m2 SSD upgrade on TP01-3003w

[wuulfgar]

I have successfully upgraded the SK Hynix 512GB M2 SSD this PC came with to a WD Black SN850X 2TB M2 SSD.  Using a PCIE x1 M2 SSD adapter card fitted into the available PCIE x1 slot and following these steps

1) install adapter card with WD Black SN850X M2 SSD into PCIE x1 slot
2) start PC and confirm WD Black SN850X M2 SSD recognized
3) clone boot SSD (SK Hynix 512GB M2 SSD) to WD Black SN850X M2 SSD in PCIE adapter
4) shut down PC
5) remove current boot SSD (SK Hynix 512GB)
6) remove WD Black SN850X M2 SSD from PCIE adapter
7) install WD Black SN850X M2 SSD into motherboard slot
8 ) start PC and confirm normal boot and drive recognition (adjust partition sizes if needed)
9) shut down PC
10) install original SK Hynix 512GB SSD into PCIE adapter
11) start PC, confirm drive/partitions in Windows (adjust if needed)
12) confirm speeds
13) wipe 512GB M2 SSD

Step 12 is the only problem I've run into.  The original SK Hynix M2 SSD is detected in BIOS, but NOT in Windows 11 Home.  It does not seem to be an issue with the PCIE x1 slot, the adapter card or the SK Hynix SSD since all functioned normally during the clone process.  Any suggestions on what else may be causing the SSD not to show up in Windows 11 would be appreciated.  Thanks!

[NonSequitur777]

@wuulfgar,

Correct me if I am wrong, but your PC got the Reno motherboard (SSID: 89B5) with a 12th gen Intel Core processor, correct?

Point is, this motherboard has one M.2 NVMe SSD slot.

However, using your PCIe x1 slot is problematic.

Here's why:

Using a PCIe x1 slot for a PCIe to M.2 NVMe SSD adapter has several drawbacks, primarily due to bandwidth limitations:

1. Severe Bandwidth Bottleneck:

• PCIe 3.0 x1 provides only 1 GB/s (8 GT/s) of theoretical bandwidth, while an NVMe SSD typically requires PCIe 3.0 x4, which provides 4 GB/s.
• If you're using PCIe 4.0 x1, it offers 2 GB/s, but even that is significantly lower than the full x4 slot's potential.

 

2. Drastic Performance Reduction:

• High-speed NVMe SSDs, which can reach speeds of 3,500 MB/s (PCIe 3.0) or 7,000 MB/s (PCIe 4.0), will be heavily throttled down to the x1 slot’s limit (1 GB/s or 2 GB/s).
• This can make the SSD perform similarly to a SATA SSD rather than taking advantage of NVMe speeds.

 

3. Higher Latency:

• Since data has to pass through a PCIe adapter and is limited by the x1 lane, latency increases, making the SSD slower in random read/write operations.

 

4. Potential Compatibility Issues:

• Some motherboards and adapters may not properly detect NVMe drives in an x1 slot due to BIOS or chipset limitations.
• Booting from the NVMe drive may not be possible unless explicitly supported by the motherboard.

 

5. Waste of NVMe SSD Potential:

• NVMe SSDs are designed for high-speed applications; using them in an x1 slot defeats their purpose.
• If the system only has an x1 slot available, it might be better to use a SATA SSD instead, as the speed difference wouldn't be as drastic.

 

6. Increased CPU Overhead:

• PCIe lanes are managed by the CPU and chipset. Running an NVMe SSD at x1 could cause unnecessary CPU usage, especially during heavy workloads.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[wuulfgar]

@NonSequitur777, Thank you for your lengthy response. I appreciate your time. And, you are correct on the components. I am, however, aware of all you reported. Couple of points:
1) Respectfully, I never said I was going to keep the PCIE x1 setup. Sorry if I gave the wrong impression. It was just the route I chose to clone the existing drive to the new one. Once that was done, I put the original SSD in the adapter just to confirm it worked (which I was expecting), check the speeds, as well as to wipe it.
2) Your items 1, 2 & 3 are all related. Item 4 is not an issue as I was able to clone the drive using this method. Item 5, while correct, is not that much different from running lower version PCIE components in higher version PCIE motherboards (eg, version 3 component in version 4 MB). Also, limitations aside, I am not aware that keeping this setup would cause any damage to any of the components. Would be interested in any reported problems.
3) Am I wrong, or is an M2 SSD running via a PCIE x1 adapter still not faster that SATA SSD? Yes the SATA SSD is designed for that interface and the M2 SSD is not designed for PCIE x1, but depending on the use case is it really that crazy?
4) You do make a strong and obvious argument. SATA SSD is much more straightforward and simple, and given that the PC comes with three SATA connections that is most likely what I will end up with if I add any more storage long term.
5) My original question remains, why is one M2 SSD detected but not the other in the same setup, and only by the OS? I thought it might be something specific to that SK Hynix SSD. The contents of the two SSD's are identical in that they are clones of each other; is that causing a conflict with Windows? Otherwise the only thing I can think is that I damaged either the adapter card or the SSD when I did the swap. But, then how would the BIOS see it?

Sorry if I wasted your time

Cheers,

[NonSequitur777]

@wuulfgar,

You are not wasting my time whatsoever; these are interesting observations/discussions to have in my opinion.

All I can opine is that had your motherboard been fitted with an additional PCIe x16, x8 or x4 slot, I strongly suspect that your BIOS would have seen it and would have allowed an M.2 NVMe SSD mounted on one of these slots to be 'seen'/used as a primary (boot) drive.

Meaning, apparently -or so it appears to me, there are BIOS/microcode restrictions related with PCIe x1 slots used as a boot drive.  Anyway, I would definitely utilize SSD(s) for secondary storage purposes.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777