P9x79 Deluxe NVMe Support??

[Alpaxj1]

Hi,
I have been googling for an answer to whether the x79 series, more specifically the p9x79 deluxe can support the sm951 nvme pcie drive?

Looking to get one as it seems to be the fastest consumer drive on the market so far at cheap prices. But i dont know whether my motherboard supports nvme as a bootable drive.

Anyone with experience on this, is much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[ChumP]

ASUS states that this motherboard hasn't support for M.2 drives such as SM951 NVMe.
Back in 2012 , when this motherboard was released, the M.2 drives were not revealed.
In conclusion, you won't be able to hook up a M.2 drive such as SM951 NVMe on your P9X79 Deluxe motherboard.

 

[Alpaxj1]

Hi sry, i should have mentioned, i would be using the lycom dt-120 m.2 to pcie adapter with the sm951 256gb nvme drive to fit the motherboard. Not sure if it would be recognized though and be bootable?

 

[ChumP]

Yes it should work just fine.
That M.2 is compatible with any M.2 drive.
It should work without issues in your PC.

 

[mbp183]

Hi sry, i should have mentioned, i would be using the lycom dt-120 m.2 to pcie adapter with the sm951 256gb nvme drive to fit the motherboard. Not sure if it would be recognized though and be bootable?

Hi Alpaxj1,

Did it work to boot normally to the sm951? I have been doing some reading, and I'm sure a nvme drive will work (via adapter) as secondary storage, but not yet found definite answer to if you can use it as a boot drive on the P9x79.

Thanks.

 

[Alpaxj1]

Hi sry, i should have mentioned, i would be using the lycom dt-120 m.2 to pcie adapter with the sm951 256gb nvme drive to fit the motherboard. Not sure if it would be recognized though and be bootable?

Hi Alpaxj1,

Did it work to boot normally to the sm951? I have been doing some reading, and I'm sure a nvme drive will work (via adapter) as secondary storage, but not yet found definite answer to if you can use it as a boot drive on the P9x79.

Thanks.

Hi, Sorry for delay.
No, currently on the Asus p9x79 deluxe, the SM951 Nvme is not bootable, i have tried using different OS such as Windows 10 and tried using different BIOS to no avail.

However, i can use it as a secondary storage using the Native Windows 10 Driver, Windows 7 also supports it but requires the Windows 7 Nvme Native Patch (google it). It isnt yet bootable but i have managed to use it as the secondary storage by using the M.2 to PCI-E Adapter from scan:

Lycom DT-120 M.2 PCI-e SSD to PCI-e Adapter Card
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/lycom-dt-120-m2-ngff-ssd-pcie-30-x4-(80mm-60mm-42mm)-to-pcie-x4-host-adapter-board-pc-mac-linux

If any one knows if there is a way for it to be bootable, your knowledge would be much appreciated.
Hope this helps mbp183

 

[mix2ra]

Is your SM951 an AHCI or NVMe drive?
I've bought HP Z Turbo Drive G2 which I suppose has MS951 NVMe onboard but it does not work on my ASUS P9X79 MOBO. I tried to install various BIOS modules but my system simply does not see it.

 

[Alpaxj1]

Is your SM951 an AHCI or NVMe drive?
I've bought HP Z Turbo Drive G2 which I suppose has MS951 NVMe onboard but it does not work on my ASUS P9X79 MOBO. I tried to install various BIOS modules but my system simply does not see it.

Hi, yes mine was the nvme version. The sm951 is not supported by samsung, it is an oem product and they will not provide any driver support. I have contacted them about it. However the 950 pro is supposed to replace the sm951.

You can get a m.2 adapter if u dont have the m.2 connector on ur motherboard. You can install it as a secondary drive but not as the boot drive. The bios provided by asus cant recognize the sm951 as a boot device, so until they provide support to recognize nvme devices in the bios then there is not much you can do.

Windows 7 has a patch for nvme drivers that you can install and it will recognize the sm951 as a secondary drive. However i have read multiple forums and it seems the windows native nvme driver is pretty bad i.e can actually affect performance and cause corruption issues. You would need to disable caching ad perform other steps as well.

On the other hand windows 10 has a better driver that comes with the os and is more than likely to identify nvme drives. I am using a different skylake mobo manufacturer now for a laptop with windows 10 and the nvme drive as a boot drive. Windows 10 has trim inbuilt for ssd's (optimisation tool like defrag) but it is preffered if you use the manufacturers drivers if any..

So in all, until asus provides a bios that identifies nvme drivers then i dont think there is much you can do. Others have suggested to play with the csm module and secure boot setting in bios to see if it recognises it but i have tried and cant get it to work.

Let me know if u have any luck.
Hope this helps!

 

[CarloR]

I have the same motherboard as you, and also both the Intel 750 Pcie Nvme 400 Gb and the Samsung 950 Pro nvme 512 Gb installed with a m.2-pcie card similar to your lycom.

That particular motherboard does not natively support the m.2 drives, and obviously Asus couldn't tell you differently, but their functioning is possible nonetheless.

My bios did not recognise the drives at first, so I upgraded to the latest bios (4801) and flashed it by adding the modules which I extracted from the X99 Deluxe. However, I have read of some users having skipped this last phase, as the mere bios update could get the drives recognised (even if not as m.2 obviously, but as PATA, SS etc). I have no problems in installing Windows 8 or 10, but found some issues in installing Windows 7. Dozens of users I know (having mobos from the 6-series up to the X79 and Z97) resorted to this procedure and have their drives functioning at full speed.

As for what concerns the X79 platform, there was a news of some time ago where Asus opened a poll by asking if users were interested in a support for the NVMe, the response was impressive, but the thing dwindled without further news and, from a business standpoint, I don't see the upgrade coming any soon.

 

[wise-alec]

I have an ASUS P9X79-DELUXE board (bought it new November 2013).
Made a BIOS-update (to Version 4805).
Made a new bootable USB-stick (Win7 merged with driver for Samsung NVMe and USB3).
Installed an ASUS Hyper M.2 X4 PCI-E Mini Adapter Card (into 2. slot from bottom - called Slot No. 4 Slot description PCIe 3.0 x1_3 slot = according to User Guide).
Slipped in a Samsung SSD 950 Pro Series NVMe M.2 2280 256GB (into the adapter).
Booted from USB-stick.
Win7 installed fine.
Booted from SSD 950 into Win7 perfectly.
Added NVMe driver (check Control Panel/Device Manager - there should then be a new section called "Storage controllers" in which "Samsung NVMe Controller" is listed).
Checked speed with "Samsung Magician" (newest version needed!).

BOOTS and WORKS fine and fast.

 

[ccris79]

I have an ASUS P9X79-DELUXE board (bought it new November 2013).
Made a BIOS-update (to Version 4805).
Made a new bootable USB-stick (Win7 merged with driver for Samsung NVMe and USB3).
Installed an ASUS Hyper M.2 X4 PCI-E Mini Adapter Card (into 2. slot from bottom - called Slot No. 4 Slot description PCIe 3.0 x1_3 slot = according to User Guide).
Slipped in a Samsung SSD 950 Pro Series NVMe M.2 2280 256GB (into the adapter).
Booted from USB-stick.
Win7 installed fine.
Booted from SSD 950 into Win7 perfectly.
Added NVMe driver (check Control Panel/Device Manager - there should then be a new section called "Storage controllers" in which "Samsung NVMe Controller" is listed).
Checked speed with "Samsung Magician" (newest version needed!).

BOOTS and WORKS fine and fast.

I have the same board you mentioned (P9X79-Deluxe + I7 3930K + 4x8GB RAM, attention, not X79-Deluxe, which is a different model). When trying to upgrade the BIOS to 4805 which was published for X79-Deluxe board I get blocked. I managed to upgrade from 4701 to 4801, which is the latest version published on Asus site for P9X79-Deluxe, but it seems that it does not bring nvme support. How did you manage to upgrade to 4805 on the P9X79-Deluxe? I see today the latest BIOS for P9X79 as 4801 and the latest BIOS for X79-Deluxe as 4805.

 

[wise-alec]

I have an ASUS P9X79-DELUXE board (bought it new November 2013).
Made a BIOS-update (to Version 4805).
Made a new bootable USB-stick (Win7 merged with driver for Samsung NVMe and USB3).
Installed an ASUS Hyper M.2 X4 PCI-E Mini Adapter Card (into 2. slot from bottom - called Slot No. 4 Slot description PCIe 3.0 x1_3 slot = according to User Guide).
Slipped in a Samsung SSD 950 Pro Series NVMe M.2 2280 256GB (into the adapter).
Booted from USB-stick.
Win7 installed fine.
Booted from SSD 950 into Win7 perfectly.
Added NVMe driver (check Control Panel/Device Manager - there should then be a new section called "Storage controllers" in which "Samsung NVMe Controller" is listed).
Checked speed with "Samsung Magician" (newest version needed!).

BOOTS and WORKS fine and fast.

I have the same board you mentioned (P9X79-Deluxe + I7 3930K + 4x8GB RAM, attention, not X79-Deluxe, which is a different model). When trying to upgrade the BIOS to 4805 which was published for X79-Deluxe board I get blocked. I managed to upgrade from 4701 to 4801, which is the latest version published on Asus site for P9X79-Deluxe, but it seems that it does not bring nvme support. How did you manage to upgrade to 4805 on the P9X79-Deluxe? I see today the latest BIOS for P9X79 as 4801 and the latest BIOS for X79-Deluxe as 4805.

... I'm terribly sorry about misleading you ...
I never realized that there is a difference between P9X79 and X79 !
You pointed it out - but I didn't think about it.
I have a X79-Deluxe (had to dig out my old users guide).
I wonder why ASUS is making a difference?
SORRY again.

 

[ccris79]

I have an ASUS P9X79-DELUXE board (bought it new November 2013).
Made a BIOS-update (to Version 4805).
Made a new bootable USB-stick (Win7 merged with driver for Samsung NVMe and USB3).
Installed an ASUS Hyper M.2 X4 PCI-E Mini Adapter Card (into 2. slot from bottom - called Slot No. 4 Slot description PCIe 3.0 x1_3 slot = according to User Guide).
Slipped in a Samsung SSD 950 Pro Series NVMe M.2 2280 256GB (into the adapter).
Booted from USB-stick.
Win7 installed fine.
Booted from SSD 950 into Win7 perfectly.
Added NVMe driver (check Control Panel/Device Manager - there should then be a new section called "Storage controllers" in which "Samsung NVMe Controller" is listed).
Checked speed with "Samsung Magician" (newest version needed!).

BOOTS and WORKS fine and fast.

I have the same board you mentioned (P9X79-Deluxe + I7 3930K + 4x8GB RAM, attention, not X79-Deluxe, which is a different model). When trying to upgrade the BIOS to 4805 which was published for X79-Deluxe board I get blocked. I managed to upgrade from 4701 to 4801, which is the latest version published on Asus site for P9X79-Deluxe, but it seems that it does not bring nvme support. How did you manage to upgrade to 4805 on the P9X79-Deluxe? I see today the latest BIOS for P9X79 as 4801 and the latest BIOS for X79-Deluxe as 4805.

... I'm terribly sorry about misleading you ...
I never realized that there is a difference between P9X79 and X79 !
You pointed it out - but I didn't think about it.
I have a X79-Deluxe (had to dig out my old users guide).
I wonder why ASUS is making a difference?
SORRY again.

No worries, thanks for clarifying...I'm back to looking for workarounds

 

[mrmindlink]

I have an ASUS P9X79-DELUXE board (bought it new November 2013).
Made a BIOS-update (to Version 4805).
Made a new bootable USB-stick (Win7 merged with driver for Samsung NVMe and USB3).
Installed an ASUS Hyper M.2 X4 PCI-E Mini Adapter Card (into 2. slot from bottom - called Slot No. 4 Slot description PCIe 3.0 x1_3 slot = according to User Guide).
Slipped in a Samsung SSD 950 Pro Series NVMe M.2 2280 256GB (into the adapter).
Booted from USB-stick.
Win7 installed fine.
Booted from SSD 950 into Win7 perfectly.
Added NVMe driver (check Control Panel/Device Manager - there should then be a new section called "Storage controllers" in which "Samsung NVMe Controller" is listed).
Checked speed with "Samsung Magician" (newest version needed!).

BOOTS and WORKS fine and fast.

I have the same board you mentioned (P9X79-Deluxe + I7 3930K + 4x8GB RAM, attention, not X79-Deluxe, which is a different model). When trying to upgrade the BIOS to 4805 which was published for X79-Deluxe board I get blocked. I managed to upgrade from 4701 to 4801, which is the latest version published on Asus site for P9X79-Deluxe, but it seems that it does not bring nvme support. How did you manage to upgrade to 4805 on the P9X79-Deluxe? I see today the latest BIOS for P9X79 as 4801 and the latest BIOS for X79-Deluxe as 4805.

... I'm terribly sorry about misleading you ...
I never realized that there is a difference between P9X79 and X79 !
You pointed it out - but I didn't think about it.
I have a X79-Deluxe (had to dig out my old users guide).
I wonder why ASUS is making a difference?
SORRY again.

No worries, thanks for clarifying...I'm back to looking for workarounds

ccris79,

I was able to get this to work, check out this post: (Note: the folder link below has BIOS Updates for many ASUS MBs)

BIOS Update for P9X79 Deluxe - Link is in the first post (Direct links below)
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?48001-R4E-BIOS-4804-MODDED-EFI-Intel-13-1-0-2126-Download

...direct link to the list of folders - Select the "NVME TESTING" folder then the P9X79 Deluxe folder:
http://1drv.ms/1AwAvXz

...Direct Link to BIOS: (Must use ASUS Flashback to update the BIOS)
https://onedrive.live.com/?id=8958E7AE29E4BA6C%2122401&cid=8958E7AE29E4BA6C

**MUST BE FLASHED USING BIOS FLASHBACK METHOD**
http://event.asus.com/2012/mb/usb_bios_flashback_guide/

This link is the start of where I asked for the BIOS version and the subsequent fun I had getting it to work... scroll down.
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?48001-R4E-BIOS-4804-MODDED-EFI-Intel-13-1-0-2126-Download/page35

A Huge THANK YOU to BOLTS4BREKFAST

 

[ccris79]

I have an ASUS P9X79-DELUXE board (bought it new November 2013).
Made a BIOS-update (to Version 4805).
Made a new bootable USB-stick (Win7 merged with driver for Samsung NVMe and USB3).
Installed an ASUS Hyper M.2 X4 PCI-E Mini Adapter Card (into 2. slot from bottom - called Slot No. 4 Slot description PCIe 3.0 x1_3 slot = according to User Guide).
Slipped in a Samsung SSD 950 Pro Series NVMe M.2 2280 256GB (into the adapter).
Booted from USB-stick.
Win7 installed fine.
Booted from SSD 950 into Win7 perfectly.
Added NVMe driver (check Control Panel/Device Manager - there should then be a new section called "Storage controllers" in which "Samsung NVMe Controller" is listed).
Checked speed with "Samsung Magician" (newest version needed!).

BOOTS and WORKS fine and fast.

I have the same board you mentioned (P9X79-Deluxe + I7 3930K + 4x8GB RAM, attention, not X79-Deluxe, which is a different model). When trying to upgrade the BIOS to 4805 which was published for X79-Deluxe board I get blocked. I managed to upgrade from 4701 to 4801, which is the latest version published on Asus site for P9X79-Deluxe, but it seems that it does not bring nvme support. How did you manage to upgrade to 4805 on the P9X79-Deluxe? I see today the latest BIOS for P9X79 as 4801 and the latest BIOS for X79-Deluxe as 4805.

... I'm terribly sorry about misleading you ...
I never realized that there is a difference between P9X79 and X79 !
You pointed it out - but I didn't think about it.
I have a X79-Deluxe (had to dig out my old users guide).
I wonder why ASUS is making a difference?
SORRY again.

No worries, thanks for clarifying...I'm back to looking for workarounds

ccris79,

I was able to get this to work, check out this post: (Note: the folder link below has BIOS Updates for many ASUS MBs)

BIOS Update for P9X79 Deluxe - Link is in the first post (Direct links below)
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?48001-R4E-BIOS-4804-MODDED-EFI-Intel-13-1-0-2126-Download

...direct link to the list of folders - Select the "NVME TESTING" folder then the P9X79 Deluxe folder:
http://1drv.ms/1AwAvXz

...Direct Link to BIOS: (Must use ASUS Flashback to update the BIOS)
https://onedrive.live.com/?id=8958E7AE29E4BA6C%2122401&cid=8958E7AE29E4BA6C

**MUST BE FLASHED USING BIOS FLASHBACK METHOD**
http://event.asus.com/2012/mb/usb_bios_flashback_guide/

This link is the start of where I asked for the BIOS version and the subsequent fun I had getting it to work... scroll down.
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?48001-R4E-BIOS-4804-MODDED-EFI-Intel-13-1-0-2126-Download/page35

A Huge THANK YOU to BOLTS4BREKFAST

Thanks a lot mrmindlink, i almost gave up trying to make this work. Already I tired 4 modded BIOS versions (I added myself nvme modules from X99 MB and other versions also to BIOS 4801 as per the instructions given in the win-rad post http://www.win-raid.com/t871f16-Guide-How-to-get-full-NVMe-support-for-Intel-Chipset-systems-from-Series-up.html#msg14810 ) but no luck. I suspected the 950Pro to be faulty, but i managed to test it last week together with the PCIe adaptor...they both work... for sure I'll check the version posted by BOLTS4BREKFAST. I'll report back the results.