Samsung 950 Pro M.2 not full speed

dcmarchbank · Dec 29, 2015

Hello!

Here's the speeds I'm getting guys:

Specs:
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Asus X99-A
i7-5820k
16GB G Skill Ripjaws 4
GTX 660Ti
Asus Xonar DX

Info:
Currently using Samsung NVMe Driver (1.4.7.16)
BIOS Mode is UEFI (Version 2001)

When I was using the Windows drivers I was getting very similar speeds. I could do with any information anyone has.

The_Tester · Dec 29, 2015

What size did you get? [strike]From the write speed i'm guessing the 256 one[/strike] < yeah... don't know why I typed that lol.
>950 Pro specs<

Try rerunning the test after a 30 sec or so break in between runs. I've noticed that mine does not always automatically hit full speed.

Also, look at the on board devices section of the >X99-A manual< (pg. 117 specifically) and make sure it's set to X4 mode. The speeds you are getting might be explained by it not being set to X4 mode.

Toothless010 · Dec 29, 2015

dcmarchbank :

You should get for a 256GB 2200/900 MBps. Your write speeds are correct.(916) Read you are at 1709.
Did you run the test several times?

dcmarchbank · Dec 29, 2015

The_Tester :

256 just to confirm

. The part you are reading there on 117 is saying that if make PCI-EX16_4 a 4x slot, it will disable my M.2. As on the Asus X99-A PCI-E16_4 shares lanes with the M.2. I did however try it, and no luck unfortunately.

But absolutely yeah I've ran the rest ~30 times so far, I keep running it after any change I make. I'm always getting the same speeds.

Cheers for the replys you guys.

The_Tester · Dec 30, 2015

Yeah I was hoping there might have been a sub menu or something that actually showed up reguarding the M.2 slot configuration directly instead of just alluding to it (like force M.2 gen2 for legacy SATA or something). You're getting above gen2 speeds but below gen3 speeds which don't make a lot sense as there are PCIe lanes a plenty.

You may need to find a program that can test if for a longer period of time such as HDTune or Passmark software. The 950 pro might be stumbling to get up to speed on such a short transfer.

Confirm you have the latest BIOS/UEFI (or one that specifically states M.2/NGFF compatibility) and try removing the sound card if all else. I'd say remove the graphics card but then you won't be able to see the screen :/

dcmarchbank · Dec 30, 2015

The_Tester :

UEFI BIOS version: 2001

Gave it a bash with my sound card out and utilizing other software (CrystalDisk5). No change to any of the data transfer speeds.

I did come across:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2015/11/11/samsung-ssd-950-pro-review/1

The third paragraph on that review, they were hitting the same speeds as I am, which turned out to be XMP as the problem. Unfortunately for me though, I don't have it enabled and no other overclocks.

I've opened a thread with Asus but I'm still trying to fix this on my own incase they are no help.

I'm open to any suggestions that are out there.

The_Tester · Dec 30, 2015

Try uninstalling the NVMe driver directly from the storage controllers section in device manager/programs and features and delete the partition and basically redo it like you were getting it new out of the box (not the OS drive right??? just a storage drive at this point?).

A Lot of people are having odd issues with M.2 on motherboards behind the 170 chipsets. My particular board has a PLX chip with two graphics cards and the 950 pro (see profile or build link in sig). This exceeds the theoretical PCIe3 device lane limit (32) so my 950 pro will either work at about 700~840MB/s or 1900~2150MB/s (read) depending on what the PLX chip deems to be priority (from what I understand). With no other PCIe devices in it will be a rock solid 2200+MB/s read 930+MB/s most of the time.

The weird thing is that it doesn't even show up in either of the M.2 slots on my board (regardless of format style or UEFI configuration/setup). In my case ASRock has pretty much said "we are working on it" since it's not an officially supported M.2 via their website for my motherboard yet. A bios update or NVMe update could very well solve all everyone's problems in the near future.

dcmarchbank · Dec 30, 2015

It's my main OS drive. But I'm totally down with just reformatting it. I could use the Windows 10 "Reset" feature? Or you could recommend another method?

Indeed, there appears to be a lot of trouble utilizing them at the moment. I'll definitely be on top of my UEFI/NVMe driver updates.

The_Tester · Dec 30, 2015

dcmarchbank :

hmmm if you're ok with going through the trouble then you can try a clean reinstall to see if any leftover junk from the upgrade is causing it. If it was a clean install then it would not make a difference. I think I would leave that as a last resort option.

Good write up on "WIN10 reset". Just make sure you have your product keys, personal files and a list of your programs backed up so you can later put them back on the refreshed windows.
http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2871133/reset-refresh-windows.html

dcmarchbank · Jan 1, 2016

The_Tester :

Sorry for the late reply, been busy over the holidays.

After a clean install this is what I got: https://imgur.com/XACGVNb

Waiting on a different reply from Asus as their first suggestion of resetting the CMOS didn't do anything.

I'll keep looking for answers on here as there's still a few people that got similar results to me, without solution.

rcald2000 · Jan 6, 2016

@dcmarchbank, is your Samsung 950 pro plugged into the M.2 slot, or do you have it installed in a Hyper m.2 x4 PCIe board, with that board plugged into the middle slot. The reason that I ask is because the Asus X99-A has an additional PCIe 2.0 x4 slot from the PCH in the middle of the main PCIe slots for Thunderbolt or additional cards. From your performance numbers, it seems pretty clear that your SSD is running at the PCIe 2.0 spec. The only question is why, and my theory would explain it, if it were true. Can you confirm how it's plugged in your board and even go as far as supplying a picture of your motherboard with the M.2 SSD?

dcmarchbank · Jan 6, 2016

rcald2000 :

It's in the M.2 slot.

I can get you a picture if you like man, though I'm not sure what for? Haha

Also something I noticed: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2894783/samsung-950-pro-reaching-full-speeds.html
In that tread which was solved if you look at their first image under System Information then PCIe Slot it reads "PCI to PCI Bridge" then on their new image with the correct speeds, it displays a processor "Intel Xeon".
Currently mine is just displaying "PCI to PCI Bridge", I'm not sure if that's relevant but I felt like I should point it out.

dcmarchbank · Jan 6, 2016

I reformatted my SSD and all my speeds excluding Random Reads are normal now. I'm not sure what could be the issue here?

Palorim12 · Jan 6, 2016

ppl with half Random Read with the 950 PRO.

I spoke to Samsung today about the speed and they informed me that the Magician benchmark tool, only benches with a single thread for Random, thing is, a single thread caps at about 200,000k IOPS.

They are going to be updating the benchmark tool, but to see the correct benchmarks, for now they said to use Crystal Disk Mark, newest version. Go to the settings drop down, select Queues and Threads, and in there, make sure Random is set to 32 Queues and 4 threads, like in the below picture.

Then you bench and it will give you the full speed on Random Read.

my Random Read is 1116MB/s.

To convert that to IOPS, you do

(1116 / 4) * 1024

279 * 1024

285,696 IOPS

dcmarchbank · Jan 6, 2016

Hi Palorim12,

I will definitely be trying this out in the next hour!

I don't suppose you have any insight as to why some people can get the full IOPS Random Read using Samsung Magician. On this thread for example if you scroll down to his new speeds:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2894783/samsung-950-pro-reaching-full-speeds.html

Additional: If a single thread can do 200,000 IOPS, why can I only get 150,000?

Toothless010 · Feb 24, 2016

Palorim12 :

ppl with half Random Read with the 950 PRO.

I spoke to Samsung today about the speed and they informed me that the Magician benchmark tool, only benches with a single thread for Random, thing is, a single thread caps at about 200,000k IOPS.

They are going to be updating the benchmark tool, but to see the correct benchmarks, for now they said to use Crystal Disk Mark, newest version. Go to the settings drop down, select Queues and Threads, and in there, make sure Random is set to 32 Queues and 4 threads, like in the below picture.

Then you bench and it will give you the full speed on Random Read.

my Random Read is 1116MB/s.

To convert that to IOPS, you do

(1116 / 4) * 1024

279 * 1024

285,696 IOPS

good info dude, thanks

Simonx123 · May 18, 2016

Dcmarchbank, did you resolve your problem? I am having a very similar issue with a very similar build (Asus x99 a, 5820k, windows 10 pro 64, 32 ram, gtx 970). Sequential read and write are fine, random speed (both) are crap. Any help?

dcmarchbank · May 19, 2016

Simonx123 :

Hi Simon,

Using a Windows 10 ISO to reinstall the OS fixed my issues. Keep in mind if you're using the Data Miration software for speed tests, it has issues with threads, so check out Crystal Disk Mark for your Random tests with a Queue Depth of 32 and 4 threads.

Simonx123 · May 19, 2016

dcmarchbank :

Thanks for your reply! I am aware of the threads issue using Samsung software; unfortunately testing with Crystal showed the same results.
2 questions:
After reinstalling OS, what does it show under PCIe Slot: PCI to PCI Bridge or Intel Xeon? (Mine shows PCI)
Under PCIe Slot: is 'Link Speed Current' set on 10 Gbps out of 10, or 8 out of 8 (mine shows 8Gbps).

Thank you in advance!

dcmarchbank · May 19, 2016

Simonx123 :

Please ensure you completely reformatted the entire drive before installing windows to it - This is what made it work for me. The first time I cloned from my other SSD to the 950 which caused speed issues, then I used Windows 10 "Reset/Refresh" which didn't fix my issues. PCI to PCI Bridge is what displays, with 10Gbps and 4x Link Width.

I got this from Asus which you should try:

"I recommend a CMOS reset by taking out the battery for 3-5 minutes while the PSU is
unplugged. While the power cord from the PSU is still unplugged, press the power
button down for 30 seconds to power discharge the unit. Then place the CMOS battery
back in, plug in the PSU and load the Optimized Defaults.

If the issue persists please go to BIOS - Advanced - System Agent Configuration - NB
PCI-e Configuration and change PCIEX16_4 Link Speed from AUTO to GEN3."

Simonx123 · May 20, 2016

dcmarchbank :

Thank you Dcmarchbank for the instructions, it definitely helped a lot! I tried everything without any luck, so I pulled the plug and reformatted the damn 950 like you suggested.
The Magician bench showed improved random read/write: from 137k (read) to 175k and from 64k to 93k (write). My 950 is 512G..
Crystal Mark showed greater results using the formula provided by Palorim12 above:
330k read and 108k write. So I assume that reformatting/reinstalling OS did the trick and it is now seems to working properly. However, under PCIe Slot, the 'Link Speed Current' still set on 8 Gbps out of 8Gbps (not 10 like yours and many others). Do you, or anybody else in this thread, have any idea?

Thanks again!

Johnpombrio · Nov 15, 2016

If you are running your Samsung 950 Pro with a PCI-E slot adapter card and your speeds are slow, try changing which PCI-E slot the drive is located in. I went from a 840 CrystalMark to a 2,540 CrystalMark by simply changing from slot 3 to slot 2!

Samsung 950 Pro M.2 not full speed

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