We’re saying farewell to slow, small, and unreliable micro sd’s and saying hello to PCIe enabled NVMe storage for our Raspberry Pi 5 setup.
I’m going to compare all the NVMe hats I can get my hands on to find the best one and guide you through setting them up and testing their performance while I’m at it.
For these tests I’ll be using one of the most top of the line NVMes I can find. A Samsung EVO 970 M.2 NVMe.
I wouldn’t suggest getting a drive over 2 TB as it will introduce complications with partitioning. Based on threads I’ve looked at it is possible to do but only after lengthy config changes.
Check for the new NVMe drive
lsblk
Boot from the NVMe Directly
apt-get update
sudo raspi-config“Advanced Options”
Boot Loader Version
Use the Latest […]
Reboot
sudo reboot nowsudo apt-get updateUpdate
sudo apt-get upgradesudo raspi-configAdvanced Options
Boot Order
Select NVMe
Enabled VNC (Optional)
sudo raspi-configInterface Options
Enable VNC
Reboot
sudo reboot nowCopy the Operating System to the NVME
Connect over VNC to raspberrypi.local
Accessories
SD Card Copier
Shutdown
sudo shutdown nowRemove the Micro SD Card
Power on the Pi
lsblkWe should now only see the NVMe drives.
Enable PCIe Generation 3 Speeds (1,000 MB/s)
For a quick refresher on the varying throughput capacities across the PCIe generations per lane…
According to this the overclocked PCIe to NVME connection should have a theoretical maximum of 1,000MB/sec
For reference the current speeds the new iPhone 15 is clocking in terms of internal storage read/write times have been benchmarked below.
So yes, the Raspberry Pi at PCIe Gen 3 is on par with the iPhone 15 (2024 model).
vim /boot/firmware/config.txt
Append the line
dtparam=pciex1_gen=3Save and close.
Reboot
sudo reboot nowCheck the speeds of the PCIe buses
lspci -vvvWe should see 8GT
Benchmarking Performance
Install HDParm
apt-get install hdparmAssess Read times of the NVMe
sudo hdparm -t --direct /dev/nvme0n1If you need to get the location and name of your drive you can use this.
sudo fdisk -l
Review Read time…
Get the Boot Time
systemd-analyze
Run Pi Benchmarks Scipt
sudo curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TheRemote/PiBenchmarks/master/Storage.sh | sudo bash
Download Pi Apps (with GeekBench6)
wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Botspot/pi-apps/master/install | bashGeek Bench
Navigate to Pi Apps then Tools then GeekBench6
Once installed from the terminal run
geekbench6
Pineberry NVMe Hat Drive Bottom
https://pineberrypi.com/products/hatdrive-bottom-2230-2242-2280-for-rpi5
The Results
Boot Times
The Raspberry Pi 5 boots in about 10 seconds regardless of the storage partition you’re booting from. But it is considerably faster than legacy hardware.
Read Speeds
The Samsung Evo on either the Pimoroni or Pineberry hat can read over 800 MB/sec which is adequate for almost any needs. The Raspberry Pi 5 using a premium micro SD can do about 85 MB/sec due to it’s upgraded Micro SD slot protocol, it’s twice as fast as the Micro SD slot on the Raspberry Pi 4. But interestingly the ZimaBlade’s PCIe Gen 2 with it’s 4 exposed lanes was able to show read times of over 1200 MB/sec.
Pi Benchmarks Score
This anlysis is quite involved, doing the following -
- Executes
hdparmto measure the read speed of the drive. - Uses
ddto test write performance by writing a large file and measuring the time taken. - Runs
fiofor more granular testing, including random read/write performance and IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second). - Performs tests with
iozoneto assess file system performance across various operations.
Notably, the NVMe generates a jaw dropping 3,300% improvement over the standard micro sd…
Geek Bench
This test is more focused on the CPUs but interestingly the addition of the NVMe did improve the scores.
Full Video Tutorial
