One area where the NVMe driver delivered equal performance gains was in processor usage, regardless of whether the operation was sequential read or write.
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First PCIe 6.0 SSD enters mass production with 28GB/s speeds, 5.5 million IOPS, and liquid cooling
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For sequential reads, 64K and 128K operations reduced processor activity by 7.78% and 12%, respectively. Sequential writes reflected similar gains, with 64K and 128K writes requiring 12.66% and 11.1% fewer processor resources.
Microsoft’s highly-awaited NVMe driver is a crucial update that the company should have arguably launched years ago. For almost a decade and a half, Windows users have been limited by Microsoft’s outdated storage stack, and it has been evident that it has struggled to keep pace with advances in SSD technology. With PCIe 5.0 SSDs delivering unprecedented performance and PCIe 6.0 drives on the horizon, the demand for a modern storage stack has never been greater.
The native NVMe driver (nvmedisk.sys) is in both Windows Server 2025 and Windows 11 25H2. Despite its presence, Microsoft doesn't enable the driver by default. Instead, it operates as an opt-in feature that Windows users need to enable via specific registry changes. The need for broader compatibility and support from third-party vendors influences Microsoft’s decision to keep the native NVMe driver as opt-in for now.
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Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom\u2019s Hardware. Although he loves everything that\u2019s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-18/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Zhiye Liu News Editor, RAM Reviewer & SSD Technician Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.
ktosspl Welcome to 2014, windows. Linux has native clean io stack since version 3.3 without any legacy SCSI translation layer… Reply
palladin9479 ktosspl said: Welcome to 2014, windows. Linux has native clean io stack since version 3.3 without any legacy SCSI translation layer.. Windows doesn't have a SCSI translation layer, just the author explaining it the best they can The NT storage API only supported a single queue per disk device. NVMe supports multiple queues and acts more like RAM then disk storage. For a long time the Linux kernel also only supported a single queue per disk device. Not long ago I was having to balance virtual workloads across multiple LUNs for that precise reason. Reply
Darkbreeze In computing native generally means "by default" or "without needing extra steps". If a registry hack is still required for this to work, then it is not native. Reply
wakuwaku Darkbreeze said: In computing native generally means "by default" or "without needing extra steps". If a registry hack is still required for this to work, then it is not native. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_(computing) No it doesn't, only YOU think of it that way. I can guarantee it. Go ahead and make a poll. The general public and nerds will all agree with the above wiki, as we always had since we learned about computing. palladin9479 said: Windows doesn't have a SCSI translation layer, just the author explaining it the best they can Erm, yes it does? The Windows devs themselves explain it when posting about the new native NVME support on their official blog. Are you telling me either you know something that the devs themselves don't? Maybe you know that there is actually real MAGIC working underneath? Or are those devs lying about a non existent translation layer? Have a quote by a Windows dev from Microsoft: This improvement comes from a redesigned Windows storage stack that no longer treats all storage devices as SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) devices—a method traditionally used for older, slower drives. By eliminating the need to convert NVMe commands into SCSI commands, Windows Server reduces processing overhead and latency. If you convert commands from A to B, that is a translation layer. Further down the same post: With Native NVMe in Windows Server 2025, the storage stack is purpose-built for modern hardware— eliminating translation layers and legacy constraints The dev clearly calls it a translation layer. What more do you want? And I know you are lazy to search old Tom's article to get the link, like how you are lazy to read the article before commenting, so here you go: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/windowsservernewsandbestpractices/announcing-native-nvme-in-windows-server-2025-ushering-in-a-new-era-of-storage-p/4477353 Reply
CrazyCarrot911 It works well on my machines that I tested it on for a few months but the BIG drawback is that most if not all Backup Software won't see your drives in Windows, so no backup the usual way and most software working with drives will also not see your drives. If you can live with that, go for it, it's 3 reg keys that you can enable/disable as you like. I have them disabled for now as I want a backup, every day with my Acronis Cyber Protect Advanced Suite — which doesnt see the drives if in NVMe mode. Reply
palladin9479 wakuwaku said: The dev clearly calls it a translation layer. What more do you want? There is no translation layer… I think some aren't realizing how SATA / SAS works. Serial Attached SCSI aka SAS use's a protocol very similar to parallel SCSI and was the preeminent enterprise disk protocol until very recently. SATA use's a version of that protocol, more akin the the ATA protocol of the IDE days but still similar enough that SATA disk can work on a SAS HBA. Big difference is that the SCSI bus has multiple devices attached to a single bus, can only address one at a time and have a single queue for them all we called this the SCSI chain. SATA/SAS both have direct connections from HBA to the device itself and you can address each device individually and each device gets it's own queue. NVME allows for multiple queues per device, which is what this driver is doing. As for the confusion, in Microsoft speech "SCSI" tends to refer to any disk that isn't ATA or use's a separate HBA, I've installed SATA adapters and seen MS label them as "SCSI Disks". https://www.seagate.com/files/staticfiles/support/docs/manual/Interface manuals/100293068j.pdf That is the SCSI Command Protocol, which is what I think you are referring to. It's the binary commands that are sent to storage devices for them to read or write data. And found the translation guide for getting subsystems written for the SCSI command set (SAS/FC) to speak to a NVME storage device. https://www.nvmexpress.org/wp-content/uploads/NVM-Express-SCSI-Translation-Reference-1_1-Gold.pdf I suspect this is what the MS people were speaking about, the same guide that the Linux kernel developers used. It's a simple mapping of binary commands. Reply
DS426 Darkbreeze said: In computing native generally means "by default" or "without needing extra steps". If a registry hack is still required for this to work, then it is not native. We're talking about storage drivers and protocols, not Windows settings. The specific context is important. Reply
DS426 palladin9479 said: There is no translation layer… I think some aren't realizing how SATA / SAS works. Serial Attached SCSI aka SAS use's a protocol very similar to parallel SCSI and was the preeminent enterprise disk protocol until very recently. SATA use's a version of that protocol, more akin the the ATA protocol of the IDE days but still similar enough that SATA disk can work on a SAS HBA. Big difference is that the SCSI bus has multiple devices attached to a single bus, can only address one at a time and have a single queue for them all we called this the SCSI chain. SATA/SAS both have direct connections from HBA to the device itself and you can address each device individually and each device gets it's own queue. NVME allows for multiple queues per device, which is what this driver is doing…. The physical busses (SATA, SAS, NVMe over PCIe) still communicate the same as Windows performs the SCSI translation in its storage stack before the bus cares. It's not just a matter of queuing but also driver overhead. Microsoft has all of the SCSI to NVMe translations documented: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/storage/stornvme-scsi-translation-support Reply
Darkbreeze wakuwaku said: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_(computing) No it doesn't, only YOU think of it that way. I can guarantee it. Go ahead and make a poll. The general public and nerds will all agree with the above wiki, as we always had since we learned about computing. Anything EVER that anybody said was "natively" supported in Windows, NEVER, EVER EVER EVER was said meaning "but you'll have to go modify the registry". Ever. So you know, eh, it's not even worth saying so I'll skip it but, in reality, you and maybe five of your friends are the only ones that don't get that "natively" means Windows already has it built in and will do it automatically. And believe me, I am and I know WAY the hell more computer nerds than you've ever known, in all probability. Like 46 years worth. And that doesn't count the ones from the first ten years of my life or the plethora of them I've met here over the last 12 years as a member and moderator. Much less, the 25-30 years of my life I've been building custom systems and meeting people through that regard. And as far as the general public goes, pfffft, the general public gives a thing on Amazon a five star review if it shows up on their porch undamaged regardless that it ends up being a sock with seven toes. So, what the general public agrees with doesn't hold much water as compared to what actually IS. But still, obviously I know what you mean and in a sense you're right. But it's only right to those who are more technically astute. The layman sees "natively" and assumes Windows is just going to make it work which in this case would not be truthful. Reply
Darkbreeze And why is it, in both of those articles related to the NVME registry hack, there is no actual link to how to do it? Let's tell people about this thing we think is great, but not tell them how to do it or where to go to find that information. Not that we can't find it, but jebus, if you're going to open the door, put the goodies in the bag. Edit: Nevermind, I found it. They could have made it clearer than just a hidden link to Storage review, like, "visit Storage review here for more information on this". But honestly, it's the least of the problems with the articles here these days. Reply
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ssds/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ssds/new-windows-native-nvme-driver-benchmarks-reveal-transformative-performance-gains-up-to-64-89-percent-lightning-fast-random-reads-and-breakthrough-cpu-efficiency#main
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