NVMe RAID: RAID 0 and RAID 1 With M.2 SSDs in a PC

What is an NVMe RAID?

An NVMe RAID is a group of NVMe SSDs that the system sees as 1 drive. RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks. In a PC, RAID 0 for speed and RAID 1 for safety are the most common levels.

The 2 levels compared, based on the Linux md driver documentation and Microsoft:

In RAID 0, according to the md documentation, the 1st chunk goes to the 1st SSD, the next to the 2nd SSD and so on. In RAID 1 the system writes every change to all SSDs in parallel. RAID 5, RAID 10 and the other protected levels are covered in RAID levels explained. This guide is only about NVMe SSDs inside a PC, for network storage see NAS SSD.

How do I set up an NVMe RAID?

On AMD motherboards with the AMD RAID driver and RAIDXpert2, on Intel motherboards with Intel Rapid Storage Technology and VMD, on Windows without any motherboard feature using Storage Spaces, and on Linux with mdadm. To run Windows on an Intel RAID, Intel says to change the BIOS before installing.

The 4 options at a glance:

AMD: According to the release notes for AMD RAID driver 9.3.3.00291, the AMD RAID driver and RAIDXpert2 support levels 0, 1, 5 and 10 for NVMe and SATA. The list names the A620, B650, B650E, B840, B850, X670, X670E, X870, X870E, TRX50 and WRX90 chipsets. AMD says NVMe RAID is only available with NVMe RAID Mode enabled, otherwise only SATA RAID. AMD points to the RAIDXpert2 user guide for setting the modes.

Intel: Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver 20.4.0.1006.1, dated 10/9/2026, supports 12th to 15th Gen platforms on Windows 11 and RAID levels 0, 1, 5 and 10, according to Intel. Intel says to enable the VMD controller (Volume Management Device) in the BIOS, set boot to UEFI, and during Windows setup click "Load driver" and pick the file iaStorVD.sys. Intel warns not to make these BIOS changes after installing the OS, or you risk an Inaccessible Boot Device blue screen. Intel says VMD with Intel RST works only on Windows 10 and 11, Linux isn't supported.

Windows Storage Spaces: This lets Windows pool drives without any motherboard feature. Microsoft says you need at least 2 drives in addition to the one Windows is installed on. Simple spaces don't protect against a drive failure, a two-way mirror needs at least 2 drives and survives 1 drive failing. To open it, type "Storage Spaces" in the taskbar search.

Linux: The md driver supports RAID 0, 1, 4, 5, 6 and 10 plus LINEAR mode, according to its documentation. Arrays are managed with the mdadm tool.

Does NVMe RAID 0 make things faster?

For large files yes, for small random access hardly. Hardware Secrets measured a typical gain of about 80% with 2 SSDs in RAID 0 in 2014, but no gain at 4 KiB random. PC Perspective notes that most real-world I/O is random reads at low queue depths.

What the 2 tests found:

• Hardware Secrets (2014): RAID 0 with 2 SSDs was typically about 80% faster than 1 SSD in sequential tests and large 512 KiB random blocks, and up to 324% in some tests. At 4 KiB random, bandwidth did not improve.
• PC Perspective (2018): Testing NVMe RAID 0 on the AMD X470 chipset, the platform added about 10 microseconds of latency and the RAIDXpert driver another 20 or so. Random read IOPS (input/output operations per second) came in about 40% below the same configuration on an Intel platform. In sequential tests, AMD came out well ahead.

Both tests are several years old and used SSDs of their time, so results with current SSDs may differ. To see whether your SSDs are faster as an array, run CrystalDiskMark as shown in SSD speed test. A newer generation also adds speed per SSD, see PCIe 5.0 SSD.

What should I check about M.2 slots?

How each slot is connected. Some M.2 slots connect directly to the CPU, others to the chipset. PC Perspective found Intel NVMe RAID bottlenecked by the DMI link to the chipset, while on AMD all NVMe SSDs connected directly to the CPU. Your motherboard manual lists each slot's connection.

Check the manual for each M.2 slot's PCIe generation, whether it hangs off the CPU or the chipset, and whether it shares lanes with other ports. An SSD in a slower slot can hold back the whole array. How slots, lanes and the graphics card fit together is covered in PCIe lanes.

For a RAID, ideally use 2 identical SSDs, same model and same capacity. The md documentation says all devices in a RAID 1 should be the same size, otherwise only the space of the smallest is used. How NVMe and SATA differ is explained in NVMe vs SATA.

How risky is RAID 0?

In RAID 0 every larger file is spread across all SSDs. If 1 SSD fails, the data on the whole array is lost. With 2 SSDs your array depends on 2 drives instead of 1. Microsoft says simple spaces don't protect against a drive failure.

For games you can download again any time, that's acceptable. For photos, projects or documents you need a backup on a separate drive. RAID 1 doesn't replace a backup either: it protects against one SSD failing, but not against accidental deletion, malware or a stolen PC, since every change lands on both SSDs right away. How to back up properly is covered in 3-2-1 backup rule.

Are 2 small SSDs cheaper than 1 large one?

At 2 TB, not right now: 2 SSDs with 1 TB cost $293.98 together on amazon.com, 1 SSD with 2 TB just $249.99. The answer depends on capacity and changes with prices. The TB index for M.2 NVMe SSDs is $133.85 per TB (as of Oct 30, 2026 at 11:17 AM UTC).

2 identical NVMe SSDs vs 1 SSD with double the capacity, cheapest new single unit of known brands on amazon.com, as of Oct 30, 2026 at 11:17 AM UTC

The table compares the cheapest single units per capacity, which may be different models. A RAID needs 2 identical SSDs, so also check the prices of the same model in both sizes. Also keep in mind: 2 SSDs take 2 M.2 slots, 1 large SSD leaves a slot free for later.

See all offers under M.2 NVMe SSD and all internal SSDs under internal SSD.

How does ratioDB compare NVMe SSDs?

ratioDB pulls amazon.com prices for all listed SSDs regularly and converts them to price per TB, with 1 TB equal to 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. The TB index is the median of the 10 cheapest new offers in a form factor.

The table in this guide only shows new single units of known brands. Used and renewed offers are labeled and never count toward the index. ratioDB doesn't test SSDs or RAID arrays itself. All rules are on the methodology page, all SSDs under SSD prices per TB.