NVMe M.2 to USB/SATA adapters

C

codelad

Disciple
Need a means to connect an older spare NVMe M.2 SSD to my machines, over USB (preferably) or SATA, since I do not have a board with NVMe slots. There are NVMe to USB adapters on Amazon (though none seem to be available right now). I'll seldom need to do this, so trying to avoid the more expensive proper NVMe enclosures, if possible.

Transfer speeds don't really matter, but has someone actually used these and are these good enough? Are other options available? Any suggestions? Thank you.
 
Titokhan said:
I can personally vouch for ORICO's products. They always use authentic JMicron chipsets and maintain a very high degree of build quality.
Click to expand...
Had actually looked at the Orico enclosures, but wanted to first see if I could get away with a cheapish bare-bones adapter since I won't be using this much.
SunnyBoi said:
if you have a desktop, get a pcie x4 to nvme card instead. this way you can get a lot more speed and they're much cheaper
Click to expand...
Neat idea. Had never thought of this. This should work for me better since I could permanently reuse the spare NVMe on my desktop. Did a quick check on Amazon, and the prices for these seem to be all over the place. Would you recommend anything specific? Is this good enough - https://www.amazon.in/ADWITS-Express-PCIe-Based-Adapter-Factor/dp/B07T3Z9V8B/

Thank you.
 
codelad said:
Would you recommend anything specific? Is this good enough
Click to expand...
This one seems better. I had one of these cards for my sandybridge PC and even planned to BIOS mod to enable booting thru nvme, later dropped it

Amazon.in: Buy Pi+ (PiPlus™) PCIe 3.0 X4 to M.2 NVME to NVME SSD PCI-e 3.0 x 4 Host Controller Expansion Card Support M Key SSD Type 2280 2260 2242 2230 Adapter Converter Online at Low Prices in India | Piplus Reviews & Ratings

Buy Pi+ (PiPlus™) PCIe 3.0 X4 to M.2 NVME to NVME SSD PCI-e 3.0 x 4 Host Controller Expansion Card Support M Key SSD Type 2280 2260 2242 2230 Adapter Converter online at low price in India on Amazon.in. Check out Pi+ (PiPlus™) PCIe 3.0 X4 to M.2 NVME to NVME SSD PCI-e 3.0 x 4 Host Controller...
www.amazon.in
 
Titokhan said:
I skipped recommending the PCIe cards, cause you specifically asked for external support. But yes, as suggested by @SunnyBoi, it will give you better speed besides being a cost-effective solution.
Click to expand...
It's alright.
SunnyBoi said:
This one seems better. I had one of these cards for my sandybridge PC and even planned to BIOS mod to enable booting thru nvme, later dropped it
...
Click to expand...
Don't intend to boot from this. And from what I understand, these boards are simple straight pass-throughs, on to the PCIe lanes. Yet I see discussions on motherboard support for these adapters that confuses me. The 2.0 revision of the board I have (Asus Sabertooth 990FX rev.1) apparently supports it after a BIOS upgrade, but can't find much details on mine. And it is unclear if it is about the drives working at all, or booting from them.

In this context, it's interesting that you mention a BIOS mod.
 
@codelad

Yes, these adapters doesn't contain any kind of option ROM in them, which means they are relying on the motherboard's firmware when used a bootable media. In case the chipset is old or the motherboard vendor simply doesn't want to add support for PCIe booting, you have to extract the relevant DXE module from another ROM image and mod the firmware (usually referred to as the BIOS) of your motherboard using them. You can also take the soft-mod route.

However, if you're just planning to use them for storage, you don't need any special firmware.
 
Last edited:
Titokhan said:
Yes, these adapters doesn't contain any kind of option ROM in them, which means they are relying on the motherboard's firmware when used a bootable media. In case the chipset is old or the motherboard vendor simply doesn't want to add support for PCIe booting, you have to extract the relevant DXE module from another ROM image and mod the firmware (usually referred to as the BIOS) of your motherboard using them. You can also take the soft-mod route.

However, if you're just planning to use them for storage, you don't need any special firmware.
Click to expand...
Thank you. It's far clearer to me now that I don't need to worry about motherboard support. Would only ever need to use it for semi-permanent storage - don't need to them to boot, nor worried about the transfer speeds. Will go ahead and get the PCIe board.
 
Is there a relatively simple/straightforward way to boot from an nvme m.2 on a gigabyte ds3p rev 1.0?

I'm about to get a stop-gap sata ssd because my old one might die anytime, but if booting's possible i can just get an nvme.

I glanced at the clover-boot method posted above by @Titokhan but not sure it will work on my board. Also, i dual boot 7 and XP so might need legacy support. I don't think xp can boot from uefi.

Also, @Titokhan i've read some of your posts around, and you really know your shit! :cool:
 
@NotMyRealName

Thanks, I take that as a compliment!

Echoing what @SunnyBoi suggested, but in a more precise manner: Considering you actually have the rev. 1.0 variant of the GA-970A-DS3P motherboard (as linked by you), first install the official F2j BIOS, then flash this modded version. The soft-mod-with-Clover mechanism should work on your board as well, but you would need some more adjustments in the Clover config since you're multi-booting with a non-UEFI OS (i.e. Windows XP).
 
Last edited:
NotMyRealName said:
Is there a relatively simple/straightforward way to boot from an nvme m.2 on a gigabyte ds3p rev 1.0?

I'm about to get a stop-gap sata ssd because my old one might die anytime, but if booting's possible i can just get an nvme.

I glanced at the clover-boot method posted above by @Titokhan but not sure it will work on my board. Also, i dual boot 7 and XP so might need legacy support. I don't think xp can boot from uefi.

Also, @Titokhan i've read some of your posts around, and you really know your shit! :cool:
Click to expand...
Don't bother with a NVMe SSD as you won't be able to make out the performance delta b/w NVMe and SATA SSD in normal usage unless you are editing multi GB RAW files. I jumped on the hype bandwagon and the heaviest stuff I run on my PC are games and Handbrake where I didn't see any noticeable difference.
 
SunnyBoi said:
search around on bios-mods forum and you might get a pre modded bios for your board. otherwise modding it is fairly easy. the guide on bios mods is very comprehensive

Click to expand...

Titokhan said:
@NotMyRealName

Thanks, I take that as a compliment!

Echoing what @SunnyBoi suggested, but in a more precise manner: Considering you actually have the rev. 1.0 variant of the GA-970A-DS3P motherboard (as linked by you), first install the official F2j BIOS, then flash this modded version. The soft-mod-with-Clover mechanism should work on your board as well, but you would need some more adjustments in the Clover config since you're multi-booting with a non-UEFI OS (i.e. Windows XP).
Click to expand...

The thing is, i was interested in the soft-mod approach, because i specifically don't want to mess with the BIOS. In case the board dies completely getting a replacement would be a nightmare, because i would be upgrading the entire platform to ryzen+ddr4. And with the lockdown and shit happening it's really hard and expensive to get anything. In fact my ancient cx400 psu died a couple weeks ago and the panic i felt, when amazon and FK said my location was undeliverable, was palpable! Was saved by a local store who had an gigabyte psb450b in stock. expensive, less warranty and not as good as other options, but at least I got the pc running. So i'm walking on eggshells where messing with the pc is concerned. this is short term, as soon as stuff is easily available i will be open to hardcore modding lol.

Marcus Fenix said:
Don't bother with a NVMe SSD as you won't be able to make out the performance delta b/w NVMe and SATA SSD in normal usage unless you are editing multi GB RAW files. I jumped on the hype bandwagon and the heaviest stuff I run on my PC are games and Handbrake where I didn't see any noticeable difference.
Click to expand...

This is kinda future proofing man, for my next build i will anyway be going nvme, but i need an ssd NOW because my current one is in bad-ish shape, So instead of getting a sata now and an nvme later, i thought might as well try and make it work now. I mean it's just a matter of ~3.5k for the sata ssd now, but i'd rather invest that money in a bigger/badder nvme if possible.
 
Back
Top