GA-Z170XP-SLI rev 1.0 with Samsung SSD 850 EV0 or SanDisk SD85NAT256G1122 for OS

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frogman_d

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GA-Z170XP-SLI (rev 1.0) BIOS F5
HyperX Fury KHX2666C15D4/8G 8 GB x 2
Intel i7-6700K 8M Skylake
Nvidia Quadro K4200

Didn't realize I purchased an M.2 HD, I had been using the Samsung 850 EVO for the Operating System, but figured I'd ask the community what would be the best options for my system?

This system is mostly used for 3D prototyping and character animation/gfx effects.

This BIOS is totally new to me and had to fiddle with it to get all the drives to read, so any and all help/suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks
 
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Like I said before, both drives use the SATA3 interface, so there's no advantage in using the m.2 other than the small form factor. If you want to take real advantage of the m.2 slot, find an m.2 SSD that uses a PCIe 3.0 x 4 interface (preferrably with NVMe protocol), which offer much higher (theoretical) performance. The Samsung 950 Pro for example. However, they tend to cost a lot more, and I'm not sure what kind of real-world performance difference you'll see.
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Danger_Noodle

Danger_Noodle

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I mean, both of those drives you linked are good drives. If I were using one for my boot drive I'd go with the Samsung because of my good history with their SSDs.

I'm really confused though, where is the M.2 drive? You accidentally bought an M.2? And what your Mobo won't support one so you sent it back or something?

Edit: NVM, I see now that the Sandisk is an M.2, but for some reason it shows a standard SSD as in the product photo. It says that it uses SATA 6 and the samsung only uses SATA 3, so theoretically it should be faster. Now do I believe that? Maybe, I've never actually used an M.2 drive before so I can't attest to it's speed, but I can't imagine it being slow.
 
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frogman_d

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They both are installed in the motherboard at this very moment. The EVO is running the operating system right now. I purchased the M.2 expecting a SATA HD, installed it and I could only detect one of the HDs. Just had the M.2 plugged in and installed Windows 10 but the installation was choppy and the system was unusable.

I got in touch with SanDisk and and they sent out a new drive. I installed it by playing with these settings

Windows 8/10 Features: Windows 8/10
CSM Support: Enabled
Storage Boot Option Control: Disabled
Other PCI Device ROM Priority: UEFI Only

The setup is a bit choppy as I type, missing some characters and not keeping up with me (Maybe could have got a virus cause it didn't seem like this right after installing it). Maybe the keyboard needs new batteries, but I was planning on making the appropriate changes and install a fresh OS with w/e is best.

Any one know of any good guides for BIOS settings with the GA-Z170XP-SLI (rev 1.0) motherboard?
 
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TJ Hooker

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They both list SATA 3 (6 Gb/s) interface. Some m.2 devices use PCIe interface, allowing for greater speeds, but that isn't the case here.

I'd probably just go with the 850 EVO, it's a well known drive that I've heard nothing but good things about.

 
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Danger_Noodle

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I mean, it sounds like you answered your own question right there. What is your boot time with the EVO? I have a similar drive and get a consistent 8.2 second cold boot every time. Which really is the main reason for using an SSD as an OS boot drive in the first place, unless that's just too slow for you.

For me personally, with the problems you're having. I'd return the Sandisk M.2 for a refund and buy another evo if you're wanting to use one for storage. I've never had anything but quality out of Samsung SSD's, and if you're deadset on having an M.2 (because I mean...your board has an M.2 port...not every board does) You can even get the same EVO in M.2 format.
 
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TJ Hooker

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Well, yeah, if you can put both SSDs to use I guess it might be a good idea to keep it. Misunderstood your post, thought you were looking for a recommendation between the 2.

Although, given that the m.2 drive seems to be giving you a bit of trouble, you may want to return it (potentially for another regular SATA drive), seeing as you don't seem to be getting any benefit from the m.2 form factor anyway.
 
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Danger_Noodle

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See, I didn't think that made any sense, because as far as I know Sata 6 doesn't exist, but again I have a basic knowledge of M.2 drives. What I will say is that product page is so poorly written that Sata III is not written anywhere on it except in the product name, whereas I was under the specs tab. Another reason I'd probably just avoid it outright.
 
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frogman_d

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Not deadest, and I like your suggestion on returning the m.2, but wondered if changing settings in the BIOS or anything else would make it more advantageous to keep the m.2..?
 
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Danger_Noodle

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Probably not as it sounds like a crap drive. Now if you had a better quality M.2.....that's a different story entirely.
 
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TJ Hooker

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Like I said before, both drives use the SATA3 interface, so there's no advantage in using the m.2 other than the small form factor. If you want to take real advantage of the m.2 slot, find an m.2 SSD that uses a PCIe 3.0 x 4 interface (preferrably with NVMe protocol), which offer much higher (theoretical) performance. The Samsung 950 Pro for example. However, they tend to cost a lot more, and I'm not sure what kind of real-world performance difference you'll see.
 
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