NVMe Public Service Announcement!

If you’re looking to implement a high speed NVMe PCIe x4 SSD into your mini-PC for blistering fast SSD storage be sure to check you’re getting all of the performance you have paid for.

One detail that Windows 10 has nailed to make life easier for the average user is the inclusion of a broad array of functional box drivers. For those not in the lingo-loop, a box driver is the default driver utilised by the operating system and is typically quite generic to encourage compatibility and stability.

In the case of the Windows 10 NVMe box driver, as NVMe drives have proliferated in the market and subsequent Win10 OS builds are rolled out, the NVMe support has improved significantly since the launch of the technology. Transfer speeds based on the box driver get close to optimum transfer but a vendor specific driver can still unlock more. Given you’ve paid the premium for NVMe storage, don’t let performance be lost by something as simple as installing the driver. Examples in the table below are from this issue’s roundup labs testing.