- Joined
- Jan 12, 2001
- Location
- Kansas, USA
Introduction and initial prep:
In my last review, we learned to add cooling to keep your high speed M.2 drive happy.
Now that we can tame them, let's turn them loose. This time we are going to unleash two Samsung SM961 256GB M.2 drives by using RAID 0 (striped). I bought two Samsung OEM drives, which are typically used in servers and enterprise. If you can find them, they are cheaper than the 960 EVO and 960 Pro, even though they are nearly the same.
Photo: front and back of the two new 256GB Samsung SM961 M.2 drives (256GB flash drive included for scale).
For these cheaper drives, I ripped off the label immediately and began searching for heatsinks to mount onto the IC chips.
Photo: Voiding the warranty by pealing off the label (no copper in these labels). Two memory chips are to the left and the larger one to the right is the controller (if you only use one sink, that's the one to put it on). The smaller chip that sits down slightly is the cache package.
Photo: I had lots of different sinks to choose from when I dug around in my computer junk box. Not only did I have leftover and used sinks, but I also found a bunch that were still brand new.
Photo of various sinks that I trial fitted (nothing attached in this shot).
I decided to use Arctic Silver thermal adhesive to permanently affix the sinks to the M.2 module. I decided to sink up one drive and leave the other temporarily naked to see what difference the cooling mods made. Unfortunately, when I mixed the two-part epoxy I squeezed out more than I expected, so I hurried and attached all of the sinks on both drives without thinking. So, we'll have to find some "before" temperature data from other sources.
When you install the heatsinks, be careful not to let it contact the circuitry on the module. If you use AS epoxy that is conductive like I did, don't let the excess squeeze out onto stuff or you'll have a dead drive.
Photo: Beware, there is a lot of tiny electronic circuitry on the module (side view).
I was going to use the adapter card in a PCIe slot, but there was a possibility the card might not work in a RAID unless I used other hardware or purchased a KEY from Intel (that ain't gonna happen). So, I removed the single Samsung 960 Pro boot drive from the MB socket and installed both new SM9961 drives onto the M.2 sockets on the motherboard. That 5 inch (125mm) bracket sticks up perpendicular to the MB.
Photo: Drives installed with their cute little blue heatsinks (upper one mounts vertically and lower one mounts horizontally, each MB is different).
Build a RAID 0 array and install Windows 10.
Making a RAID 0 array with HDDs or SATA SSDs is easy compared to trying to use M.2 NVMe drives. In fact, it proved rather complicated and time consuming. Of course, I was clueless. Many people say it can't be done on this chipset. They often can get the RAID setup, but then Windows won't recognize it. But, other folks claim it CAN be done.
I wanted to use the UEFI-based method of making the new drives RAID 0 and bootable (you go through the BIOS to set up the RAID). Intel calls it Rapid Storage Technology (RST). There are performance advantages if you can use UEFI to make your RAID (fast boot up times for example). I have a couple of guides bookmarked and printed out, plus a lot of handwritten notes. I provided the links below, but be warned, neither completely worked for me, but they did get me on the right path and helped me figure stuff out.
https://vip.asus.com/forum/view.asp...E&id=20150609153048030&page=1&SLanguage=en-us
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthre...1-10-The-proper-way-(UEFI-based-installation)
Maybe I should try to do a how to guide for installing a M.2 RAID on the X299 chipset?
Literally, I was staring at BIOS menus and pulling out my hair for hours. Other times I was googling on my laptop trying to find out more info. I was bound and determined to do it and there seemed to be enough anecdotal evidence online that it could be done
One thing I will mention, it's critical to download official Intel RST (RAID) drivers (so called F6 drivers) and put them on a flash drive. At an early point in the Windows install, you need to load those driver for your striped "volume" to show up in Windows to select as boot drive. Another thing I discovered, disconnect all other drives. Not sure why, but it hinders the process somehow.
I tried to be prepared, I researched and printed stuff out and made notes as I read article... but it still boiled down to trial and error. I would not give up. I just kept trying stuff. Ok, let's move on. Windows shows the two 256GB SSDs as one 512GB drive.
You can bet I was happy when this screen popped up:
Temps where taken during benchmarking like before. Just normal case ventilation, nothing special besides the passive sinks I showed you already (which are working great).
Load Maximum Temp in C. for sensor 2 (closest to the controller):
Test 1: 48 drive 1 and 48 drive 2
Test 2: 49 drive 1 and 48 drive 2
Now for the Samsung SM961 RAID 0 benchmark scores:
I'll repost my Samsung 960 Pro screenshot again:
Let's compare that to my Samsung 850 EVO 2.5" SATA SSD:
The pair of SM961s running RAID 0 is definitely faster than their single cousin 960 Pro. Maybe not as fast as I had hoped (and/or dreamed?), but definitely better in all benching scores (and dominated in a couple). I bought these two OEM 256GB Sammies for less than a single Samsung 960 Pro. I would say that's a bargain if you're looking for high performance drives. I'm speculating about the only thing that will beat a pair of striped SM961 drives would be twin 960 Pros (and maybe 960 EVOs) in RAID 0 mode.
These drives do run a little cooler than their 960 Pro cousin, plus the sinks attached with thermal adhesive appear to be doing an awesome job. If I were to do it again, I might just try a single sink on the controller and see how that works. The disadvantage is the sinks are permanent.
I give this setup a hearty thumb's up. It makes me smile... when I forget the mental anguish of yesterday.
Just one thing is a little puzzling, I figured the one M.2 by the RAM slot would get warmer due to less air flow (it's in a dead zone for air movement. Maybe mounting it vertical is not a bad idea after all. Once I moved wires and hoses out of the way, it fits in there ok. Next time I take that M.2 bracket off, I'm trimming an inch off it though.
That concludes Bat's How To: Unleashing the Wild M.2 SSD.
In my last review, we learned to add cooling to keep your high speed M.2 drive happy.
Now that we can tame them, let's turn them loose. This time we are going to unleash two Samsung SM961 256GB M.2 drives by using RAID 0 (striped). I bought two Samsung OEM drives, which are typically used in servers and enterprise. If you can find them, they are cheaper than the 960 EVO and 960 Pro, even though they are nearly the same.
Photo: front and back of the two new 256GB Samsung SM961 M.2 drives (256GB flash drive included for scale).
For these cheaper drives, I ripped off the label immediately and began searching for heatsinks to mount onto the IC chips.
Photo: Voiding the warranty by pealing off the label (no copper in these labels). Two memory chips are to the left and the larger one to the right is the controller (if you only use one sink, that's the one to put it on). The smaller chip that sits down slightly is the cache package.
Photo: I had lots of different sinks to choose from when I dug around in my computer junk box. Not only did I have leftover and used sinks, but I also found a bunch that were still brand new.
Photo of various sinks that I trial fitted (nothing attached in this shot).
I decided to use Arctic Silver thermal adhesive to permanently affix the sinks to the M.2 module. I decided to sink up one drive and leave the other temporarily naked to see what difference the cooling mods made. Unfortunately, when I mixed the two-part epoxy I squeezed out more than I expected, so I hurried and attached all of the sinks on both drives without thinking. So, we'll have to find some "before" temperature data from other sources.
When you install the heatsinks, be careful not to let it contact the circuitry on the module. If you use AS epoxy that is conductive like I did, don't let the excess squeeze out onto stuff or you'll have a dead drive.
Photo: Beware, there is a lot of tiny electronic circuitry on the module (side view).
I was going to use the adapter card in a PCIe slot, but there was a possibility the card might not work in a RAID unless I used other hardware or purchased a KEY from Intel (that ain't gonna happen). So, I removed the single Samsung 960 Pro boot drive from the MB socket and installed both new SM9961 drives onto the M.2 sockets on the motherboard. That 5 inch (125mm) bracket sticks up perpendicular to the MB.
Photo: Drives installed with their cute little blue heatsinks (upper one mounts vertically and lower one mounts horizontally, each MB is different).
Build a RAID 0 array and install Windows 10.
Making a RAID 0 array with HDDs or SATA SSDs is easy compared to trying to use M.2 NVMe drives. In fact, it proved rather complicated and time consuming. Of course, I was clueless. Many people say it can't be done on this chipset. They often can get the RAID setup, but then Windows won't recognize it. But, other folks claim it CAN be done.
I wanted to use the UEFI-based method of making the new drives RAID 0 and bootable (you go through the BIOS to set up the RAID). Intel calls it Rapid Storage Technology (RST). There are performance advantages if you can use UEFI to make your RAID (fast boot up times for example). I have a couple of guides bookmarked and printed out, plus a lot of handwritten notes. I provided the links below, but be warned, neither completely worked for me, but they did get me on the right path and helped me figure stuff out.
https://vip.asus.com/forum/view.asp...E&id=20150609153048030&page=1&SLanguage=en-us
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthre...1-10-The-proper-way-(UEFI-based-installation)
Maybe I should try to do a how to guide for installing a M.2 RAID on the X299 chipset?
Literally, I was staring at BIOS menus and pulling out my hair for hours. Other times I was googling on my laptop trying to find out more info. I was bound and determined to do it and there seemed to be enough anecdotal evidence online that it could be done
One thing I will mention, it's critical to download official Intel RST (RAID) drivers (so called F6 drivers) and put them on a flash drive. At an early point in the Windows install, you need to load those driver for your striped "volume" to show up in Windows to select as boot drive. Another thing I discovered, disconnect all other drives. Not sure why, but it hinders the process somehow.
I tried to be prepared, I researched and printed stuff out and made notes as I read article... but it still boiled down to trial and error. I would not give up. I just kept trying stuff. Ok, let's move on. Windows shows the two 256GB SSDs as one 512GB drive.
You can bet I was happy when this screen popped up:
Temps where taken during benchmarking like before. Just normal case ventilation, nothing special besides the passive sinks I showed you already (which are working great).
Load Maximum Temp in C. for sensor 2 (closest to the controller):
Test 1: 48 drive 1 and 48 drive 2
Test 2: 49 drive 1 and 48 drive 2
Now for the Samsung SM961 RAID 0 benchmark scores:
I'll repost my Samsung 960 Pro screenshot again:
Let's compare that to my Samsung 850 EVO 2.5" SATA SSD:
The pair of SM961s running RAID 0 is definitely faster than their single cousin 960 Pro. Maybe not as fast as I had hoped (and/or dreamed?), but definitely better in all benching scores (and dominated in a couple). I bought these two OEM 256GB Sammies for less than a single Samsung 960 Pro. I would say that's a bargain if you're looking for high performance drives. I'm speculating about the only thing that will beat a pair of striped SM961 drives would be twin 960 Pros (and maybe 960 EVOs) in RAID 0 mode.
These drives do run a little cooler than their 960 Pro cousin, plus the sinks attached with thermal adhesive appear to be doing an awesome job. If I were to do it again, I might just try a single sink on the controller and see how that works. The disadvantage is the sinks are permanent.
I give this setup a hearty thumb's up. It makes me smile... when I forget the mental anguish of yesterday.
Just one thing is a little puzzling, I figured the one M.2 by the RAM slot would get warmer due to less air flow (it's in a dead zone for air movement. Maybe mounting it vertical is not a bad idea after all. Once I moved wires and hoses out of the way, it fits in there ok. Next time I take that M.2 bracket off, I'm trimming an inch off it though.
That concludes Bat's How To: Unleashing the Wild M.2 SSD.
Last edited:
Glad those temps are what you expected. Good luck with the windows image recovery.
