GUIDE: NVMe drivers - Which driver for which card?

I just installed and tested OpenFabricAlliance Driver 1.5 build 1.9.7 (r1800392) which still requires test signing to be enabled in order to install on Windows 7x64. Unfortunately it is still slower than the Samsung 3.2 driver on my Aorus Gen4 SSD. (approximately 7% on sequential tests and as much as 200% on RND4K) with DiskMark64.



Link to DiskMark64 results for non-members of Guru3D: https://ibb.co/ysCvDhN

Windows 7x64
Ryzen 3900X
MSI X570 Gaming Plus
Radeon RX570

 

the OFA driver fails the WHQL test kit because it doesn't restore from S4 or Hyberboot, thats why its not WHQL signed.

 

- ! Added better download option for the OpenFabrics driver. The new option includes signed files, there is no need for Testmode anymore, just disable hybernation and fast boot!
Because I do not hotlink files and they are put on MEGA (links may change over time) I linked the site where you can get them.

If you like to thank anyone, thank @Fernando 1 , as he did all the work. I strongly recommend his forum for all firmware modding purposes!!

@ryegrass : this should be of interest ...

 

Windows 10 cannot boot self signed or non-microsoft rsa signed drivers under secureboot.

 

Therefore there is a root CA included to import as trusted root CA.
It works on my machine, but I dont use SecureBoot at all.

 

This is all quite eye-opening for me. I have a Silicon Power P34A80 1TB drive and it never occured to me that a different driver might actually be better. Does this apply to pretty much all drives?

 

I can only speak from my limited experience. Since no Windows 7x64 driver existed for my Aorus Gen4 SSD, I first tried KB2990941 which adds native NVMe support in Windows 7. Unfortunately with the exception of certain sequential reads with CrystalDiskMark 7, performance was far below that of internet benchmarks and manufacturing specs for this drive which is why I started seeking alternative drivers. Although the Samsung 3.2.0.1910 driver needs to be "force" installed, it works perfectly in every other respect.

As to your drive, if it uses the generic windows driver, and/or performs below manufacturing specs, it may be worth while trying alternatives. Of course if you do try other "non-standard" drivers, be sure and have an image of your drive to restore if anything goes drastically wrong.

 

Yes, a different driver MAY get you more performance.
For your drive I would recommend to try the OpenAlliance driver from win-raid.com (link in 1st post!). Only downside is you have to disable hibernation and fast boot, so if you critically rely on those, dont use the driver. If you dont mind disabling those, go on.

 

scsiport doesn't support Trim on windows 7, so nvme and asus usb boost is not recommended to be used with nand based storage.

 

Win7 is EOL anyway, so who cares about "abandonware"?

But thanks for posting this. Probably THE tip someone needs.

 

EOL doesnt mean no ones uses it anymore.
and even if it only helps preventing one user "messing up" a storage drive..

 

My first sentence of my previous post was more meant as a joke. I guess some people still use XP, for myself I still run DOS, beat that.
And our both 2nd sentences are mostly identical about the meaning.

Lets have a coffee, mate. It seems you arent awake completely, and I am about to snooze, so lets have one and forget this.

Have a nice day.

 

all good, you just forgot the sarcasm switch: on

 

I tried all the steps, but still can't force NVME driver to be installed (OFA one).
After a requested restart, a driver is still old, I guess my NVME disk is not supported?

 

I am very sorry @SpajdrEX it didn't work out for you.
Did you disable hibernation and fast boot as required? Sorry, I cannot help you more right now.
Probably ask on win-raid.com as they usually provide support for the stuff they post.
If you find a solution to your problem please feel free to post it here.
In theory this driver was intentionally made to support all drives.
You MAY force the driver to install, but I don't know if that would break your system. Maybe ask on win-raid first. ...

 

Yes, hibernation and fast boot is disabled, it's no biggie, just wanted to check it, if I could spot any speed difference.

 

Windows 7 is still recieving patches, and Windows 10 is a joke.

Abandonware would be applicable to Windows 8.1, but i'd even move to that over 10.

 

OFA driver can't be applied to Secure boot systems, it doesn't have the necessary signing.

• To prevent systems from failing to boot properly, boot drivers will not be blocked, but they will be removed by the Program Compatibility Assistant. Future versions of Windows will block boot drivers.

 

Windows 7 is so pedestrian. Ugh. Same mindset as people who prefer vinyl.

 

difference is cd's and vinyl both work

Windows 7 doesn't break every other update, 10 often does. Even if you don't immediately notice it.

i mean sure if you like a search box that just stops working randomly which still occurs in 1909 at random (seems fixed in 2004)
or signtool consuming your cpu and reduced performance in games
legacy sound devices not working well
Sleep/Hibernate deciding to just not work sporadically
or have particular network devices whose windows 10 drivers are fundamentally broken (like the PCE-68U)
or breaks the user profile just coz
or accidentally broke dxgmms2 for almost an entire service update by implementing 4KB chunks in a broken manner.

Windows as an operating system is superior to windows as an operating service.

But lets continue to ignore the fact that windows updates are pulled atleast 4x a year since 2017 (and theres only 12 accumulative updates a year)