SM951 256GB M.2 PCI-e 3.0 x 4 NVMe

_Jimlad_ · 23 Jul 2016 at 10:28

Hi all,

i picked up the SM951 256GB M.2 PCI-e 3.0 x 4 NVMe and have just built a pc up, flashed the latest mobo bios

i am getting these speeds which look correct ?

any drivers i should be using with this ssd ? or just the windows/mobo ones?

_Jimlad_ · 23 Jul 2016 at 10:45

Cool I have the z170 gaming 7, just built yesterday, so you just installed gig and windows drivers ?

What about ssd firmware?

_Jimlad_ · 25 Jul 2016 at 16:35

Don't tell me that !

_Jimlad_ · 25 Jul 2016 at 17:58

I am still on windows drivers. Not sure I will change over.

Also any firmware updates for this drive. (on my phone at the min)

_Jimlad_ · 29 Jul 2016 at 22:12

Just wish these came a little nicer looking. Instead of looking like a bit of laptop memory from the 90s

_Jimlad_ · 3 Aug 2016 at 10:06

djxput said:
Im a bit of a newb when it comes to m2 drives.

So how do they work? atm I have 2 regular ssd sata input.

I dont think my mb can use m2 drives. So do I need a mb that can use these? And do they work just the same as regular ssd drives easy to install and set up windows etc?

oh if a new mb is requred what would be the best skylakes compatible mb for one of these?

i am not an expert, but you need a slot on your mobo, its not really new new tech, so you may well have a slot, but to make use of the speeds you may well need a newish mobo. they slot or screw in like a stick of ram and are picked up in the bios and during a windows 10 install, with windows 7 you would prob need the driver on a usb stick to detect.

_Jimlad_ · 3 Aug 2016 at 22:02

i used the windows one, from what people say you cant change once you go windows?

_Jimlad_ · 3 Aug 2016 at 23:39

neviditelny said:
How does the SM951 work with Win 7? I'm really thinking about getting one as my OS drive. Is it just to plug it in, start up and install everything?

I'm going to use a MSI Z170A Gaming Pro mobo.

Windows 7 really ? Why ?

_Jimlad_ · 4 Aug 2016 at 07:35

It is still available

http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/microsoft-windows-10-free-upgrade-offer-assistive-features/

_Jimlad_ · 4 Aug 2016 at 11:45

mikeo said:
Not quite sure where you have read that! Because it's wrong. The only Samsung nvme driver available for the sm951, is the one for the 950 pro and that installs just fine for the sm951 (certainly works fine for me... See a previous earlier post in this thread by me). Just don't expect a life changing experience. These test programs life CDM etc. that folks love to run, only give you the bare numbers for performance and don't really give much of an idea of how the drives will work in a real world environment. You only need to look at any of the reputable test sites (eg. Tom's hardware etc.) To see how much effort they have to put in to "really" test an ssd.

Bottom line is... If you are already running a half decent sata based ssd... You are not going to have a wow moment upgrading to one of these. Only really buy if you have the money to spare and just fancy the best out there.

OK I misunderstood. I will try the Samsung one. Did you notice any speed up on boot times ?

_Jimlad_ · 4 Aug 2016 at 15:05

Useful comments mate. It's all new to me so happy to read up on your post.

_Jimlad_ · 5 Aug 2016 at 22:40

so whats the best way to install the samsung driver can you just run the exe or do i need to extract it ?

_Jimlad_ · 16 Aug 2016 at 19:50

Guys is there a set way I should install windows 10 on these drives. I am only getting a 22 second cold boot time on my rig which is all brand new and high end. Tried all the bios settings. And other thread are leading me to reinstall windows.

_Jimlad_ · 16 Aug 2016 at 21:52

mikeo said:
Full spec for your PC?

Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX Satin Black
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-GAMING 7
Intel I7 6700K Skylake @ 4.5
Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 3200MHz
GeForce GTX 1070 Founders Edition
Samsung SM951 256GB M.2 PCI-e NVMe SSD
Western Digital Caviar Black 3TB
Corsair RMi Series RM850i ATX Power Supply
Corsair Hydro Series H110i

Tried all the bios settings for fast boot. Tried unplugging all usb devices. So wondering if I installed windows incorrectly or because I had the mechanical drive attached it may have placed files on there.

Basically with fast boot on I get a 10 second black screen on power up. Then see the windows 10 logo. Which takes around 10 seconds to get into windows (total 20 + seconds )

So my isaue is that initial black screen 10 seconds.

With slow / normal boot on I get that 10 seconds of black screen. Then the bios screen then windows. Which takes 30 seconds.

In startup task manager windows states load time is between 7 and 9 seconds.

_Jimlad_ · 16 Aug 2016 at 22:44

mikeo said:
Emmm.... not usually a good idea to have any other drive connected when installing the OS (but I think you know that anyway).

I'm assuming you have installed in UEFI mode (IE. GPT etc.)?

If it was me... I'd try installing the OS again, with only the pcie drive in the system. Obviously no way to Secure Erase these drives. So just let windows install do a quick format.

Unless anyone else has any suggestions???

PS. Pain up the backside I know. But hey... if installing from a USB3 pen drive, it doesn't take that much time anyway.

Yeah that was an error that had bugged me when I did install as I mentioned before it can deploy files on the secondary drive however unlikey

Now the part I am not certain on is installing in uefi mode. And could be where I made a mistake

The drive is definitely in GPT as I have checked and also has the 4 partitions when installing which is common to GPT

But is there anything else I should be doing? as I just stuck a usb stick in that had an image of windows 10 and installed from that.

_Jimlad_ · 17 Aug 2016 at 17:36

mikeo said:
Jimlad... I'm almost out of suggestions. Sounds from what you have said, that you did things correctly.

Once booted. Does the system seem to run ok? Nothing major in windows event viewer etc. ?
Always worth running the windows system file checker, if only to eliminate one possible source of problem/s. Doubt if it will find anything ... But nothing to loose.

Have you tried disconnecting your mechanic hard drive and then trying to boot? That should soon highlight whether the windows install has stuck any critical files on the mech drive.

Have you had a look on the dedicated gigabyte forums to see if anyone else has had boot issues with this board!?

Yeah I will give a reinstall a try next week when back from holiday and make sure no other devices are present. It's no bother to do that.

Can just see what happens and if it makes any difference.

So no issues with how I installed before then ?

_Jimlad_ · 17 Aug 2016 at 18:15

Also back on topic what is the difference between this drive and the 950 evo ?

_Jimlad_ · 17 Aug 2016 at 19:33

Cheers foe the info my I did mean the pro not evo. Sorry force of habit from previous ssd's so the pro is identical speed wise. Certainly looks nicer on the eye.

When are 651 ones set to launch ?

_Jimlad_ · 17 Aug 2016 at 21:05

Cool well I might hang on for the retail / evo edition as I could do with another one in my system at some point.

I don't notice the speed in day to day use. But I do in arma which I play a LOT load times and map rendering have improved over a bulk standard ssd

First things first I wanna get my boot times correct. Just because I am weird like that! And get my memory running at the correct speeds.

_Jimlad_ · 26 Aug 2016 at 23:41

Nice !