[SOLVED] Samsung EVO 970 plus compatiblity with Asus H97-PRO

[radwan3]

Hi all !!

I came across nice deals for SSD and NVME and I really want to add more speed to my old setup. So, I found SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2 2280 500GB PCIe Gen 3.0 x4. now my old system (built in 2014) has the system details as copied from Speccy and mentioned in the bottom of this topic.

I was reviewing my motherboard (Asus H97-PRO) specs as mentioned in the : https://www.asus.com/in/Motherboards/H97PRO/specifications/

the storage section mentions :

Intel® H97 chipset : Supports Intel® Smart Response Technology, Intel® Rapid Start Technology, Intel® Smart Connect Technology *3 , 1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M Key, type 2260/2280 storage devices support (both SATA & PCIE mode)*2 1 x SATA Express port, , Compatible with 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports

now this M2 socket seems to be compatible with SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2 2280 500GB PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3 V-NAND 3-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-V7S500B/AM

but Im not sure, I saw modern motherboards has special bank to install the NVME but my motherboard doesnt have one ... kinda made me suspecious about it ...

can you guys help me with it ?

system specs:

Operating System

Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

CPU

Intel Core i7 4790 @ 3.60GHz 41 °C
Haswell 22nm Technology

RAM

24.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 799MHz (10-10-10-27)

Motherboard

ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. H97-PRO (SOCKET 1150) 118 °C

Graphics

LG IPS FULLHD:€q8-@X,E (1920x1080@75Hz)
4095MB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER (MSI) 34 °C

Storage

931GB Seagate ST91000640NS (SATA ) 37 °C
931GB Seagate ST1000DM003-1ER162 (SATA ) 38 °C
931GB Intel Raid 0 Volume (RAID )

Optical Drives

No optical disk drives detected

Audio

Realtek High Definition Audio

 

[SkyNetRising]

now this M2 socket seems to be compatible with SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2 2280 500GB PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3 V-NAND 3-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-V7S500B/AM

Yes. It's compatible. But it will run at PCIE 2.0 mode.
That means - only at half of available bandwidth.

Additionally - your board may need BIOS update, before NVME drive can be used properly on it.

 

[radwan3]

Yes. It's compatible. But it will run at PCIE 2.0 mode.
That means - only at half of available bandwidth.

Additionally - your board may need BIOS update, before NVME drive can be used properly on it.

Thanks mate !!!

I really didnt get that part of running at half bandwidth ... is there other Modes in modern motherboards other than SATA and PCIE that can take advantage of full speed of SSD ?

I read in the manual this part :

M.2 Socket 3 shares bandwidth with SATA Express. This socket supports M Key and both SATA and PCIE mode type 2242/2260/2280 storage devices (Type 2242 storage device is supported on Rev.2.01 or later versions of this motherboard).

 

[USAFRet]

Thanks mate !!!

I really didnt get that part of running at half bandwidth ... is there other Modes in modern motherboards other than SATA and PCIE that can take advantage of full speed of SSD ?

I read in the manual this part :

M.2 Socket 3 shares bandwidth with SATA Express. This socket supports M Key and both SATA and PCIE mode type 2242/2260/2280 storage devices (Type 2242 storage device is supported on Rev.2.01 or later versions of this motherboard).

PCIe 3.0 x4 IS "full speed" on current motherboards.
PCIe 4.0 on only the most recent boards.

SATA III is full speed for SATA SSDs.

On your Z97 board (I have one as well) a 970 EVO will run at 1/2 speed. The M.2 port is PCIe 2.0.
You could put it in a PCIe adapter and use one of the PCIe slots, but you're chasing diminishing returns.

Not really worth it, unless you're considering moving that drive to a newer system later.
But by then, buying the same drive and size will likely be less expensive than it is today.

 

[mdd1963]

I think many Z97 boards were not even bootable with NVME drives....(many folks at least got decent speeds if they were put in adapters in a PCI-e slot, but, they may have still not been bootable)

I'd just go with a SATA and call it a day....(yes, bootups will take 1-2 seconds longer, and games will load in 27 second instead of 25 seconds)

 

[falcon291]

I think many Z97 boards were not even bootable with NVME drives....(many folks at least got decent speeds if they were put in adapters in a PCI-e slot, but, they may have still not been bootable)

I'd just go with a SATA and call it a day....(yes, bootups will take 1-2 seconds longer, and games will load in 27 second instead of 25 seconds)

Yes. I experience M2 speed only computer startup, in games and other stuff it is hardly noticeable or if noticeable the difference just does not worth it. If you are buying a new SSD and your mainboard is compatible, buy it. You will be paying some extra bucks. But if you have a 1 TB SSD, and you want an upgrade, it is not a worthy upgrade, does not worth the money and the hassle.