1 Rookie
•
14 Posts
1
26126
February 19th, 2020 15:00
Aurora R10, adding NVMe M.2 SSD via a PCIe adapter
(NOTE-THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED TO REFLECT 970 EVO PLUS)
I am planning to add this SSD:
Samsung 970 EVO PLUS SSD 2TB - M.2 NVMe
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MFZXR1B/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_BeEtEbKCT8MTX
To my Aurora R10 Ryzen Edition using either one of these adapters:
Lycom DT-120 M.2 PCIe to PCIe 3.0 x4 Adapter
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MYCQP38/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
or
M.2 NVME to PCIe 3.0 x4 Adapter with Aluminum Heatsink Solution (used successfully by others on R7's)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JJTVGZM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Plugged into the PCI-Express x4 slot (SLOT3)
Will it work?
Note that I already have the factory M.2 NVMe 2TB card on-board plugged into the solid-state drive slot (M.2 SSD).
johnbowzer
4 Posts
0
December 28th, 2020 14:00
Since I ended up figuring out how to get this second M.2 SSD using the PCIe adapter card working, I will share what I did to get it recognized and working.
With the second SSD/Adapter plugged into the second GPU x16 slot4, there was no way it could be accessed via Disk Management or anything else. Like it did not exist. Tried everything I could think of, or find online.
Solution:
I have a bootable Win10 on a USB stick.
I took out the ssd/adapter from the x16 slot4, and uninstalled the ssd from it.
I took out the stock m.2 ssd from the m.2 port, and put in the new one.
I plugged in my usb stick, and powered up. It booted using the usb, as that now became the default 'Windows Disk' in the UEFI BIOS set up.
I loaded Windows Disk Management and it recognized the m.2 SSD, which it did not before, so I set it up as usual as a standard volume, no drive letter yet.
Then I exited Windows and powered down.
I swapped back in the stock m.2 ssd to the m.2 port.
I reinstalled the new m.2 sdd back onto the PCIe adapter again, and plugged it back into the second x16 gpu slot4.
I booted up and it booted using stock m.2 ssd.
The second ssd/adapter was now recognized in Windows Disk Management, and I gave it a drive letter.
Windows Explorer also sees the new disk.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.1K Posts
1
February 19th, 2020 19:00
If you extrapolate from this thread, yes it should work:
https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-Desktops/Installing-3-x-1TB-M-2-Samsung-PCiE-NVME-Drives-in-Aurora-R7-8/m-p/7474557#M22386
... if the PCIe-Addin card is 100% compatible and 100% operational.
However, a good SATA-3/600 SSD is usually fine for large games and other things you might store on a D-Drive.
SkierBosche
1 Rookie
•
14 Posts
0
February 29th, 2020 20:00
Posting in reply now to confirm this works just fine. Simple, easy setup.
SkierBosche
1 Rookie
•
14 Posts
1
July 15th, 2020 12:00
I can but results will not be meaningful as I do not have a before/after.
The PCIe NVMe memory is indeed slower than the NVMe M.2 slot memory, but again, that is not apples to apples.
I have yet to peg the GPU on this box either, even when rendering video.
But, moot really as this is the only place I can expand to more NVMe memory on this machine.
Fatlardo
7 Posts
0
July 15th, 2020 12:00
Can you test the speeds on that new slot and also test your gpu? I thought I read somewhere it slows down since the pcie lanes are shared?
Fatlardo
7 Posts
1
July 15th, 2020 13:00
It will be meaningful because we know what the speeds should typically be. So we can see the speed loss.
I have an opportunity to get a 2nd nvme at a really good price. Your results will tell me to buy the 2nd nvme or instead an regular ssd/sata drive. Thanks.
SkierBosche
1 Rookie
•
14 Posts
1
July 15th, 2020 13:00
Using Blackmagicdesign's Disk Speed Test:
The 970 EVO Plus SSD 2TB - M.2 NVMe attached to a PCIe adapter gets 1305 MB/s WRITE, and 1455 MB/s READ
The OEM 2TB M.2 NVMe attached to a NVMe slot gets 1891 MB/s WRITE, and 3028 MB/s READ
Fatlardo
7 Posts
1
July 15th, 2020 13:00
Thank you so much. That’s still very fast.
r72019
6 Professor
•
5.3K Posts
0
July 15th, 2020 21:00
I wonder if the slowed speed has to do with the PCiE slot that you plugged the adapter into.
r72019
6 Professor
•
5.3K Posts
3
July 15th, 2020 21:00
@SkierBosche @Fatlardo
Ah, I think I figured out why your speed got slowed. It's explained on page 8 of the manual: https://topics-cdn.dell.com/pdf/alienware-aurora-r10-desktop_users-guide_en-us.pdf
The R10 cuts the speed of the x4 PCiE slot #3 (#2 is obstructed by the GPU) in half, so only 2 of the 4 lanes transmit data.
I believe you should be able to increase your speed to 3K+ write via PCIE by dropping your adapter and SSD down to the bottom GPU slot, which will allow full bandwidth.
r72019
6 Professor
•
5.3K Posts
1
July 15th, 2020 21:00
Interesting that the speed got dropped so much from the PCiE adapater. I have the intel version aurora on the z370 board, and I'm able to get over 3K read on all the PCiE lanes - and I have 3 PCIE NVME drives connected.
Here are my benchmarks: https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-Desktops/Installing-3-x-1TB-M-2-Samsung-PCiE-NVME-Drives-in-Aurora-R7-8/m-p/7474557#M22386
SkierBosche
1 Rookie
•
14 Posts
0
July 16th, 2020 16:00
Hey, nice call! You are right, I have my SSD NVMe in slot #3. Questions for you:
1) Do you know if I simply move the PCIe adapter from slot #3 to #4 if I'd lose the drive mapping / have to take caution to copy the data and reinstate? Or, perhaps will the OS know the drive (e.g. D:\) simply moved?
2) How are you getting more than two NVMe M.2's on your computer? Are you using a PCIe adapter that allows for more than one NVMe stick, and if so, suggestions?
Thank you!
-Dean
SkierBosche
1 Rookie
•
14 Posts
0
July 16th, 2020 17:00
Do note that this slot #3 drive is NOT a boot drive, just another drive. Re: Moving it.
r72019
6 Professor
•
5.3K Posts
0
July 16th, 2020 20:00
Yeah, shouldn't make a difference. The aurora's with the z370 actually allow for booting from PCiE, presumably it would be the same for the R10.
r72019
6 Professor
•
5.3K Posts
0
July 16th, 2020 20:00
It is plug and play, you can swap it between slot 3 & 4 no problem. I've done it myself. I have two separate PCiE adapters, one in slot 3 and one in slot 4. The z370 board powers all four PCiE lanes in slot 3 so I don't have a speed problem.