Problem
- Purchased HP EX950 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD and Orico NVME M.2 EXPANSION CARD (PCI-E 3.0 X4)
- When installed into PCI-E slots, graphics card seems to be disabled
- Display only comes from onboard/motherboard graphics but NVMe is detected and works in Win 10
- GFX Card not detected in Device Manager but the fan is spinning
- Seems that the addition of the NVMe M.2 PCI-E expansion card disables the GFX Card completely regardless of numerous BIOS and hardware configurations
What I Have Tried
- Updated BIOS
- Tried NVMe in both PCIEX8 and PCIEX4 slots with GFX Card in PCIEX16 slot
- Tried GFX Card in PCIEX8 and NVMe in PCIEX4 slots
- GFX Card works in either PCIEX16 and PCIEX8 slots without the NVMe installed
- BIOS: PEG Gen3 Slot Configuration (manual page 49). Setting to: Auto / Gen1 / Gen2 / Gen3
- BIOS: Init Display First (manual page 55). Set to: PCIe 1 Slot with GFX Card in Slot 1 (PCIEX16), NVMe in Slot 3 (PCIEX4)
- BIOS: Init Display First (manual page 55). Set to: PCIe 2 Slot with GFX Card in Slot 2 (PCIEX8), NVMe in Slot 3 (PCIEX4)
- BIOS: PCIE Slot Configuration (manual page 57). Set to: Auto / X4
Questions
- What else can I try to get my graphics card to work with my new NVMe SSD connected via the PCI-E Expansion Card? (Will continue debugging)
- Will my PCIEX16 run at X8 with the NVMe on Slot 2 (PCIEX8)? Yes, due to PCI-E lane sharing.
- Will my PCIEX16 run at X8 with the NVMe on Slot 3 (PCIEX4)? No, the chipset will handle the PCIEX4 and PCIEX1 slots.
- My CPU (and newer ones) have 16 PCI-E lines, does this mean even new PCs drop their PCI-E x16 Slot speeds to x8 if there are NVMe/M.2 drives present since they're on the same line? No, the chipset is used to handle this. The PCIEX4 Slot on my motherboard is handled by the chipset so the GFX Card in the PCIEX16 Slot will operate at X16
System
- CPU: Intel i7 4770
- Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H
- RAM: G.SKill Trident X 16GB
- HDD: 3 SATA Harddrives (2x SSD, 1x 7200RPM)
- GFX: Nvidia GTX 1070
Resources
- Mobo manual: https://download1.gigabyte.com/Files/Manual/mb_manual_ga-z87x-ud3h_e.pdf
- Expansion card: https://www.orico.me/product/orico-m-2-nvme-to-pci-e-3-0-x4-expansion-card-psm2/
- GFX Card: https://www.gigabyte.com/Graphics-Card/GV-N1070IXOC-8GD#kf
Notes
- "New PC" is not a valid solution.
Updates
- 3 Feb 2021
- Questions 2, 3 & 4 Updated
- Realized that my main BIOS was corrupted due to a power failure, so I have been using the backup BIOS for the past 4 years. Perhaps that could be disabling the GFX Card? Switches SW_BIOS and SB are both up (non-default positions - manual page 22).
- BIOS Updated to 11c (unofficial release from Gigabyte to a user with NVMe booting issues). This just made the NVMe visible on boot, but the display still only comes from the motherboard as the GFX Card is still not detected, it seems. See post #51 for the BIOS link: https://www.win-raid.com/t3522f44-OFFER-Gigabyte-GA-Z-X-UD-H-updated-BIOS-vF-b-F-F-c-NVMe-mod-EFI-amp-microcode-3.html
- Found a user with exactly the same problem but with a different motherboard. No solution was found as he assumed his board was faulty: https://forum.level1techs.com/t/gpu-not-detected-after-installing-m-2-nvme-drive/128957
- 12 Feb 2021
- Returned the expansion card and got a NVMe to USB enclosure. Using it as an external for now until I upgrade to a motherboard that has NVMe slots. Sacrificing a lot of speed but it's fast enough for now.
- Enclosure: ORICO M2PV-C3
