Is my motherboard m.2 nvme compatible?

Bone9 · 12 Nov 2018 at 20:28

Hi guys do you know if my mb is m.2 nvme compatible and will it let me boot from it as my os drive?

My mb is a gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI.

Thanks

Bone9 · 15 Nov 2018 at 23:15

Anyone?

Bone9 · 15 Nov 2018 at 23:16

I know is has a m.2 slot and is ssd compatible. Just need to know if I can get a faster nvme drive in there and boot from it.

Griff7520 · 15 Nov 2018 at 23:24

don't think so...but if you look at the gigabyte website here https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-Z97X-SLI-rev-10#support-doc it tells you what m.2 drives will go in.....don't think it supports nvme but it does support pcexpress

Distracted · 15 Nov 2018 at 23:27

Make sure the bios is up to date and the board seems to support nvme drives.

The m.2 slot is limited in bandwidth compared to newer versions so you wont get the full potential of the fastest drives out of it.

As for whether it is bootable, i give a tentative yes, but i cant find a definative answer right now.

https://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/65696-z97x-sli-doesnt-recognize-nvme-ssd.html

Bone9 · 15 Nov 2018 at 23:33

Excellent! Thanks guys

pandem0nium · 16 Nov 2018 at 09:14

You can get full speed from an nvme drive by installing it in a pcie adapter in one of the x16 lanes from the cpu.

90 series and later Intel mainstream boards should all have the modules in the bios to allow boot from an nvme drive.

Radox-0 · 16 Nov 2018 at 09:23

That M.2 slot on the board is limited up to 10 Gb/s. Most quick NVME drives will want PCIe GEN 3.0 x 4 for 32 Gb/s. You will limit the NVME speeds on that motherboard slot. As suggested if you do go NVMe route, get a add in PCIe card to link directly with the CPU.

EDIT: Ignore, can see bandwidth bit pointed out already

Bone9 · 16 Nov 2018 at 09:31

Cheers guys, I'm not interested in getting a PCIe card so is my best bet just getting a sata version of a m.2 drive?

pandem0nium · 16 Nov 2018 at 09:43

Bone9 said:
Cheers guys, I'm not interested in getting a PCIe card so is my best bet just getting a ssd version of a m.2 drive?

I think you mean a sata m.2 drive. No, an nvme drive will still be faster with the constrained bandwidth.

Bone9 · 16 Nov 2018 at 10:01

pandem0nium said:
I think you mean a sata m.2 drive. No, an nvme drive will still be faster with the constrained bandwidth.

Sorry my mistake (corrected) yes a sata drive. Ah ok I'll go for a nvme drive then! Once again thanks for your help guys

now to find a 500gb in a black Friday deal

Marc2180 · 16 Nov 2018 at 14:24

Bone9 said:
Sorry my mistake (corrected) yes a sata drive. Ah ok I'll go for a nvme drive then! Once again thanks for your help guys now to find a 500gb in a black Friday deal

*** Please read the rules regarding competitor hinting/linking ***
- Armageus

Bone9 · 16 Nov 2018 at 14:47

I do have the app thanks but I think I'll hold out for a samsung.

Bone9 · 20 Nov 2018 at 16:10

Picked up a nice 970 Samsung 500gb

£89

dlresponse · 20 Nov 2018 at 20:28

pandem0nium said:
I think you mean a sata m.2 drive. No, an nvme drive will still be faster with the constrained bandwidth.

Is it possible to buy a PCIE card that will allow you to install an M.3 Hard Drive?

pandem0nium · 20 Nov 2018 at 21:46

dlresponse said:
Is it possible to buy a PCIE card that will allow you to install an M.3 Hard Drive?

That's a new one on me! I didn't know about those.

Probably not.

Lustral · 22 Nov 2018 at 08:38

Yes your board will boot with the NVME in it as long as you got the latest BIOS installed.

I have a similar board Z97X-UD3H-BK , which i got just brought a 1TB Samsung 970 Evo on a deal and installed and booted without issue. If you are not running any other drives like me. I have switched off the ACHI/RAID options on my BIOS and it still runs about 800MB/s for read/writes.

Vs a SATA SSD , its slightly more snappier but i was more needing the capacity than the speed.

Bone9 · 22 Nov 2018 at 11:08

Lustral said:
Yes your board will boot with the NVME in it as long as you got the latest BIOS installed.

I have a similar board Z97X-UD3H-BK , which i got just brought a 1TB Samsung 970 Evo on a deal and installed and booted without issue. If you are not running any other drives like me. I have switched off the ACHI/RAID options on my BIOS and it still runs about 800MB/s for read/writes.

Vs a SATA SSD , its slightly more snappier but i was more needing the capacity than the speed.

Sweet that's good to know, already on the latest bios so ready to go