Optiplex Desktops

[LoRDRaS]

I'm trying to install a SSD drive to boot my Optiplex 990 MT system from it.

I want to but the Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2 250 GB but I have many concerns and doubts regarding the PCIe slots version and the BIOS compatibility with booting from such storage chip.

Can someone help me with this subject as I'm not good with all these technical details?

TX

MR

[savvy2 · Accepted solution]

no PC told. just 990  (5 cases not stated)

no that PC does not have any m.2 there, at all ,nVME nor for wifi

open you case and, look first,  

they sell PCIe cards with M.2 slots,  but your BIOS and PC do not support that. (strike to)

wiki history of M.2 NVME and see that your PC is way too old (by a mile ) that is what the XP comments mean.

why not just put in a SATA SSD 2.5", and forget m.2,.  

[LoRDRaS]

savvy2

Thank your for your prompt response and for your detailed explanation.

&BTW, you don't need the sarcasm! Not everyone here have the same knowledge as you do.

Thanks again.

[speedstep · Accepted solution]

390 790 990 is 2011 machine that runs XP and is PCI-E 2.0.

NVME PCI-E booting requires 2012 or later UEFI GPT.

This will never be an option for booting.

[LoRDRaS]

speedstep

Thank you for your reply.

AMOF, I thought my only problem would be needing to use a PCIe card!

So, this BIOS issue can not be solved by any firmware update?

[Maho Jakobic · Accepted solution]

As pointed out, the bios does not support boot from NVMe drives.

That being said, some people bypass such limitations of older motherboards by using boot manager (Clover, Refind, …). The boot manager boots from supported drive (USB, SATA, ...) and contains the necessary drivers to boot the desired OS from the NVMe drive.

There are obviously some limitations - the boot manager increases the boot time and the Optiplex 990 uses PCIe 2.0 slot(s), which would slow down the EVO 970. If you decide to do this, you may opt for some cheaper alternative (as long as it uses 4 PCIe lanes).

If you want more information, guide and downloads, you may start here or here.

[LoRDRaS]

Maho Jakobic

Thank you for your help.  I'll go through the links and give it a try.

Though, frankly speaking, i think going with savvy2's suggestion (using a SATA SSD) is  the better alternative in my case

Thank you all (savvy2, speedstep and Maho Jakobic) for your assistance.

[catilley1092]

No the Optiplex cannot boot from the Samsung 970 PRO/EVO, however it will run from the 950 PRO NVMe as long as it's set to Legacy (MBR) mode. 

This is because only the 950 has it's own bootable ROM, however for whatever reason, these Optiplex machines (from Sandy Bridge through Haswell) won't run it in UEFI mode. Which is OK as long as there's one OS installed, or can even dual boot with Linux if there's a HDD for Windows Data & Linux /home & swap partitions.

Am currently running a 256GB Samsung 950 PRO in my Optiplex 7010 (my wife's PC), however was first tested on a 990 mini tower I also have. 

Search for one on eBay, where I found mine brand new. Cost was a bit less than when I purchased when released ($130 vs $149 then). Also, won't get the full Read speed due to being PCIe 2.0, however it's no issue with Write speed, as it's capped at around 1500 MB/sec anyway, the limit for the 512GB 950 PRO (the 256GB version is limited to 900 MB/sec). 

Truthfully, I cannot feel the speed difference of the 512GB model in the Optiplex 990 and in a self built PC based on the ASRock Z97 Extreme6, other than the extra couple seconds on boot. Being that it's max Read speed is around 2200 MB/sec, it's not that far off & writes are a non-factor. No, I've not benchmarked the two side by side, however I can say that the Optiplex 990 & 7010 runs much faster with the Samsung 950 PRO vs the 2.5" 512GB Samsung 850 Pro, once past the boot phase. 

There are many looking for these drives, I was lucky to get the 256GB new (already had the both the 256GB & 512GB, upgraded to the 970 of the same size & moved elsewhere). Didn't want to remove from my other Z97 builds, so grabbed the 256GB for my wife on eBay. 

Runs like a racehorse!

Cat