ASRock Forums : Z170 Extreme7+ / Samsung 950 Pro https://forum.asrock.com/ Copyright (c) 2006-2013 Web Wiz Forums - All Rights Reserved. Fri, 01 May 2026 10:10:56 +0000 Sun, 08 Nov 2015 15:00:22 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Web Wiz Forums 12.04 360 https://forum.asrock.com/RSS_post_feed.asp?TID=1168 <![CDATA[ASRock Forums]]> https://forum.asrock.com/forum_images/web_wiz_forums_black.png https://forum.asrock.com/ <![CDATA[Z170 Extreme7+ / Samsung 950 Pro : Xaltar wrote:Damn that is quick....]]> https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5457&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5457 Author: parsec
Subject: 1168
Posted: 08 Nov 2015 at 3:00pm

Originally posted by Xaltar Xaltar wrote:

Damn that is quick. AS SSD is bugged for sure, as we discussed in my N3150M review. Over 50MB/s for 4k is Shocked!


Yes I remember that about AS SSD, producing odd results occasionally.  I forget if I mentioned that happens on laptop PCs sometimes too.

I agree over 50MB/s for 4K is wild, but that is one of the things NVMe is all about. NVMe somehow reduces the protocol overhead compared to AHCI on 4K random reads. Over 40MB/s 4K read speeds are rare for SATA SSDs.

The main thing I don't like about RAID 0 arrays is they always have reduced 4K read speeds compared to using a single drive of the same kind used in the RAID array. Booting an OS is many small file/4K random reads, the 2GB/s+ large file sequential read speed does not matter much in that case.

That is why many users would say they did not get faster boot times going from SATA II to SATA III SSDs. The large file read speed went from 250MB/s to 500MB/s, but unless the 4K random read speed increased significantly (which it didn't in to many instances), the boot time would not change.
]]> Sun, 08 Nov 2015 15:00:22 +0000 https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5457&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5457 <![CDATA[Z170 Extreme7+ / Samsung 950 Pro : Thanks for that STANKYLEG!I also...]]> https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5456&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5456 Author: parsec
Subject: 1168
Posted: 08 Nov 2015 at 2:43pm

Thanks for that STANKYLEG!

I also found the RAID 0 array to be... delicate I'll call it. I have a feeling it is more of a problem with the IRST driver and IRST Option ROM, the latter being part of the UEFI/BIOS file.

I want to assure you that you are not doing anything wrong (or don't seem to be Cool ) that causes the RAID array to fail.

I've seen this happen myself, and the first RAID 0 users with our ASRock boards that I worked with had the same issue. We even discussed ways to recreate the RAID 0 arrays used as OS volumes, by having backups or another OS installation we could clone to the RAID 0 array. That's what I did the first time I used my RAID 0 array of SM951s, I cloned my Win 10 installation from a single SSD to the RAID 0 array. That worked fine and I ran Windows from the RAID 0 array until it failed after a UEFI clear, which I did as a test. Ouch

I've said this elsewhere; after a simple UEFI/BIOS clear, and starting the PC and immediately going into the UEFI, meaning Windows did not boot and only the POST process completed, was enough to cause the RAID 0 array to fail. After resetting all the UEFI options to the values required for a RAID 0 array to function, and restarting the PC from the UEFI "Save and Exit" and going directly back into the UEFI again (no OS boot, only POST) did not bring the RAID 0 array back to life.

I then let the PC boot into Windows, using another drive as the OS drive at that time when testing an empty RAID 0 array, and the RAID 0 array still had a status of failed, which is really no surprise.

If you've ever worked with SATA SSDs in RAID 0, you know you can clear the UEFI/BIOS, which sets the SATA mode to AHCI (the default), and go directly into the UEFI, reset the  SATA mode to RAID, restart the PC and go directly into the UEFI again, and you'll find the RAID 0 array is working fine. I've even moved a RAID 0 array of SSDs from one (Intel) board to another, and the RAID array still works. Actually, if you don't specifically delete the RAID array with SATA drives, you can't format them as a single drive in Windows. The RAID 0 metadata (data about the RAID array, which is stored on the drives in the array) remains intact on SATA SSDs. That does not seem to be the case with PCIe SSDs, which is just a theory of mine.

I really don't see this as being something ASRock can simply fix. IF it was a UEFI problem, IMO the programmers of the UEFI firmware, AMI in this case, would be the only one that could fix it.

Do you recall the events leading up to the failure of your RAID 0 array?


]]> Sun, 08 Nov 2015 14:43:48 +0000 https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5456&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5456 <![CDATA[Z170 Extreme7+ / Samsung 950 Pro : Thanks everyone &amp; to parsec...]]> https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5448&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5448 Author: STANKYLEG
Subject: 1168
Posted: 08 Nov 2015 at 6:53am

Thanks everyone & to parsec especially.

the raid failed after some time.

I was getting around 20-40% higher scores in AS SSD with it in RAID 0 but didn't save a screen shot 

this is one of the drives - i really feel raid is way too unstable.   twice when it rebooted - the raid was unbootable.   i kind of just gave up.    maybe a bios update or two and it will be ok?

honestly at this speed with 1 drive it's fast and stable.   hope to hear back soon.   thanks for creating such a great motherboard.



]]> Sun, 08 Nov 2015 06:53:45 +0000 https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5448&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5448 <![CDATA[Z170 Extreme7+ / Samsung 950 Pro : Came across this raid 0 result....]]> https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5404&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5404 Author: DooRules
Subject: 1168
Posted: 07 Nov 2015 at 6:19am

Came across this raid 0 result. Only an atto bench but interesting  none the less. Good scaling on writes, work to be done on the reads... this will be fun I thinkSmile

https://tinkertry.com/how-to-boot-win10-from-samsung-950-pro-nvme-on-superserver


]]> Sat, 07 Nov 2015 06:19:17 +0000 https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5404&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5404 <![CDATA[Z170 Extreme7+ / Samsung 950 Pro : Starman,Had the same problem...]]> https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5402&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5402 Author: Brimstead
Subject: 1168
Posted: 07 Nov 2015 at 5:50am

Starman,
 
Had the same problem with installing Win10.  Turns out there are two options in the UEFI boot list for my Win10 USB memory stick.  One was listed as USB-MSFTWindows and the other was UEFI-MSFTWindows.  Both were referring to the same memory stick.  The USB gave the problem when I tried to install Windows.  The UEFI as the first boot device let me install win10 just fine.
]]> Sat, 07 Nov 2015 05:50:09 +0000 https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5402&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5402 <![CDATA[Z170 Extreme7+ / Samsung 950 Pro : Damn that is quick. AS SSD is...]]> https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5376&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5376 Author: Xaltar
Subject: 1168
Posted: 06 Nov 2015 at 4:36pm

Damn that is quick. AS SSD is bugged for sure, as we discussed in my N3150M review. Over 50MB/s for 4k is Shocked!]]> Fri, 06 Nov 2015 16:36:06 +0000 https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5376&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5376 <![CDATA[Z170 Extreme7+ / Samsung 950 Pro : First results for my single, 256GB...]]> https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5371&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5371 Author: parsec
Subject: 1168
Posted: 06 Nov 2015 at 3:24pm

First results for my single, 256GB 950 Pro (all they had left at MicroCenter Angry )









The high queue depth 4K Read IOPs in AS SSD is hilarious! NO, that is NOT a RAPID (poisoned) result!

Otherwise the results are on spec IMO. I love to see the high 4K Random read speed, going over 50MB/s in AS SSD is rare, since it is the least forgiving benchmark.

Samsung really seems to have limited the write speed on the 950, since it does not match that of the SM951. That must be to reduce the 950's temperature and prevent throttling.

If only the IRST driver could preserve the high queue depth IOPS in RAID 0. The current driver results in the RAID 0 array having worse high queue depth 4K performance than a single drive, using SM951s. The IRST driver needs some work when it comes to its PCIe SSD support.

All of these results were with the Samsung NVMe driver installed.
]]> Fri, 06 Nov 2015 15:24:28 +0000 https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5371&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5371 <![CDATA[Z170 Extreme7+ / Samsung 950 Pro : Starman63 wrote:I have 2 new...]]> https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5370&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5370 Author: parsec
Subject: 1168
Posted: 06 Nov 2015 at 2:24pm

Originally posted by Starman63 Starman63 wrote:

I have 2 new 950 pros in a 170 OC Formula.

I have the raid created in the bios and it shows the raid is bootable.

However, when I go to load windows (Yes, I have loaded the Intel 64 bit driver) it recognizes the entire 1tb (almost) drive, but will not install to it because it says the drive is not bootable due to the controller...

I have tried MANY options and they all do the same thing.

GRRRR


Do you have the Launch Storage OpROM policy sub-option of the CSM option set to UEFI Only? Or are you installing with CSM disabled?

Did you load the IRST 14.6 F6 driver, from the Custom installation option?

You are in new territory with a RAID 0 of the 950 Pros as an OS drive. The controller message you mentioned worries me... this may not work, but I don't know yet either way. The Samsung NVMe driver is not an F6 type driver, it is wrapped up in an installer. Apparently the Windows NMVe driver won't work in RAID.

Keep trying and ask for more help if you want to.
]]> Fri, 06 Nov 2015 14:24:25 +0000 https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5370&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5370 <![CDATA[Z170 Extreme7+ / Samsung 950 Pro : DooRules wrote:I have this...]]> https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5369&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5369 Author: parsec
Subject: 1168
Posted: 06 Nov 2015 at 2:14pm

Originally posted by DooRules DooRules wrote:

I have this board, also looking at a couple of 950 pros to play with. Some good info here parsec, thanks much...

Surely there can't be two parsecs running round the net with this much raid info... good to see you again. Smile


OMG, DooRules, is that really you?!?!?! Wink Thumbs Up

You've been MIA from the OCN SSD forum for a long time now, I was worried you drove your snow mobile off a cliff... seriously!!! Cool

You gotta know it's me man, cuz it is. Great to see you are still in this game too!!

Be careful with RAID 0 of these PCIe SSDs, you MUST use the 128K stripe or performance is terrible. Plus the IRST 14.6 driver is... the first one that really works with these SSDs, and is still a little flaky.

Otherwise, lets see what YOU can do with these SSDs and ASRock board (??)
]]> Fri, 06 Nov 2015 14:14:31 +0000 https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5369&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5369 <![CDATA[Z170 Extreme7+ / Samsung 950 Pro : I have 2 new 950 pros in a 170...]]> https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5365&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5365 Author: Starman63
Subject: 1168
Posted: 06 Nov 2015 at 8:04am

I have 2 new 950 pros in a 170 OC Formula.

I have the raid created in the bios and it shows the raid is bootable.

However, when I go to load windows (Yes, I have loaded the Intel 64 bit driver) it recognizes the entire 1tb (almost) drive, but will not install to it because it says the drive is not bootable due to the controller...

I have tried MANY options and they all do the same thing.

GRRRR
]]> Fri, 06 Nov 2015 08:04:44 +0000 https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1168&PID=5365&title=z170-extreme7-samsung-950-pro#5365