enough for my need actually.

Config Test :
Mom : GA-Z97x Gaming 3 - rev 1.0 - Bios rev F7
CPU : Intel Core I5 4570 @3.20GHz
Memory : 2x4Go Kingston DDR3 1600MHz
GPU: GTX 1060 STRIX-OC - Still in PCIE v3.0 16x lanes for Test 1 & 2 (GPU-z Check)

Test 1:
- SSD EVO 960 plugged on the embedded M.2 Port mobo.
- Remind M.2 : PCIE gen 2.0 x2 lanes.




Test 2:
- SSD EVO 960 pluggeg on the PCIEX4 (the last one c.f Gigabyte doc)
- Card : ASUS HYPER M.2 X4 MINI CARD -> Cute cos mini , gen 3.0 (we never know) and compatible with Z97 chipset (which I guess is bull*hit)
- Remind PCIEX4 on this mobo is : PCIE gen 2.0 x4 lanes.



How to boot in it and install win10 on PCIEX card :
- SATA Mode Selection : AHCI
- PCIE Slot Configuration (PCH) : Forced x4
- CSM Support : Always
- Windows 8 Features : Win8
- Natively recognize by windows 10 during the installation (of course later install Samsung NVMe Controller Driver)

Here you are, I hope this test will help you to find the config which suit you the best
But for 20$ Asus card and natively support by the F7 bios / Win10 .... com'on guys

I guess I could as well plugged the card on PCIEX8 (Gigabyte doc), but I'll downgrade my GTX 1060 x16 to x8.
Can I plug it here anyway, it will work ?

Regards.

Reference :
https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboard-Accessory/HYPER_M2_X4_MINI_CARD/
https://regmedia.co.uk/2014/05/21/intel_9_series_chipset_z97_overview.jpg
http://download.gigabyte.eu/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-z97x-gaming7_e.pdf
http://download.intel.com/support/ssdc/hpssd/sb/nvme_boot_guide_332098001us.pdf (be careful it was for win7/8)

[shadowsports]

Nice.! Seems later BUOS adds some compatibility.  Nice of you to post your results for others who want to invest in this hardware with their current platform.