Are NVMe SSD supported by z170-pro

[Banana4Life]

Hello, 

 

Im just wondering if a z170-pro board will support NVMe SSD's. Nothing in the manual or online I can find about it, so Im guessing it doesnt? Just wan't to make sure. If so, can they boot from them? Thankyou, new to this. :-)

 

Motherboard: https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/Z170-PRO/

SSD: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/intel-600p-512gb-m.2-2280-pci-e-3.0-x-4-nvme-3d-nand-solid-state-drive-ssdpekkw512g7x1-hd-088-in.html?gclid=CjwKEAiAoOvEBRDD25uyu9Lg9ycSJAD0cnBy1UW4TBSw-gPTxmcwVZePQrKnF07lgsfj3QPo3papXxoCO2fw_wcB

[mikat]

Yes, booting on NVMe is supported on Z97 and later, so with z170 you're good

http://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/solid-state-drives/Intel_6_Series_PCIeNVMe_InstallGuide.PDF

[Mira Yurizaki]

Quote

1 x M.2 x4 Socket 3, *², with M Key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices support (both SATA & PCIE mode)*³

Yes, it does. NVMe just the "software" protocol if you will, it talks to the computer using the PCIe bus. The only issue with using it as a boot drive is if the OS supports it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NVM_Express#Operating_system_support

[Oshino Shinobu]

From the board's overview page: (:

[luegnicl]

there is a m.2 Slot that is pcie capable. that means yes

[Banana4Life]

3 minutes ago, mikat said:

yes, booting nvme is supported on Z97 and later, so with z170 you're good

Asked same on reddit, one reply was:

" Doesn't look like it. NVMe is a transfer protocol developed to get speeds that are faster than SATA 6Gb/s. A lot of motherboards have M.2 connectors (which is just a form factor), but not all of them support PCIe lanes to that connector. The SSD you linked can handle PCIe x4 lanes, but that motherboard only supports M.2 on a SATA based connection." This bamboozled me, but thankyou. Silly me, easy answer 

[zMeul]

1 minute ago, Banana4Life said:

Are you 100% sure? Asked same on reddit, one reply was:

" Doesn't look like it. NVMe is a transfer protocol developed to get speeds that are faster than SATA 6Gb/s. A lot of motherboards have M.2 connectors (which is just a form factor), but not all of them support PCIe lanes to that connector. The SSD you linked can handle PCIe x4 lanes, but that motherboard only supports M.2 on a SATA based connection."

some people are just ... retarded

right on the spec page of the mobo it says the m.2 functions in both SATA and PCIe mode

 

booting from NVMe hasn't been a problem since Z97 (with a BIOS update)

[Mira Yurizaki]

3 minutes ago, Banana4Life said:

Are you 100% sure? Asked same on reddit, one reply was:

" Doesn't look like it. NVMe is a transfer protocol developed to get speeds that are faster than SATA 6Gb/s. A lot of motherboards have M.2 connectors (which is just a form factor), but not all of them support PCIe lanes to that connector. The SSD you linked can handle PCIe x4 lanes, but that motherboard only supports M.2 on a SATA based connection."

The motherboard has an M key. If you look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.2#Form_factors_and_keying, the M key means it supports PCIe x4 and SATA. If it only supported SATA, it would be B-keyed or B-M-keyed instead.

 

The darn connector is keyed for this reason. It's to clearly say what it supports and what it doesn't.

[Oshino Shinobu]

4 minutes ago, Banana4Life said:

Are you 100% sure? Asked same on reddit, one reply was:

" Doesn't look like it. NVMe is a transfer protocol developed to get speeds that are faster than SATA 6Gb/s. A lot of motherboards have M.2 connectors (which is just a form factor), but not all of them support PCIe lanes to that connector. The SSD you linked can handle PCIe x4 lanes, but that motherboard only supports M.2 on a SATA based connection."

They are wrong. 

 

Intel® Z170 chipset : 
1 x SATA Express port, Compatible with 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports
1 x M.2 x4 Socket 3, *2, with M Key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices support (both SATA & PCIE mode)*3
6 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), gray
Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10
Supports Intel® Smart Response Technology*4