Will samsung 950 pro with PCI adapter boot into windows from ASUS P9X79?

[CrazySajan]

I have Asus P9X79 with Intel 520 256gb and I was thinking to add something faster and bigger. But I need to be able to boot into windows. I was looking at Samsung 950 pro 512 gb with PCI adapter. So what do You think guys? Anybody tried that?
My Bios ver. is old but I will upgrade.

 

[Calvin7]

I don't believe Asus intends to implement BIOS support for NVMe drives on legacy Intel X79 motherboards.

You should be able to use AHCI models.

Samsung SM951 M.2 PCIe SSD (AHCI model)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA12K3GB5852

SAMSUNG 950 PRO M.2 512GB PCI-Express 3.0 x4 Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-V5P512BW (NVMe model)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147467

 

[CrazySajan]

I found some forums where they guide you how to flash a modded bios to add support for x79 but I think I don't want to play with that.
Other issue is that I am running SLI and my MOBO is 3xPCI 3.0/2.0 x16 (dualx16 or x16x8x8). I know its not that much difference but still I care more about frame rate that loading speeds. I think I will get 850pro and still will be able to see better loading speeds. What do you think? Any other ideas?

 

[mbp183]

CrazySajan, I have pretty much the exact same setup and questions as you (although can only really afford the 256GB 950 Pro), been looking around all day, and not found any specific answer as to if I will be able to boot or not from VNMe. Honestly I'm not sure I absolutely have to boot from it, as I mainly want the drive to store/load games with huge data volumes (Star citizen specifically, but even GTAV is 60GB+), and I expect a much more noticeable upgrade there over just booting windows and normal use, but booting would still be nice so I can see how good it really is.

Regarding your SLI setup, I believe you won't have any performance drop to data speeds using the PCIe x8 channel, but don't quote me on that, as only started researching today.

 

[lefdawg]

Ok, i have been doing plenty of research on these questions and i have even asked NEW EGG and SAMSUNG themselves. The way the Samsung 950 Pro 256gb / 512gb is connected is thru an m.2 slot {key M = 2280 size} on your MOBO. can not be m.2 key B nor E, those are too small or short rather. All is not lost yet, yes you can mount the Samsung 950 Pro device onto an adapter and connect it thru PCIe 4x. If your MOBO does not have a PCIe 4x slot then that same adapter can still be connected to your PCIe 16x slot {same slot as your GPU, an empty one of course} even though the slot looks a lot larger than your adapter, it's ok, it will fit. Now, you have to be sure that the adapter you get is a 3.0 x 4 with a 2280 m.2 key M connection, like this one i bought... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA86V3DZ5901 and you will not have any speed drop, will work at full speed. Ok, you are not out of the woods just yet, now even though you have all the right connections set up, your new SAMSUNG 950 Pro can so far only be used as a storage device...so far. Now you have to make sure that your MOBO supports NVME technology so that you can use it as a BOOT drive to load your OPERATING SYSTEM like Windows 10, 8, or 7. Just look up your MOBO model and make sure you update your BIOS because like i said, this is new tech and BIOS must be updated for support for NVME. This is very new technology and tech guys at these stores are clueless so far as to what the right connection is, sooooo, as soon as my hardware get to me via UPS, should be about Tuesday 1-5-16 afternoon, i will post up again with my success and this question can be fully answered, stamped with approval.

 

[lefdawg]

Ok, i have been doing plenty of research on these questions and i have even asked NEW EGG and SAMSUNG themselves. The way the Samsung 950 Pro 256gb / 512gb is connected is thru an m.2 slot {key M = 2280 size} on your MOBO. can not be m.2 key B nor E, those are too small or short rather. All is not lost yet, yes you can mount the Samsung 950 Pro device onto an adapter and connect it thru PCIe 4x. If your MOBO does not have a PCIe 4x slot then that same adapter can still be connected to your PCIe 16x slot {same slot as your GPU, an empty one of course} even though the slot looks a lot larger than your adapter, it's ok, it will fit. Now, you have to be sure that the adapter you get is a 3.0 x 4 with a 2280 m.2 key M connection, like this one i bought... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA86V3DZ5901 and you will not have any speed drop, will work at full speed. Ok, you are not out of the woods just yet, now even though you have all the right connections set up, your new SAMSUNG 950 Pro can so far only be used as a storage device...so far. Now you have to make sure that your MOBO supports NVME technology so that you can use it as a BOOT drive to load your OPERATING SYSTEM like Windows 10, 8, or 7. Just look up your MOBO model and make sure you update your BIOS because like i said, this is new tech and BIOS must be updated for support for NVME. This is very new technology and tech guys at these stores are clueless so far as to what the right connection is, sooooo, as soon as my hardware get to me via UPS, should be about Tuesday 1-5-16 afternoon, i will post up again with my success and this question can be fully answered, stamped with approval.

 

[lefdawg]

Ok, so I finally installed my Samsung 950 Pro SSD. yes, I installed it thru an adapter on my PCIe 16x and I was able to use it as my Boot drive for Windows 10. This is the link to the exact one I used... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA86V3DZ5901 If you buy a different one make sure it is 3.0x4. It is really for PCIe 4x but does fit on the 16x though it is much smaller. If anyone is interested just ask on how to install the OS because your SSD does have to be set GPT and Boot Mode in BIOS must be set to UEFI. This is very simple and you do get full speed even though your SAMSUNG 950 PRO SSD is connected via an adapter (ADAPER DOES COME FROM CHINA THOUGH IT IS LISTED IN NEW EGG) WORKS PERFECT!!!!!!!!!

 

[CrazySajan]

Ok, so I finally installed my Samsung 950 Pro SSD. yes, I installed it thru an adapter on my PCIe 16x and I was able to use it as my Boot drive for Windows 10. This is the link to the exact one I used... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA86V3DZ5901 If you buy a different one make sure it is 3.0x4. It is really for PCIe 4x but does fit on the 16x though it is much smaller. If anyone is interested just ask on how to install the OS because your SSD does have to be set GPT and Boot Mode in BIOS must be set to UEFI. This is very simple and you do get full speed even though your SAMSUNG 950 PRO SSD is connected via an adapter (ADAPER DOES COME FROM CHINA THOUGH IT IS LISTED IN NEW EGG) WORKS PERFECT!!!!!!!!!

What MOBO are you using?

 

[Sonex1204]

Ok, so I finally installed my Samsung 950 Pro SSD. yes, I installed it thru an adapter on my PCIe 16x and I was able to use it as my Boot drive for Windows 10. This is the link to the exact one I used... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA86V3DZ5901 If you buy a different one make sure it is 3.0x4. It is really for PCIe 4x but does fit on the 16x though it is much smaller. If anyone is interested just ask on how to install the OS because your SSD does have to be set GPT and Boot Mode in BIOS must be set to UEFI. This is very simple and you do get full speed even though your SAMSUNG 950 PRO SSD is connected via an adapter (ADAPER DOES COME FROM CHINA THOUGH IT IS LISTED IN NEW EGG) WORKS PERFECT!!!!!!!!!

What Motherboard are you using?