ADATA XPG Gammix S11 Pro 2TB DOA Or Am I missing something?

Calin Banc · 9 May 2022 at 19:37

Hi guys,

I've bought a SSD ADATA XPG Gammix S11 Pro 2TB PCI Express 3.0 x4 M.2 2280, but my motherboard (AsRock X470 Master SLI), doesn't see it. With the driver installed it takes a very long time to get into Windows or BIOS, but nothing else.
On the storage support list of the motherboard the 2TB model doesn't appear, only smaller ones. However, other models up to 4TB are listed.

As far as I know, there shouldn't be an incompatibility between storage drive and motherboard since both are using the same standard, correct? Is there something that I'm missing or should I just take it back?
In the other m2 sata3 slot there's another storage device (Western Digital 1TB) that works without any issues - just plug n' play.

Should I return it, will it be ok to get any drive using the M.2 form factor?

Calin Banc · 10 May 2022 at 06:55

@Tetras

Yes, reseated twice, same thing. Doesn't appear in disk manager or BIOS. It takes a very long time to enter BIOS or windows with it installed.

2nd is SATA III only and I've got a SATA drive in it. Worked from the start without issues.

All the other normal SATA ports are occupied, including the M.2 one, all work and are recognized just fine.

Calin Banc · 10 May 2022 at 11:49

mickyflinn said:
Take your boot drive out and put it in the first m2 slot see if its detected , other option is to update the bios on your motherboard.

Can you test the adata in another pc ?

Boot drive is a regular SSD on a regular SATA interface, is not M.2.

BIOS is the latest version for 2600x, newer ones are not recommended unless the processor is newer.

Maybe I could take out the M.2 SATA drive from the 2nd slot and try it in the 1st M.2 drive and see if it works. Should be compatible, right?

Calin Banc · 10 May 2022 at 16:44

mickyflinn said:
Should go in the first m2 slot as its faster , will be compatable try it and let's is know.

Tried with the M.2 SATA III drive in the first M.2 PCI-E slot and it works with no issues.
Tried just with the ADATA one in the 2nd M.2 slot (the SATA III one), same problem persists - long loading time into windows and the drive is not seen by the OS - disk manager.

So I guess the SSD is DOA since the other one works without problems in both slots (I don't have another computer to test for possible incompatibility with the motherboard). With hindsight, I should have expected as much since it was the only drive left for sale and was already open by another customer - so cheaper.

Any recommendations for a M.2 PCI-E 2TB for about 250 +/- euros? I was looking into a GIGABYTE AORUS 2TB PCI Express 4.0 x4 M.2 2280 as it will do nice for a future upgrade as well. Does the random IOP max speeds for random 4k keeps its value when used on PCI-E 3 M.2 port? Or is it affected just as much as the top speed when running on lower bandwidth?

Calin Banc · 10 May 2022 at 16:47

demonix said:
Except it isn't going to speed up an M.2 SATA SSD.

It doesn't, indeed. However, if it works at its standard rated speed for SATA III is still good - if you want to put a slower drive in that slot.

Calin Banc · 10 May 2022 at 16:59

Tetras said:
Ew, it was open box?

Yup, is the kind of offer for a product that has been returned by a customer, stated as being with open box, minor signs of usage, stuff like that which I don't mind for something I don't really see - was cheaper too, just around 150 euros when normal price is around 200.

Calin Banc · 10 May 2022 at 17:27

Tetras said:
I see. My impression is that some (most?) stores just put them back on the shelf without bothering to test them and in the flea market, "opened, but never used" is being widely abused. Most likely it was returned for the same reason you've found

It sure feels that way...

In end just ordered this one - KINGSTON NV1, 2TB, PCI Express x4, M.2, SNVS/2000G. Seems decent for the price (around 158 euros 2TB), and probably will get a better one within the next years when I'll upgrade the PC as a whole and when pci e 5 is cheaper and available.

Calin Banc · 10 May 2022 at 18:18

Tetras said:
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that drive is very likely QLC in that capacity, which is reflected by the poor write endurance and mediocre read/write figures.

True, is significantly slower (2TB – 2100/1700MB/s), which is why I've went initially with this ADATA unit, also just around 480TBW. But for games isn't much of an issue as loading times are pretty much the same for fast or slow SSDs and with a 3 year warranty will cover any issues.

Calin Banc · 16 May 2022 at 16:36

Tetras said:
My understanding is that the lower capacities of cheap QLC drives (250/500) are usually TLC (this applies to the WD Green, for example), but idk, happy to be proved wrong.

This is what anandtech said about the NV1 on release:

EsaT said:
Most likely those are what they can get at the moment for cheap enough.

For what's worth, this is a quick test for it - right now is about half full (989GB free out of 1.81TB). NVME M2. vs M.2 SATAIII

NVME M.2

SATA3 M.2