Does my motherboard has full support for NVMe m.2 as boot drive

[Agustin_6]

Hey guys,

I have this motherboard:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N0LMLMM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And I am planning on getting this drive:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LYFKX41/ref=s9u_simh_gw_i2?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pd_rd_i=B01LYFKX41&pd_rd_r=YJDB51JP61NY8JF9JJ80&pd_rd_w=9meDA&pd_rd_wg=bZIBV&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=SK10KRD7R0BHWTPCCA5Z&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=781f4767-b4d4-466b-8c26-2639359664eb&pf_rd_i=desktop

I have read a lot about this, but I cant find specific info about my mobo.

I want to set it as the boot drive. Does it fully support it? Do I need to make any tweak on the BIOS?

Thanks!

 

[feelinfroggy777]

Yes, it will work. One of the M.2 supports PCIe 3.0 x4 and Sata3, the other only supports PCIe 3.0 x4. What you are looking for is M.2 that supports PCIe 3.0 x4 to be compatible for an NVMe ssd.

 

[Agustin_6]

Yes, it will work. One of the M.2 supports PCIe 3.0 x4 and Sata3, the other only supports PCIe 3.0 x4. What you are looking for is M.2 that supports PCIe 3.0 x4 to be compatible for an NVMe ssd.

Where is the 2nd M.2? The only one I can see is the one on the middle of the board that says Ultra M.2.

That one is the one to use with the samsung 960 EVO?

 

[feelinfroggy777]

There is one just below the CPU socket on the center of the board, and there is another by the SATA connections on the bottom right side of the board (right of the PCIe). You would need to read the manual as to which m.2 to use. One of the sockets will take away some of your SATA connections, the other will not take away SATA connections. If I were to guess, the M.2 drive by the CPU socket is where you will put your Samsung evo.

 

[Agustin_6]

There is one just below the CPU socket on the center of the board, and there is another by the SATA connections on the bottom right side of the board (right of the PCIe). You would need to read the manual as to which m.2 to use. One of the sockets will take away some of your SATA connections, the other will not take away SATA connections. If I were to guess, the M.2 drive by the CPU socket is where you will put your Samsung evo.

Ok great, it does use the CPU lanes and not the GPU ones right?

 

[feelinfroggy777]

Well, the CPU actually provides the lanes to the GPU and the chipset will provide the lanes to the ssd. But, more importantly, it will not effected the lanes to your GPU.

 

[neiler0847]

I don't think it's necessarily true that a motherboard will boot from an M.2 drive, just because you can plug one in.

When I was shopping for my motherboard, I looked for a statement from the manufacturer in the specs.

In the specs for your proposed motherboard, there is a specific statement "*Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks".
( http://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/B250M%20Pro4/index.asp#Specification )

I have the AM4 version of that same motherboard... the AB350 Pro4. I boot and run Windows from the NVMe SSD drive. It's awesome. I am using the Plextor M8PeG 256 GB M.2 drive.

You also generally want to check the Qualified Vendor List (QVL) to ensure the motherboard manufacturer supports the drive you are interested in, although I'm pretty sure everybody supports the Samsung EVO. Again, no issue for the board you are considering
( http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/B250M%20Pro4/index.asp#Storage )

I say you're good to go 😀

 

[Agustin_6]

I don't think it's necessarily true that a motherboard will boot from an M.2 drive, just because you can plug one in.

When I was shopping for my motherboard, I looked for a statement from the manufacturer in the specs.

In the specs for your proposed motherboard, there is a specific statement "*Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks".
( http://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/B250M%20Pro4/index.asp#Specification )

I have the AM4 version of that same motherboard... the AB350 Pro4. I boot and run Windows from the NVMe SSD drive. It's awesome. I am using the Plextor M8PeG 256 GB M.2 drive.

You also generally want to check the Qualified Vendor List (QVL) to ensure the motherboard manufacturer supports the drive you are interested in, although I'm pretty sure everybody supports the Samsung EVO. Again, no issue for the board you are considering
( http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/B250M%20Pro4/index.asp#Storage )

I say you're good to go 😀

Hey, I already have the board so yeah.

Still, I cant fully understand this part on the spec sheet.

*If M2_1 is occupied by a SATA-type M.2 device, SATA3_0 will be disabled.

**If PCIE2 slot or PCI slot is occupied, the PCIe-type M.2 device on M2_1 socket will run at Gen3 x2 (16 Gb/s).
Supports Intel® Optane™ Technology (M2_2 only)
Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks**
Supports ASRock U.2 Kit

Whats the meaning of that?

 

[neiler0847]

One more thought... don't forget that the NVMe drive may cause one of your other PCIE slots to be disabled (because the lanes are shared). This may mean that you are not able to also run two graphics cards. It's important to consider the sum of your needs for the board.

 

[Agustin_6]

One more thought... don't forget that the NVMe drive may cause one of your other PCIE slots to be disabled (because the lanes are shared). This may mean that you are not able to also run two graphics cards. It's important to consider the sum of your needs for the board.

Which M.2 connector are you using? Do you recommend the that drive or the samsung?

 

[feelinfroggy777]

That board will not run multiple graphics cards. It is a B250. The total lanes for the CPU is 16x at 3.0. The chipset offers an additional 4x (if I remember correctly but it may be 8x with the 200 series). So you can only have one GPU and one NVMe SSD. If you want 2 NVMe SSD, you wont be able to run a GPU.

Furthermore, while the chipset does offer additional PCIe lanes, the CPU can only compute 16 regardless of how many lanes the chipset offers. The chips set alters the way the data is transferred allowing for additional lanes, which allows you to add more PCIe devices. However, the CPU can only compute 16, so some are slowed down while others are in use. But the difference could only be detected in benchmarks.

 

[madmatt30]

1. You use the ultra m2 socket directly under the CPU.

2. If the absolute bottom full length PCI express a lot has anything else plugged in it will share bandwidth , meaning the drives speed will be compromised .
If you're not using that bottom slot you have nothing to worry about.

 

[neiler0847]

*If M2_1 is occupied by a SATA-type M.2 device, SATA3_0 will be disabled.

**If PCIE2 slot or PCI slot is occupied, the PCIe-type M.2 device on M2_1 socket will run at Gen3 x2 (16 Gb/s).
Supports Intel® Optane™ Technology (M2_2 only)
Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks**
Supports ASRock U.2 Kit

Whats the meaning of that?

It's all about resource sharing in the motherboard.

The M2_1 slot can hold a SATA M.2 drive or a NVMe M.2 drive. If you install a SATA drive, the motherboard must allocate a SATA lane to be able to talk to the drive, so it disables SATA3_0 (you lose one of the SATA ports). But if you install a (faster) NVMe drive, then the motherboard allocates PCIE lanes instead of SATA. But that means PCIE lanes are taken away from somewhere else. An NVMe drive wants Gen3 x4 (4 lanes) to run at full speed.

That ** statement above implies that the motherboard will actually give the PCIE slot prioirty, and slow down your M.2 slot to accommodate. If you are using a discrete GPU in PCIE1, but don't have anything plugged into the other two full-length slots, you should still be fine.

 

[feelinfroggy777]

*If M2_1 is occupied by a SATA-type M.2 device, SATA3_0 will be disabled.

**If PCIE2 slot or PCI slot is occupied, the PCIe-type M.2 device on M2_1 socket will run at Gen3 x2 (16 Gb/s).
Supports Intel® Optane™ Technology (M2_2 only)
Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks**
Supports ASRock U.2 Kit

Whats the meaning of that?

Ok, your chipset will only allow for so many peripherals. Therefore, when you use M.2-1 (specific socket on your mobo) then SATA3_0 (specific socket on your mobo) will not work. So dont put a optical driver, ssd, or hard drive in the SATA3_0 slot or the PC will not recognize it.

Dont worry about optane. It only works with HDDs that are used as a boot disk. You will be using the evo to boot so that feature you will not use or need. The evo will perform much better than optane.

 

[Agustin_6]

Thanks everyone for the explanations, I like to fully understand how it works.

If I plug the NVMe on the socket under the CPU, it will "use" the PCIe lanes of the bottom PCI express port (which I am not using).

What I dont understand, if I dont have anything plugged into that M.2 slot, or the bottom PCIe, those lanes arent being used at all?

 

[madmatt30]

^ yep you've got it - exactly that