Samsung SSD incompatible with AMD chipset?

[clintr1974]

Hi,

I got a Samsung 870 EVO a few months ago and am seeing regularly incrementing UDMA_CRC_Error_Count in the SMART info.

I've tried replacing the SATA cable with a brand new one.  Problem still there.

I've tried plugging into a different SATA III port on my motherboard.  Problem still there.

I also have an 830 EVO which has run flawlessly for many years.  I tried moving the SATA cable from it over to the 870.  Problem still there.

The errors occur generally a few minutes apart, so it doesn't really affect the speed.  Also I'm aware that CRC errors don't mean that my stored data is corrupt.  That said, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect there to be no errors, especially since my 830 EVO shows zero errors after 15000+ hours of use, in the same machine.  I just don't trust this new drive.

Searching online, I've seen various claims that (some) Samsung SSDs are incompatible with (some) AMD chipsets.  I haven't seen anything specifically saying there is a problem with the 870 EVO and my chipset, though.  I have a GA-890FXA-UD5, which is an older motherboard with AMD SB850 south bridge.

I talked with Samsung through their text tech support but this was ultimately not very helpful.  Their recommendation in the end was to take it back to the store and exchange it under the warranty.  I might try to do that eventually, but if the problem really is an incompatibility between the designs of the SSD and motherboard, then I'd expect the replacement to have the same issue.

For now I've connected this drive to the motherboard through a SATA II port which is on a different controller than the chipset.  This is pretty reliable (only one UDMA_CRC_Error_Count increase in about a week), but the speed is less than a third of what it was on SATA III.

I've also considered getting a PCIE-to-SATAIII adapter card, but I saw on Samsung's website (somewhere... can't seem to find it now) that the speed is generally poor through these cards.  Also for not much more money I could get another drive...

 

My questions:

1. Have any of you had problems with this drive on an AMD machine?
2. If you have an older AMD motherboard and an 870 EVO, would you mind checking your SMART data to see if you have a similar problem?
3. Can anyone recommend another brand and model of SSD which you know is reliable with AMD chipsets, especially mine?

Thanks

Edited September 29, 2021 by clintr1974
Bold to emphasize questions

[GDRRiley]

running the latest bios and chipset driver?

[kb5zue]

I have two Samsung SSD's have not had any problems at all.  Do you have/use the Samsung Magician software and if so, what does it show?

[clintr1974]

1 hour ago, GDRRiley said:

running the latest bios and chipset driver?

BIOS: is the latest version available on Gigabyte's website (F6 for my board which is rev. 2.0)

Chipset: I let the OSes keep everything up to date.

I mostly run Linux Mint lately but still have Windows 10.  The problem with the drive occurs under both of them.

Under Windows I just checked and for everything under 'IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers' it says 'The best drivers for your device are already installed' when I try to update drivers.  Under Linux I regularly apply updates as it offers them to me, but honestly I'm still a beginner with Linux so not sure how to find driver details...?

Thanks

[clintr1974]

1 hour ago, kb5zue said:

I have two Samsung SSD's have not had any problems at all.  Do you have/use the Samsung Magician software and if so, what does it show?

I do have it, yes.  It tells me that the drive has the latest firmware.  I ran some of the diagnostic scans when the drive was still connected to SATAIII and they passed.

There is quite a bit of information available in Samsung Magician - can you give me some idea what you're looking for?  Also, should I reconnect the drive to the SATAIII before checking?  Thanks

[kb5zue]

Yes, I would use SATA 3 because that is where you will get the most benefit from the drive.  When I check Magician, I am looking to make sure I have the latest drivers and to make sure the overprovisioning is correct and set to automatic.  Last thing I look at is the diagnostic scan to see if there any problems that I should concern myself with.  I believe that if something is found the software isolates the problem then marks it so that spot is not used again, just like the HDD is supposed to do with the file allocation table.

 

Good Luck

[clintr1974]

I booted to Win 10 for the first time in awhile today and was excited to see a firmware update was available for the 870 evo: SVT02B6Q.  I installed it and tried the drive on SATA III again.  Sadly, the problem is still there.

[NewMaxx]

Assuming the SATA controller is set to AHCI (vs. default IDE), I'd suggest the issue is with the storage controller - which you've already surmised (and a PCIe adapter would be a possible solution). It's true a lot of adapter chips are limited to x1 PCIe 2.0 for output.

[SSD EVO870 2TB frustrated]

I also have "Interface CRC Error Count" shown in HD Tune PRO and Samsung Magician for EVO870 2TB connected via SATA3 cable to GigaByte_GA-970A-DS3P(rev_2.1) with chipset AMD 970. I first connected the SSD as a second drive to Win10 already installed on my old HDD, and during just less than 1 day it developed Error Count = 110. I found an article appuals . com / interface-crc-error-count/ and added the registry record as they advised     AmdSataNCQDisabled = 1 or NcqDisabled = 1 . The error count stopped increasing. After that I installed Win 10 on this same SSD and the Error count increased to 117, and then after some user software installations to 120. I added that same records to the registry of the new Windows again, and the error count stopped increasing. For the last several days of normal usage and another hundred of GBs of Life Time Writes, the CRC Error Count has not increased. I keep monitoring every day.

PS. I first tried to replace the SATA cable and SATA socket on the MB, and drivers for SATA controller from MS to AMD - nothing helped. BIOS on my MB and SSD firmware were the latest.

[clintr1974]

Hi frustrated, thank you for your reply.  I tried the registry setting described in your linked article today with my 870 EVO plugged into SATA III.  Unfortunately for me this didn't fix the problem.

[SSD EVO870 2TB frustrated]

Hi, clintr1974. Your news is bad. But my 870 EVO on SATA AMD 970 has not been growing since then and is still 120  - no increase since then.

Are you sure you made correct entries in your registry? Actually, I made FOUR entries, to play it safe : 1) for " storahci "; 2) for " amdsata "; 3) for " amd_sata\Parameters\Device "; and 4) for " amd_sata\Parameters\Device-1. (the addresses are truncated). And restart your PC after changing the registry.