Rampage V Extreme M.2 Setup And Windows Installation FAQ

[Chino]

Installing Windows isn’t exactly rocket science. Most of us have probably gone through this process more than once in our lifetime. But M.2 is a relatively new technology after all so it’s normal that some questions will arise. If you’re planning to use this new form factor, I’ve put together a list of the most commonly asked questions.

Just a quick note. The tests in this FAQ were done on the Plextor M6e PX-AG256M6e 256GB which comes with its own OPROM. There are a few drives out there that lack an OPROM so you might need to modify additional settings to make it bootable. Unfortunately, I do not own one of those drives so I can’t tell you what to change. But if I happened to get my hands on one later on, I’ll update this post.


What types of M.2 SSD does the ASUS Rampage V Extreme support?
The ASUS Rampage V Extreme only supports M.2 PCI-Express SSDs. Before you go out and make your purchase, you should first verify that the SSD that you are considering is PCIe based.


What settings do I need to change in the BIOS?
There is only one setting that needs changing. If you were previously fiddling with other settings in the Boot tab, press F5 to load the optimized defaults. Then navigate to the Advanced tab and look under the Onboard Devices Configuration. Change the PCIEx8_4 and M.2 Configuration from Auto to M.2.



Should I install Windows from an USB flash drive or a DVD?
It’s up to you. Personally, I prefer to do my installations from an USB flash drive because it’s quicker. Windows 8.1 PRO took just 7 minutes to install.


Should I install Windows in UEFI mode or legacy mode?
For Plextor M6e owners, you can go with either install. Nevertheless a UEFI installation would be ideal since you get faster boot up times, better integration with hardware and a few extra features.

For Samsung XP941 owners, you're stucked with UEFI. Since the UEFI driver is embedded into the firmware itself, you will have no problems installing in this mode. The problem arises when you want to do a legacy installation because it requires a driver to be loaded during the installation process. With the XP941 being an OEM product, there are no drivers available to install in legacy mode.


How do I install Windows in UEFI mode?
As soon as the ASUS logo pops up during post, spam the F8 key. You will then be presented with a window to choose your boot device. Select your installation media that has the UEFI prefix.



Do I need any additional drivers during the Windows installation process?
No, you do not. I’ve installed the 64 Bit versions of Windows 8.1 Pro and Windows 7 Ultimate onto the Plextor M6e 256GB without the need to introduce any additional drivers during the installation process.


What kind of performance should I be expecting?
Here's a few benchmarks I ran with the Plextor M6e on a fresh Windows 8.1 PRO install.

[Mappi75]

I only want to put it on the v10. the m2 slot.

[Zka17]

Mappi75 - I can confirm that 2-way SLI is working at 16X-16X with the Samsung 960 Pro in the M.2 slot:
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?91762-My-New-System&p=638563#post638563

[Chino]

Try running your system at stock defaults. See if that helps.

[cmcalpine]

Hi Chino,

thanks for the advice. I reset bios to defaults but no change.
Next I decided to remove all other devices except the M2 SSD and the graphics card.
Bam! boot time down to around 5 seconds.
Slowly added back in each extra device, two storage drives, all still good no change to fast boot time.
Then added back in the PCI Hauppauge TV tuner on the PCIEX16_2 slot. back to slow boot times.

Moved the TV Tuner to PCIEX8_3 slot and back to fast boot times but the TV Tuner was not detected.
Found a setting notice in the user guide that advises if a card in that slot is not detected change the setting in BIOS from auto to X8. Restarted and still getting windows boot time of around 5 seconds plus now the TV Tuner card is detected and usable in Windows.

So now from cold start including post a total boot time of about 10 seconds onto the Windows desktop.

Very happy now plus using Samsung Magician I am getting 3268 read and 1735 write.

[Spoonzie]

Hey Guys

I installed windows perfectly on a Samsung 960 Pro, but my issue now is that I am missing 2 SSD's.

These SSD's had my games on it but after in put everything back together they are no longer in list disk (cmd) / bios / disk management or explorer.

I have tried switching around the cables to different SATA ports to no avail.

Running in a Maximus Extreme Assembly.

Any ideas/help?

PS - it has picked up my 2TB HDD and one 240GB SSD - but the other SSD's (a Sandisk 240 and a Samsung 850 Pro) I cannot find anywhere
Thx in advance

[Spoonzie]

Spoonzie wrote:
Hey Guys

I installed windows perfectly on a Samsung 960 Pro, but my issue now is that I am missing 2 SSD's.

These SSD's had my games on it but after in put everything back together they are no longer in list disk (cmd) / bios / disk management or explorer.

I have tried switching around the cables to different SATA ports to no avail.

Running in a Maximus Extreme Assembly.

Any ideas/help?

PS - it has picked up my 2TB HDD and one 240GB SSD - but the other SSD's (a Sandisk 240 and a Samsung 850 Pro) I cannot find anywhere
Thx in advance

Figured it out - some reason the Intel ports didn't work. Maybe M2 blocks em. Have them in the ASMEDIA and now they are alive!

[Chino]

Did you install Windows in UEFI? If so, make sure that the Windows Boot Manager entry is on top of the boot device list.

[montekristo75]

Chino wrote:
Did you install Windows in UEFI? If so, make sure that the Windows Boot Manager entry is on top of the boot device list.

Hello.,
thank you for your reply/comment.

Can you please elaborate as to how this can be done ?

kind regards
Menelaos

[montekristo75]

It's incredible...
After I finished leak testing for my newly build water cooled PC and even though I have installed everything previously and finally managed to get everything stabilized currently I cannot even get windows to install from scratch from my Windows 10 DVD...

It's incredible how stupid people are and how the worst kind of technology prevails ie. Microsoft and Windows...

[Chino]

Spam the F8 key when you see the ASUS logo at boot and select your installation medium with the UEFI prefix.