M.2 NVME SSD running in x1 sometimes

[shilent]

Got my 1st M.2 NVME SSD, an Adata SX7000 512GB.

Sometimes when I power on my computer, it'll be in X1 mode. I noticed this when running Crystal Disk Mark, it got less than 800MB/s seq read speeds. Rebooting usually fixes this (sometimes 2 reboots are needed), then I'll get X4 and 1800MB/s seq read speeds.

I don't have another M.2 SSD to test. Could this be a problem with the motherboard, or the SSD?

I have:
- Sapphire R9 Fury in the x16 slot
- Sound BlasterX AE-5 in the bottom X1 slot labeled PCIEX1_3
- Adata SX7000 in the M.2 slot

https://imgur.com/a/3qQ9x

[BlackBishop]

Fast boot in BIOS on or off?

[Clouseau]

Have no clue as to how much you are familiar with the bios. Given this is such a new platform, I do not trust much the auto settings and how reliable they are.

There are two settings:

• Advanced\SATA Configuration>Hyper kit Mode (should be set to disabled)
  
• Advanced\Onboard Devices Configuration>M.2 Link Mode (default setting is Auto) change this to GEN3
  

If the problem still persists, make sure Fast Boot is set to disabled.

Hope this helps.

[shilent]

Thanks for the replies.

Fast boot was enable, so I disabled it.
Hyperkit mode was already disabled.
M.2 Link Mode was already GEN3.

Unfortunately, this did not help. It's still goes to X1 sometimes.

I may have to get my hands on another M.2 SSD somehow to test.

[Clouseau]

shilent wrote:
Thanks for the replies.

Fast boot was enable, so I disabled it.
Hyperkit mode was already disabled.
M.2 Link Mode was already GEN3.

Unfortunately, this did not help. It's still goes to X1 sometimes.

I may have to get my hands on another M.2 SSD somehow to test.

When first booting and then going straight into bios, does the drive show up under the M.2 configuration option? If it does not, there is a compatibility issue with the drive and the board.

[shilent]

Clouseau wrote:
When first booting and then going straight into bios, does the drive show up under the M.2 configuration option? If it does not, there is a compatibility issue with the drive and the board.

Yes it does show up in the BIOS on first boot.

I borrowed an M.2 Intel SSD 6 from work which is PCIex4 to try on my motherboard, and got the same results. I guess it's my mobo.

I'll post in the bug report thread.

[shilent]

Update:

Motherboard temperature seems to affect it.

It's been cold for the past week, around 60-63F inside my room (I don't use a heater) and everyone morning it will not boot to PCIe x4 unless I run a game or Prime95 first.

The first cold morning no matter how many times I've rebooted (7+ times), it was stuck on X1.

I can replicate this every time. It's the mobo temp not the SSD temp, running CrystalDiskMark does not help only games or Prime95.

So now I have two reasons to reboot, when the SuperIO chip bugs out and my PWM fan speeds are screwed, and when I need my SSD at PCIe X4.

[shilent]

It's been over a year now, I've tried nearly all BIOS updates since then, and I still have this problem. It seems to happen less with the latest BIOS, but it still happens.

Am I the only one with this problem?