M.2 NVMe Support

OmniDyne

Active Member
I'm looking to purchase the SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2 2280 250GB. I have the Z370P D3 motherboard. This SSD is on the QVL list for this particular motherboard, under the subheading 'M.2 PCIe NVMe'.

I do see NVMe settings in the BIOS.

However, I'm confused as to if this motherboard supports booting using the NVMe protocol, as the manual doesn't mention anything about it, and there's an installation notice that reads:

Due to the limited number of lanes provided by the Chipset, the availability of the SATA connectors may be affected by the type of device installed in the M.2 connectors. The M2P_32G connector shares bandwidth with the SATA3 0 connector.

1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe x4/x2 SSD support)

I'm worried the motherboard will boot using AHCI instead of NVMe because it mentions sharing bandwidth with a SATA connector.
 

Laquer Head

Well-Known Member
Basically its saying if you opt to use an NVme SSD you will sacrifice the use of a corresponding SATA port.. i.e. it will be disabled.

It's a regular thing, a trade-off if you will.
 

OmniDyne

Active Member
Ah ok thanks, so I will be able to boot from the M.2 using the NVMe protocol? Just want to make sure before I purchase the drive lol.
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Yes, you'll be able to boot from it. I have the z370 gaming 5 and didn't have to do anything in the bios for windows to detect and install to the nvme drive.
 

OmniDyne

Active Member
Yes, you'll be able to boot from it. I have the z370 gaming 5 and didn't have to do anything in the bios for windows to detect and install to the nvme drive.

Awesome, thanks! Can't wait to get it in there. I know it won't be a huge upgrade from my SATA SSD, but my buddy went from a SATA SSD to an EVO NVMe and you can definitely tell the difference. I think he's on a ASRock Z370.
 

Intel_man

VIP Member
Windows 7 or 10? I guess to get NVME to work in 7 you have to do a little hacking.
FTFY. M.2 describes the size, not the drive controller interface.

Also, no it doesn't require hacking. Just needs a driver update loaded into the windows 7 installer because NVME support was introduced a bit later than the SP1 iso.
 

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
FTFY. M.2 describes the size, not the drive controller interface.

Also, no it doesn't require hacking. Just needs a driver update loaded into the windows 7 installer because NVME support was introduced a bit later than the SP1 iso.
Windows Update = Hacking
 
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