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

Computer Brand Name: DELL OptiPlex 3070
BIOS Version: 1.32.0
Drive Model: Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 1TB
Drive Firmware Revision: 2B2QKXG7
Drive Controller: NVMe (PCIe x4 32.0 GT/s @ x4 8.0 GT/s)

Before:

After:

I reinstalled Windows 11 24H2 april ISO (wiped disk, full reinstall) and surprisingly the PCIe x3 settings retained. Thanks!

Current settings:
Computer merknaam: DELL OptiPlex 3060
BIOS-versie: 1.32.0
Schijfmodel: WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-256G-1006
Drive-firmware-revisie: HPS2
Schijfcontroller: NVMe (PCIe x4 8.0 GT/s @ x4 8.0 GT/s)

I did also test the procedure on a DELL OptiPlex 3060 with success although this model was equipped with a SATA M2 SSD instead of an NVMe SSD. So I swapped the SSD from SATA to NVMe.

Again I wipe and loaded a fresh Windows 11 24H2 installation, one for the SATA and one for NVMe. Again the PCIeG3 toggle seems to retain after a total reinstall. I did not reset the bios to factory defaults.

Current NVME SSD on PCIe Gen3:

Previous SATA SSD:

I use these computers 'professionally' for Intune purposes (many reinstalls) so a nice speedup is always welcome.