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XPS 13 9350, need driver/firmware for Samsung NVMe PM951
I have this machine purchased in 2016 and it came with this SSD. I am currently running firmware BXV77D0Q. My speeds using Crystal Disk Mark vary between 200-800MB/s for Read which is very slow. Writes are about 300-550MB/s. I even did a fresh reinstall of Windows 10 twice. Linux gives almost 1400MB/s Read speed on same machine. I upgraded all drivers using Support Assist from Dell website which is below:
https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/xps-13-9350-laptop/drivers
This page gives drivers for other SSD's which Dell sold in this model but has no links for my SSD. I contacted Samsung and was told that only Dell can provide driver for this model as it is OEM. Do you know where to get updated driver and or firmware? Please post.
jphughan
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June 6th, 2019 21:00
@nivi3 If you want to use RAID mode, you need to set that before you install Windows and then provide the Intel RST driver during Windows installation. I'm not sure how you tried to install the Rapid Storage driver in some other situation. The way it's supposed to work is that if you want to use RAID mode, you need to download the "F6 floppy" version of the Rapid Storage driver here, then extract the zip file onto something like a flash drive. Then during Windows Setup, when you get to the point where you choose where you want to install Windows, you'll see a Load Driver option. Click that and point to the INF file in the driver you downloaded. It might take a while to load. (Note: If you already see your SSD before loading the driver, you can skip this, because it means Windows has a new enough RST driver built in, so you can wait to update it until Windows is installed.)
The RAID mode speed won't be significantly different if you perform multiple benchmarks in both AHCI and RAID mode and average out the results.
As for AHCI vs. RAID drivers, when your system is in AHCI mode, you can always use the Microsoft NVMe driver built into Windows if you want. If you want to use the Samsung drivers instead, your system has to be in AHCI mode AND you have to be using a Samsung retail SSD, not an OEM versions like the PM951. If you're in RAID mode, then you can only use the Intel RST driver regardless of SSD type.
jphughan
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June 3rd, 2019 22:00
It's true that Samsung's NVMe drivers don't work on OEM units, but Dell doesn't provide drivers either. If your system is in RAID mode, then the Intel Rapid Storage driver is used. If it's in AHCI mode, then the Microsoft NVMe driver built into Windows is used. The RAID vs. AHCI choice is made in the BIOS, specifically the setting called "SATA Operation", which despite the name affects NVMe devices as well. However, if you're trying to run Linux, to my knowledge you have to use AHCI mode because I don't think Linux has a suitable driver for the Intel RST controller that gets enabled when you select RAID mode.
All that said, that doesn't explain why your SSD is so slow in Windows. You definitely don't need special drivers to get performance faster than that. I have an XPS 15 9530 with the same SSD running Windows 10 and I get speeds similar to what you're seeing in Linux. Did you perform a clean install using Windows 10 media downloaded directly from Microsoft rather than Dell, just to get as clean a setup as possible? If so, then if you've already installed and updated all necessary drivers in Windows, unfortunately I don't have any further suggestions at this point, but I'll reply back if any come to mind.
nivi3
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June 6th, 2019 16:00
Thanks for your post. Yes, I did a clean install twice after downloading from Microsoft. Right now, I am using AHCI and getting low speeds. I tried to change it to RAID mode in BIOS but system won't boot. Then I installed Intel Rapid Storage driver but still it won't boot. I want to see the speed in RAID mode. I don't mind being without Linux.
Are you running in RAID mode? How did you get it to work so? Also, as per you post, Samsung drivers are not used. Is that correct? In AHCI mode Microsoft driver is used while in RAID mode Intel Rapid Storage driver is used. Am I right in my assessment? Please post and clarify my doubts.