Question Issue with M.2 SSD speeds - help please!

[Tw33die]

Hi all

So, background - I got a new PC with 2 M.2 SSD's. Both are Firecuda 530's, a 1tb and a 2tb. The 1tb (C) is fine, runs at 7k/6k as expected. The second though, a 2tb (D), only runs at half these speeds, 3.5k/3k.

Both are, according to CrystalDiskInfo and the BIOS, in PCIe 4.0 slots. C is in slot 1 and D is in slot 4. My motherboard is an MSI Carbon wifi z690 and can support up to 5 M.2 lanes, 1-4 being 4.0 and 5 being 3.0.

So, I was expecting both to run at the same stated speeds of around 7k/6k. D is the drive for my games and currently the one running at half speeds.

I've updated both the BIOS on the motherboard and the firmware on both SSD's.

Is anyone able to give some thoughts? Happy to provide any images, specs etc. are needed - wasn't sure what to include so didn't wanna make this a huuuuge first post unnecessarily.

Thanks in advance!

 

[rgd1101]

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MPG-Z690-CARBON-WIFI/Specification
read the storage section under the detail tab

 

[Lutfij]

5x M.2 slots (Key M)

• M2_1 slot (From CPU)
  • Supports PCIe 4.0 x4
  • Supports 2260/ 2280/ 22110 storage devices
• M2_2 slot (From Z690 Chipset)
  • Supports PCIe 4.0 x4
  • Supports 2260/ 2280 storage devices
• M2_3 slot (From Z690 Chipset)
  • Supports PCIe 4.0 x4
  • Supports 2242/ 2260/ 2280/ 22110 storage devices
• M2_4 slot (From Z690 Chipset)
  • Supports PCIe 3.0 x4
  • Supports SATA 6Gb/s
  • Supports 2242/ 2260/ 2280 storage devices
• M2_5 slot (From Z690 Chipset)
  • Supports PCIe 4.0 x4
  • Supports SATA 6Gb/s
  • Supports 2260/ 2280 storage devices

^ taken off the URL my colleague above linked, you've got the slots wrong. Slot 5 is PCIe 4, not PCIe 3.

For the sake of relevance of this thread to the community, can you please state the BIOS version for your motherboard at the time of writing? Your OS(and subsequent OS version, not edition) would also help us two fold.

 

[Tw33die]

5x M.2 slots (Key M)

• M2_1 slot (From CPU)
  • Supports PCIe 4.0 x4
  • Supports 2260/ 2280/ 22110 storage devices
• M2_2 slot (From Z690 Chipset)
  • Supports PCIe 4.0 x4
  • Supports 2260/ 2280 storage devices
• M2_3 slot (From Z690 Chipset)
  • Supports PCIe 4.0 x4
  • Supports 2242/ 2260/ 2280/ 22110 storage devices
• M2_4 slot (From Z690 Chipset)
  • Supports PCIe 3.0 x4
  • Supports SATA 6Gb/s
  • Supports 2242/ 2260/ 2280 storage devices
• M2_5 slot (From Z690 Chipset)
  • Supports PCIe 4.0 x4
  • Supports SATA 6Gb/s
  • Supports 2260/ 2280 storage devices

^ taken off the URL my colleague above linked, you've got the slots wrong. Slot 5 is PCIe 4, not PCIe 3.

For the sake of relevance of this thread to the community, can you please state the BIOS version for your motherboard at the time of writing? Your OS(and subsequent OS version, not edition) would also help us two fold.

Hey, thank you! Damn, so they installed a very fast PCIe 4.0 SSD into the only 3.0 slot on the board.... great. I just checked and you are correct. I misread CrystalDiskInfo as it does say "PCIe 3.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4" under transfer mode (Current/Supported).

This isn't some cheap PC or a cowboy company either, it's SCAN's 3XS service and they are usually very good. I will contact them, cos I'm not happy having a fast drive in a slow slot.

How easy is it to replace it myself out of interest? I assume I will have to remove the graphics card, which isn't easy as it's huge (MSI RTX 3080ti Supreme) and there is around 0.3cm room between the end of the card and the radiator at the front of the case.


As requested - my BIOS version is 1.30 and I'm running Windows 11 PRO.

Thanks again, this is a great community. Always check here for help and reviews.

 

[Bob.B]

Hey, thank you! Damn, so they installed a very fast PCIe 4.0 SSD into the only 3.0 slot on the board.... great. I just checked and you are correct. I misread CrystalDiskInfo as it does say "PCIe 3.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4" under transfer mode (Current/Supported).

This isn't some cheap PC or a cowboy company either, it's SCAN's 3XS service and they are usually very good. I will contact them, cos I'm not happy having a fast drive in a slow slot.

How easy is it to replace it myself out of interest? I assume I will have to remove the graphics card, which isn't easy as it's huge (MSI RTX 3080ti Supreme) and there is around 0.3cm room between the end of the card and the radiator at the front of the case.


As requested - my BIOS version is 1.30 and I'm running Windows 11 PRO.

Thanks again, this is a great community. Always check here for help and reviews.

After you go through the hassle of swapping this around I would be surprised if you noticed a diff in perf.

 

[Karadjgne]

After you go through the hassle of swapping this around I would be surprised if you noticed a diff in perf.

That depends on the application used. For straight up gaming, the difference is maybe 1-2 seconds on a map load at best (worst), but when talking about large file transfers, content creation compiles, unpacking/packing entire games, media or other large folders, then pcie4.0 can make a serious dent in the amount of time taken vs pcie3.0 storage.

The same can be said about the differences between a Sata ssd and nvme drives.

 

[Bob.B]

That depends on the application used. For straight up gaming, the difference is maybe 1-2 seconds on a map load at best (worst), but when talking about large file transfers, content creation compiles, unpacking/packing entire games, media or other large folders, then pcie4.0 can make a serious dent in the amount of time taken vs pcie3.0 storage.

The same can be said about the differences between a Sata ssd and nvme drives.

True.
Most folks don't get into wheeling around large chunks of data.
So the diff between 3+4 becomes quite small.
If the op can get at this m.2 easily then move it.
The only diff the op may notice is it now reports pcie4.