Minisforum MS-01 PCIe Card and RAM Compatibility Thread

[PadPoet]

Long time lurker. Just wanted to state that I switched from 64gb of Crucial CL46 DDR5 to 64gb of Kingston CL40 DDR5 memory. I tried searching high and low to see if anyone else had done this test but couldn't find anything. Putting this info out there in case anyone is curious or want to know if this Kingston RAM works with the MS-01. BIOS version is 1.26

Old ram: 64GB Crucial 5600mhz CL46 SO-DIMM DDR5 (2X32gb). RAM code is CT2K32G56C46S5
Info Link: Crucial 64GB Kit (32GBx2) DDR5-5600 SODIMM | CT2K32G56C46S5 | Crucial EU

New ram: 64GB Crucial 5600mhz CL40 SO-DIMM DDR5 (2X32gb). RAM code is KF556S40IBK2-64
Info Link: https://www.kingston.com/datasheets/KF556S40IBK2-64.pdf

Left is Crucial ram (CL46), right is Kingston ram (CL40) in the AIDA cache & memory benchmark. Test was done in non-turbo mode (Turbo mode was off).

 

[Scott Laird]

Nice to see that it works. I'm kind of surprised that it was only a ~6% win on memory latency given the ~15% change in DIMM timings, but I've never really paid a ton of attention to benchmarks and RAM performance. Presumably that's normal?

 

[PadPoet]

Nice to see that it works. I'm kind of surprised that it was only a ~6% win on memory latency given the ~15% change in DIMM timings, but I've never really paid a ton of attention to benchmarks and RAM performance. Presumably that's normal?

I'll do a re-run today but I also expected more to be honest. I'm running Windows 10 IoT LTSC. Aida is also kinda finnicky, it might give 90ns on a run then 88ns if you immediately run it again. I'll do some tests and report back.

 

[pizgoo]

has anyone ever attached a PCIE switch to their MS01?

im looking at the PLX88096 to the MS01 pci4x8 slot.

Then i'd be able to attach multiple gpus.

right now i've got a 3090 to the PCIE4x8 working quite well, but would like another.

 

[doctorcocoa]

There's a working option to add one more M.2 slot to the MS-01 without using the PCIe slot or the Wi-Fi M.2 slot.
I installed the QNAP QDA-U2MP using the M.2 to U.2 adapter that comes with the MS-01. The QNAP enclosure needs to be removed for the card to fit. It's a tight fit, but is easy to do. It works well: you can put the original fan/plate back and close the case normally, no clearance issues. While there’s not enough space for individual SSD heatsinks, the original MS-01 fan/plate acts as one.

With an external fan blowing on the side of the MS-01, the two SSDs in the QNAP adapter idle at around 55°C, which is actually cooler than the SSDs in slot 2 and 3 (those have heatsinks and idle at around 60C).
EDIT : I ended up removing the heatsink on the 3rd SSD (the one closest to the WiFi card), to prevent it from obstructing the fan. I hadn't noticed it at first, but realized the 2nd and 3rd SSDs were getting unusually hot. Doing this lowered the idle SSD temp by 10°C vs before. Thank you @randman for the tip.

Downsides:

• The controller in the QNAP downgrades the link to PCIe 3.0 x4 (instead of PCIe 4.0 x4).
• It’s still relatively expensive compared to using an M.2 riser on the Wi-Fi slot or a PCIe M.2 expansion card.

But if you want to keep the PCIe slot free and avoid being limited to PCIe 3.0 x1 via the Wi-Fi slot, this is a solid hack option.



View attachment 42646

View attachment 42643
View attachment 42645

@dokterdok Did it actually work? I got the same card but truenas isn’t even detecting any drives. the port works with regular M2 drive. The toggle is set just like you have in the picture.