If you’ve invested in a PCIe Gen 5 solid-state drive (SSD), you’re likely looking for the impressive speed that comes with it. However, some users with AMD X670E motherboards are facing a frustrating reality: their cutting-edge Gen 5 SSDs are performing at shockingly low speeds.
Reports from users of MSI and Asus motherboards utilizing the X670E chipset reveal that these motherboards may be limiting Gen 5 drives to PCIe Gen 1 speeds. Instead of enjoying the anticipated read and write speeds exceeding 10GB/s, some users are stuck with speeds as slow as 1GB/s on an x4 lane. This performance dip is alarming, especially when considering the significant investment in both the SSD and the compatible motherboard.
WCCFTech highlighted a now-removed comment from a Crucial representative, who indicated that the issue could be linked to the first M.2 slot on the motherboard. This slot typically shares PCIe lanes with the primary PCIe expansion slot where the graphics card is installed. While relocating the SSD to a different M.2 slot may resolve the speed issue, it might also mean a downgrade to Gen 4 speeds, limiting performance further.
Some users report that the latest BIOS updates from MSI have resolved these issues, but the solution isn’t universal. For those grappling with slow performance or boot issues on their AMD systems, moving the SSD to a different slot could be a worthwhile troubleshooting step. Remember to back up important data before making any adjustments to avoid accidental data loss.