How to Find NVMe Version on Your Motherboard: A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction

NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is a high-performance, scalable interface that enables rapid access to NVMe SSDs. NVMe is designed to take full advantage of the PCIe bus and supports multiple queues, reducing latency and increasing throughput. If you are building a high-performance system or troubleshooting a storage-related issue, knowing the NVMe version on your motherboard can be essential.

Using System Information Tools

Many system information tools can be used to find the NVMe version on your motherboard, such as Sysinfo for Windows or HWiNFO64/CPU-Z for both Windows and Linux. Unfortunately, as stated in the question, neither of these tools provides the NVMe version directly.

Using CrystalDiskInfo

CrystalDiskInfo is an alternative tool that can show the NVMe version on your motherboard. To use CrystalDiskInfo, download and install it from the official website, https://crystalmark.info/en/software/crystaldiskinfo/. Once installed, follow these steps:

1. Launch CrystalDiskInfo.
2. In the main window, look for the NVMe drive you want to check.
3. Right-click on the drive, then select "Properties" from the context menu.
4. In the "Properties" window, navigate to the "NVMe" tab.
5. Under the "Controller Information" section, you will find the NVMe version displayed as "Spec Revision."

 NVMe Spec Revision: 1.3
 

Using Command Line Interfaces

Another method to find the NVMe version on your motherboard is through the command line interface. Both Windows and Linux systems support this approach.

Using Windows PowerShell

To find the NVMe version using Windows PowerShell, follow these steps:

1. Press the Windows key + X, then select "Windows PowerShell (Admin)" from the menu.
2. Type the following command and press Enter:

Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_PnPEntity -Filter "Name LIKE '%NVMe%'" | Select-Object -Property Name, Manufacturer, Description, DeviceID

You will see output similar to the following:

 Name          Manufacturer      Description                             DeviceID
 ----          ------------      -----------                             ----------
 NVMe Samsung MZVLB256HAHQJC... Samsung Electronics Co Ltd NVMe SSD ... {...}
 

To find the detailed NVMe information, you can use the following PowerShell script:

$NVMeDrives = Get-Volume | Where-Object -Property FileSystem -eq "NVMe"
 foreach ($NVMeDrive in $NVMeDrives) {
     $Name = $NVMeDrive.DriveLetter + ":"
     $DeviceID = (Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Volume -Filter "DriveLetter='$Name'").DeviceID
     $VolumeName = (Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Volume -Filter "DriveLetter='$Name'").VolumeName
     $Manufacturer = (Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_PnPEntity -Filter "DeviceID LIKE '$DeviceID%'").Manufacturer
     $Model = (Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_PnPEntity -Filter "DeviceID LIKE '$DeviceID%'").Model
     $SerialNumber = (Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_PnPEntity -Filter "DeviceID LIKE '$DeviceID%'").SerialNumber

     Write-Output "Name: $Name"
     Write-Output "VolumeName: $VolumeName"
     Write-Output "DeviceID: $DeviceID"
     Write-Output "Manufacturer: $Manufacturer"
     Write-Output "Model: $Model"
     Write-Output "Serial Number: $SerialNumber"

     $NVMeControllerInfo = Get-WmiObject -Class win32_PNPEntity -Filter "DeviceID LIKE '$DeviceID%'" | 
         ForEach-Object {
             $NVMeControllerObject = Get-WmiObject -Query "SELECT * FROM MSStorageDriver_NVMeController WHERE DeviceId = '$($_.DeviceID)'"
             
             New-Object -TypeName PSObject -Property @{
                 ControllerID = $NVMeControllerObject.ControllerID
                 Model = $NVMeControllerObject.Model
                 FirmwareRevision = $NVMeControllerObject.FirmwareRevision
                 SerialNumber = $NVMeControllerObject.SerialNumber
                 Vendor = $NVMeControllerObject.Vendor
                 NVMRevision = $NVMeControllerObject.NVMRevision
             }
         }

     $NVMeControllerInfo = $NVMeControllerInfo | Select-Object -Property ControllerID, Model, FirmwareRevision, Vendor, NVMRevision, SerialNumber
     Write-Output "NVMe Controller Information:"
     Write-Output $NVMeControllerInfo | Format-Table -AutoSize
 }
 

This script will display the detailed NVMe information for all NVMe drives in your system.

Summary and References

This article provided a comprehensive guide for finding the NVMe version on a motherboard using various tools and techniques. Here is a summary of the methods discussed:

• Sysinfo for Windows: Unfortunately, this tool does not provide the NVMe version directly.
• HWiNFO64/CPU-Z for Windows and Linux: These tools do not provide the NVMe version directly.
• CrystalDiskInfo: This tool can be used to find the NVMe version by right-clicking on the NVMe drive and selecting "Properties" from the context menu. The version can be found under the "NVMe" tab under "Controller Information" as "Spec Revision."
• Windows PowerShell: By running the command Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_PnPEntity -Filter "Name LIKE '%NVMe%'" | Select-Object -Property Name, Manufacturer, Description, DeviceID, you can find the basic NVMe information. By running the provided script with the same article, you can find the detailed NVMe information.

Types of references included:

• Online resources: CrystalDiskInfo website, Microsoft documentation for PowerShell commands.