Dell OptiPlex 3060 - Enable NVMe Gen 3 speeds (Enable PCIe 3.0)

optiplex-3060-enable-pcie3.md

Enable PCIe 3.0 speeds for NVMe SSDs on Dell OptiPlex 3060

Out of the box, any M.2 NVMe SSDs connected to the Dell OptiPlex 3060 runs at PCIe Gen 2.0 speeds (Max 5 GT/s; 2 GB/s) so the speed tests look like this:

However, after this BIOS mod, the SSD can reach PCIe Gen 3.0 speeds (Max 8 GT/s; 3.9 GB/s) so the speed tests look like this:

Steps to enable PCIe 3.0

Click here to watch a video tutorial

0. Disable Secure Boot in the BIOS:

   Settings → Secure Boot → Secure Boot Enable → select Disabled

1. Download the latest version of RU.EFI from http://ruexe.blogspot.com/

2. Format a USB pen drive as FAT32 using MBR partitioning

3. Copy RU.EFI to the root of the pen drive (e.g. D:\RU.EFI)

4. Reboot the OptiPlex 3060 with the pen drive plugged in and enter BIOS by pressing F2

5. Under Settings → General → Boot Sequence click on Add Boot Option

6. Under File System List select your USB pen drive. It has a name like

   PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x14,0x0)/USB(0x7,0x0)/HD(1.MBR,0x52DED30C)

7. Click on the 3 dots ... and select RU.EFI from the list of files

8. For Boot Option Name enter a name and click OK. This will be displayed on the boot selection screen (e.g. RU.EFI)

9. Click Apply and select Save as Custom User Settings and click OK

10. Click Exit

11. The system will now reboot. Repeatedly press F12 until you get to the boot device selection screen

12. Under UEFI BOOT: select the boot device with the name you entered in Step 8 (e.g. RU.EFI) and press Enter

13. Press Enter to dismiss the RU.EFI splash screen

14. Press Alt+= to get to the UEFI variable editor screen

15. Press the ↓ key until you get to the Setup UEFI variable and press Enter

16. Press Ctrl+PgDown keys until you see 0C40 on the left

17. Press ↓ until your cursor is at the first number in the 0C40 row

18. Press Enter and press 0 and 3 and press Enter again to update the first number in the row from 02 to 03

19. Change all 02 to 03 in line 0C40 and 0C50

20. Press Ctrl+W to write changes and press Alt+Q to exit and reboot

Test the change

Besides the obvious speed difference that can be noticed in a CrystalDiskMark benchmark, you can also check to see if the PCIe version reported in HWiNFO has changed

Before

After

Credit

https://github.com/Lorys89/DELL_OPTIPLEX_3060_MFF

It worked. I noticed if you update any of the core drivers it goes back to 2.0 you have to do it all over again

I noticed if you update any of the core drivers it goes back to 2.0

Interesting. I haven't noticed that. Even a BIOS update didn't revert to PCIe 2.0 for me but I never checked again after that one time.

Worth noting that secure boot must be disabled in the BIOS for this to work. It's enabled by default and if left enabled, booting to RU.EFI fails and you will be dropped straight into the SupportAssist interface.

Otherwise great writeup, succesfully enabled PCIe 3.0 on my 3060 micro using version 5.31.0410.

Interesting. I haven't noticed that. Even a BIOS update didn't revert to PCIe 2.0 for me but I never checked again after that one time.

I got a recycled 3060 and did the BIOS trick first. None of the drivers were ever updated. After updated everything it went back to 2.0 and had to do BIOS trick again. The chipset update must have did it. Now its permanently 3.0

Hello @1oh1 , I have a 3060 too and I have a related question, I saw some other models already have the 9th gen unlocked. Do you know how we could do that for the 3060? I would love to upgrade from the 8100T to the 9900T

Hello @1oh1 , I have a 3060 too and I have a related question, I saw some other models already have the 9th gen unlocked. Do you know how we could do that for the 3060? I would love to upgrade from the 8100T to the 9900T

You won't notice much of an improvement because of the bottlenecks. Get a really fast NVMe drive

Do you know how we could do that for the 3060

The CPU on the 3060 Micro is a user-replaceable, non-soldered desktop chip so if you can get your hands on a 9900T you can swap the 8100T with a 9900T.

Here's a video of someone doing a CPU replacement on the 3060:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6FKqT1wy3w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xon98QsBm8E

They both use the same socket FCLGA1151 and are both rated for 35W so your power adapter should be able to supply enough juice. However, like @BeegDeek said, you will likely not see any improvements in disk performance with a 9900T over 8100T. You should however notice a significant improvement in CPU performance (passmark scores: 13522 vs 5312) at the cost of more heat. Hopefully the stock heat sink and fan are enough to dissipate that heat.

Worth noting that secure boot must be disabled in the BIOS for this to work

That is correct. I've updated the gist to reflect that.

Do you know how we could do that for the 3060

The CPU on the 3060 Micro is a user-replaceable, non-soldered desktop chip so if you can get your hands on a 9900T you can swap the 8100T with a 9900T.

Here's a video of someone doing a CPU replacement on the 3060: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6FKqT1wy3w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xon98QsBm8E

They both use the same socket FCLGA1151 and are both rated for 35W so your power adapter should be able to supply enough juice. However, like @BeegDeek said, you will likely not see any improvements in disk performance with a 9900T over 8100T. You should however notice a significant improvement in CPU performance (passmark scores: 13522 vs 5312) at the cost of more heat. Hopefully the stock heat sink and fan are enough to dissipate that heat.

I was looking online, they said Dell never added support for the 9th gen processor. Some people manually add it (micro code). Here is the topic about it on Dells site:

https://www.dell.com/community/Optiplex-Desktops/Optiplex-7060-SFF-Upgrade-from-i5-8500-to-i7-9700/td-p/7395080

Thanks for the help

I have 10 of the Dell Optiplex 3060 Small Form Factors with I5-8500 3.0 Ghz cpu with 16gb of memory. & Micron 256 gb m.2 ssd

I want to upgrade to a larger and hopefully faster m.2 drive I looked at a local retailer at the samsung 980 Pro 2tb internal gaming ssd PCIe Gen 4x4 NVMe , the 990PPro 2tb internal SSD PCIe GTen 4x4 NVMe and 970EVO Plus 2tb Internal SSD PCIe GEn 3x4 NVMe which one would be best to install for these computers (assuming that 2tb versions will work. I saw the conversation from the dell forum that brought me here and this looks like a excellent performance enhancement. Thanks for all the hard work. the 1st 2 that I am going to do is for a system that I'll be doing all kings of things on and the other is for a Mass Spectrometer this drive will have Windows 10 Pro and the Mass Spec software 16gb ram and I have to add a additional network port. I would appreciate any input on what drive would be best for each of these I have had wonderful luck with the samsung m.2 drives but I have always used Asus boards but I have to put these in these in The dell 3060's Thank you for your help and all the great videos and documentation and I appreciate in advance the advice as to which drive to install or if none of the above then which one to get

I was looking online, they said Dell never added support for the 9th gen processor

My bad. I figured it'd just work as a drop-in replacement. From Dell's specs page for Optiplex 3060M, it looks like the highest end variant of the 3060M has an Intel Core i7-8700T so you can probably swap the 8100T with a 8700T without needing a microcode update.

I want to upgrade to a larger and hopefully faster m.2 drive I looked at a local retailer at the samsung 980 Pro 2tb internal gaming ssd PCIe Gen 4x4 NVMe , the 990PPro 2tb internal SSD PCIe GTen 4x4 NVMe and 970EVO Plus 2tb Internal SSD PCIe GEn 3x4 NVMe

I think the NVMe drives you're suggesting are overkill for this system and the performance gains will be negligible. Even with the BIOS mod you can't take full advantage of PCIe Gen 3 NVMe SSDs so using Gen 4 NVMe drives would just be a waste of money.

I'd suggest getting WD Blue SN570 NVMe SSDs because they're a lot cheaper and even though you can't take full advantage of them, you can still get a decent bump in performance.

For instance, these are CrystalDiskMark benchmarks for WD Blue SN570 NVMe SSDs on 2 different systems:

Optiplex 3060M (i3-8100T):

MSI GE75-9SG (i7-9750H):

However, I don't have access to better performing Gen 3 NVMe drives like Samsung 970 EVO Plus or Samsung 980 to test so I can't say for certain that it'll not help.

I was looking online, they said Dell never added support for the 9th gen processor

My bad. I figured it'd just work as a drop-in replacement. From Dell's specs page for Optiplex 3060M, it looks like the highest end variant of the 3060M has an Intel Core i7-8700T so you can probably swap the 8100T with a 8700T without needing a microcode update.

No problem @1oh1 do you think I can add support to 9th gen with the same program? Other people did it for other versions of the same gen. I could also pay you a bounty to figure it out? Because we want to add the i9 in all our systems

I was looking online, they said Dell never added support for the 9th gen processor

My bad. I figured it'd just work as a drop-in replacement. From Dell's specs page for Optiplex 3060M, it looks like the highest end variant of the 3060M has an Intel Core i7-8700T so you can probably swap the 8100T with a 8700T without needing a microcode update.

No problem @1oh1 do you think I can add support to 9th gen with the same program? Other people did it for other versions of the same gen. I could also pay you a bounty to figure it out? Because we want to add the i9 in all our systems

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f9gvholuKc&t=474s

I found this video adding it, but I have no idea of how I can do this

I have 10 of the Dell Optiplex 3060 Small Form Factors with I5-8500 3.0 Ghz cpu with 16gb of memory. & Micron 256 gb m.2 ssd

I want to upgrade to a larger and hopefully faster m.2 drive I looked at a local retailer at the samsung 980 Pro 2tb internal gaming ssd PCIe Gen 4x4 NVMe , the 990PPro 2tb internal SSD PCIe GTen 4x4 NVMe and 970EVO Plus 2tb Internal SSD PCIe GEn 3x4 NVMe which one would be best to install for these computers (assuming that 2tb versions will work. I saw the conversation from the dell forum that brought me here and this looks like a excellent performance enhancement. Thanks for all the hard work. the 1st 2 that I am going to do is for a system that I'll be doing all kings of things on and the other is for a Mass Spectrometer this drive will have Windows 10 Pro and the Mass Spec software 16gb ram and I have to add a additional network port. I would appreciate any input on what drive would be best for each of these I have had wonderful luck with the samsung m.2 drives but I have always used Asus boards but I have to put these in these in The dell 3060's Thank you for your help and all the great videos and documentation and I appreciate in advance the advice as to which drive to install or if none of the above then which one to get

I would get the 4x4 NVMe because its backwards compatible and if the 3060 dies you'll have the drive for the next computer

No problem @1oh1 do you think I can add support to 9th gen with the same program? Other people did it for other versions of the same gen. I could also pay you a bounty to figure it out? Because we want to add the i9 in all our systems

Sorry, I know nothing about modding BIOSes. I think your best best is to approach the same guy who modded the 7060 BIOS to support 9th gen Intel microcodes: https://www.bios-mods.com/forum/archive/index.php?thread-35134-4.html

Did someone else notice a 1-2W higher idle power consumption after switching to pcie gene?

Shouldnt be I tested it with power meter Infact the power usage should go down.

My two cents:

1. Update the BIOS.
2. Disable Secure boot.
3. Use RU version 5.32.0423 because 5.33.0425 does not work.
4. You don't need to mess with boot options, all you have to do is copy RU.efi as \EFI\BOOT\BOOTx64.EFI in a FAT32 parition.
5. Spam F12 on OptiPlex boot, and choose UEFI: xxx entry.

Here are Linux instructions:

1. Format your USB drive (GPT+FAT32).

printf "label: gpt\ntype=EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7\n" | sudo sfdisk /dev/sdX
sudo mkfs -t fat -F 32 /dev/sdX1

2. Mount and copy.

sudo mount -m /dev/sdX1 /mnt/usb
sudo install -D ./RU.efi /mnt/usb/EFI/BOOT/BOOTx64.EFI && sync
sudo umount /mnt/usb

I had to reinstall Windows 11 and it went back to 2.0 so I've come to the conclusion these Dell Optiplexes are junk

Thanks so much! Worked fine on my 3060 - my read speeds are up but the write speeds are down. Can anyone perhaps help?

Great Gist, thank you very much!
Please what editions I can execute on BIOS to use processor i7-8700 with 3060m?

Best,

I had to reinstall Windows 11 and it went back to 2.0 so I've come to the conclusion these Dell Optiplexes are junk

Really your comment is correct dell is a junk. I have one lenovo thinkcentre 12th that was with i5-12400T and only put there i5-12600K and replace PSU to 230W and is working perfect. I haven't any blocking on BIOS but dell optiplex all time you have blocking on various resources on BIOS.

hello. just find your amazing work. as i had successfully patched some optiplex biosses for nvme boot support i am not completely new in this topic.
but here i understand that this changes had to be done in a special area of the bios, which -i guess- is different on every machine/bios.
so my question is.
could this be done on a optiplex 5050 series too?
if yes, how i can find and identify which bytes have to be changed on other optiplex bios ( especially the 5050 SFF as i have a bunch of those).
thanks for your help michael

Thanks so much, I haven't found any other work forcusing on how to converting pcie smaller gen. to larger gen., which almost made me give up. People who comes up with this idea is literally genius!

I just wanted to mention that none of this is my work. I simply made it somewhat easier to follow along for beginners. Thanks to Lorys89 who figured this out. You can check out their work here: https://github.com/Lorys89/DELL_OPTIPLEX_3060_MFF

Thank you so much! Now it's working much better!


I also did the following and got a better result:
Bios settings:
Enable:
SATA Operation : AHCI
Fastboot : Thorough
Integrated NIC : Enable
Disable :
Secure Boot
Absolute
Intel SGX
Enable UEFI Network Stack
And got this result

Worked great on my 3060 Micro and Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB. Thanks!

Might add a note about european/other kb layouts, that RU.EXE defaults to the US keyboard layout, so "Alt" + "=" is "Alt" + "whatever is immediately left of backspace". Things like this are not obvious to people who aren't used to text-based interfaces and tools.

Also, hitting "Alt"+"Q" quit and went into the HP support assistant, then hitting ESC shuts down the PC. Not "to quit and reboot".

Thanks so much! Worked fine on my 3060 - my read speeds are up but the write speeds are down. Can anyone perhaps help?

The SSD might be heat throttling on the PCIe 3.0 speeds under the stress of the test. Try changing the number of tests from 5 to 1 to see if that helps.

Thanks Joergen - write speeds did improve