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[Guide] Dell XPS 13 9360 on MacOS Sierra 10.12.x - LTS (Long-Term Support) Guide

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Question in general with regards to PCI NVMExpress.

In system reports it shows:

Apple SSD Controller:
WDC WDS512G1X0C-00ENX0:


Capacity: 512.11 GB (512,110,190,592 bytes)
TRIM Support: Yes
Model: WDC WDS512G1X0C-00ENX0
Revision: B35500WD
Serial Number: xxxx
Link Width: x4
Link Speed: 8.0 GT/s

This would indicate that mac OS sees a PCIe x4 on my XPS 9360. Meaning I could leverage the speed if I change it to a Samsung PM961 PCIe NVMe SSD.

  1. Is the link width report in macOS "trustworthy"? What are other ways to determine this, probably through Linux?
  2. With High Sierra, is the Samsung PM961 (which is limited to 512-byte format only) natively supported through IONVMeFamily.kext?

Edit: Linux corroborates the information from mac OS

Code:
# sudo lspci -vv | grep -P "[0-9a-f]{2}:[0-9a-f]{2}\.[0-9a-f]|LnkSta:"
....
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 9d10 (rev f1) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
       LnkSta:    Speed 2.5GT/s, Width x0, TrErr- Train- SlotClk+ DLActive- BWMgmt- ABWMgmt-
00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP PCI Express Root Port (rev f1) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
       LnkSta:    Speed 2.5GT/s, Width x1, TrErr- Train- SlotClk+ DLActive+ BWMgmt+ ABWMgmt-
00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP PCI Express Root Port (rev f1) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
       LnkSta:    Speed 5GT/s, Width x1, TrErr- Train- SlotClk+ DLActive+ BWMgmt+ ABWMgmt-
00:1d.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 9d18 (rev f1) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
       LnkSta:    Speed 8GT/s, Width x4, TrErr- Train- SlotClk+ DLActive+ BWMgmt+ ABWMgmt-
3a:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM43602 802.11ac Wireless LAN SoC (rev 01)
       LnkSta:    Speed 2.5GT/s, Width x1, TrErr- Train- SlotClk+ DLActive- BWMgmt- ABWMgmt-
3b:00.0 Unassigned class [ff00]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTS525A PCI Express Card Reader (rev 01)
       LnkSta:    Speed 5GT/s, Width x1, TrErr- Train- SlotClk+ DLActive- BWMgmt- ABWMgmt-
3c:00.0 Non-Volatile memory controller: Sandisk Corp Device 5001 (prog-if 02 [NVM Express])
       LnkSta:    Speed 8GT/s, Width x4, TrErr- Train- SlotClk+ DLActive- BWMgmt- ABWMgmt-
...

This indicates that the Non-Volatile memory controller is running at PCI express x4 (8GT/s) in the 8th gen XPS 9360.

Can others confirm what theirs is on?
 
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BIOS Guard Support is the cause as the roms come in that format

setup_var 0xF56 -> 01

Can you provide your clover file? I can not sleep awake
 
I thought it was Coffee Lake at first, but ark.intel.com says the following: "Products formerly Kaby Lake R"
While a comparable desktop processor for Coffee Lake shows "Products formerly Coffee Lake"

In the list of Intel Graphics Processors, the CPU is marked as Kaby Lake and the GPU device ID indicates as much: 0x59 series.

Notably, AppleIntelKBLGraphics.kext also supports 0x3E928086, which is the UHD Graphics 630, which is Coffee Lake based.
So in the end it looks like the driver for Coffee Lake based GPU's is still AppleIntelKBLGraphics.kext

Since my graphics card is 0x59178086 (Intel UHD Graphics 620), I thought 0x59168086 (Intel HD Graphics 620) would be closest. Clock rates min/max are identical across both devices for i5 and i7 versions.

Good to know. I guess no CoffeeLake mobile yet, just KabyLake R (which, unfortunately, have 8xxx naming).
(no)Thanks Intel (eg. Nice job with confusing naming).
 
Question in general with regards to PCI NVMExpress.

In system reports it shows:

Apple SSD Controller:
WDC WDS512G1X0C-00ENX0:


Capacity: 512.11 GB (512,110,190,592 bytes)
TRIM Support: Yes
Model: WDC WDS512G1X0C-00ENX0
Revision: B35500WD
Serial Number: xxxx
Link Width: x4
Link Speed: 8.0 GT/s

This would indicate that mac OS sees a PCIe x4 on my XPS 9360. Meaning I could leverage the speed if I change it to a Samsung PM961 PCIe NVMe SSD.

  1. Is the link width report in macOS "trustworthy"? What are other ways to determine this, probably through Linux?
  2. With High Sierra, is the Samsung PM961 (which is limited to 512-byte format only) natively supported through IONVMeFamily.kext?

Edit: Linux corroborates the information from mac OS

Code:
# sudo lspci -vv | grep -P "[0-9a-f]{2}:[0-9a-f]{2}\.[0-9a-f]|LnkSta:"
....
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 9d10 (rev f1) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
       LnkSta:    Speed 2.5GT/s, Width x0, TrErr- Train- SlotClk+ DLActive- BWMgmt- ABWMgmt-
00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP PCI Express Root Port (rev f1) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
       LnkSta:    Speed 2.5GT/s, Width x1, TrErr- Train- SlotClk+ DLActive+ BWMgmt+ ABWMgmt-
00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP PCI Express Root Port (rev f1) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
       LnkSta:    Speed 5GT/s, Width x1, TrErr- Train- SlotClk+ DLActive+ BWMgmt+ ABWMgmt-
00:1d.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 9d18 (rev f1) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
       LnkSta:    Speed 8GT/s, Width x4, TrErr- Train- SlotClk+ DLActive+ BWMgmt+ ABWMgmt-
3a:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM43602 802.11ac Wireless LAN SoC (rev 01)
       LnkSta:    Speed 2.5GT/s, Width x1, TrErr- Train- SlotClk+ DLActive- BWMgmt- ABWMgmt-
3b:00.0 Unassigned class [ff00]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTS525A PCI Express Card Reader (rev 01)
       LnkSta:    Speed 5GT/s, Width x1, TrErr- Train- SlotClk+ DLActive- BWMgmt- ABWMgmt-
3c:00.0 Non-Volatile memory controller: Sandisk Corp Device 5001 (prog-if 02 [NVM Express])
       LnkSta:    Speed 8GT/s, Width x4, TrErr- Train- SlotClk+ DLActive- BWMgmt- ABWMgmt-
...

This indicates that the Non-Volatile memory controller is running at PCI express x4 (8GT/s) in the 8th gen XPS 9360.

Can others confirm what theirs is on?

The WD SSD you already have is NVMe.
512 byte block size NVMe is better supported in 10.13. Fully compatible/hassle free? Not quite (problems with TRIM on some).
 
The WD SSD you already have is NVMe.
512 byte block size NVMe is better supported in 10.13. Fully compatible/hassle free? Not quite (problems with TRIM on some).

The laptop came with a Sandisk A400 SSD, replaced it with a WD SSD for testing. Both have the same controller chip and device/vendor id. Incidentally the speed results are exactly the same, around 1800 mb/sec (also when tested on a desktop motherboard, so its the SSD, not the chipset). The controller for both is the Marvell 88SS1093, which supports 4K sectors.

I think I can get quite some better performance by switching to a Samsung PM961 (essentially a single-sided 960 EVO Pro).
Some Dell XPS 9360 came with them and it shows speeds of 3000+ mb/sec, which is quite an increase.

Especially if the Dell XPS 9360 configuration I have here has a link bandwidth of 4x PCIe lanes, the older configurations had 2x PCIe lanes causing a bottleneck of NVMe throughput to about 2000 mb/sec max, irregardless of the SSD speed.
Earlier post and linux dump indicates that the link speed is at 4x PCIe, just waiting for others to confirm with different configurations.

However the Samsung only supports 512-byte sectors, so before biting the bullet on a $400 USD purchase, I hope someone can confirm they are working fine on High Sierra 10.13.1 with TRIM etc.

Some combined benchmarks can be found here:
http://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Dell-XPS-13-9360/40081
 
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Can you provide your clover file? I can not sleep awake
Here you are;)
Mind the fact tha I have an FHD displlay instead of QHD+, a Hynix PC300 4K-formatted NVMe and a DW1830. I also deleted the SN from config.
 

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  • EFI.zip
    5.7 MB · Views: 216
The laptop came with a Sandisk A400 SSD, replaced it with a WD SSD for testing. Both have the same controller chip and device/vendor id. Incidentally the speed results are exactly the same, around 1800 mb/sec (also when tested on a desktop motherboard, so its the SSD, not the chipset). The controller for both is the Marvell 88SS1093, which supports 4K sectors.

I think I can get quite some better performance by switching to a Samsung PM961 (essentially a single-sided 960 EVO Pro).
Some Dell XPS 9360 came with them and it shows speeds of 3000+ mb/sec, which is quite an increase.

Especially if the Dell XPS 9360 configuration I have here has a link bandwidth of 4x PCIe lanes, the older configurations had 2x PCIe lanes causing a bottleneck of NVMe throughput to about 2000 mb/sec max, irregardless of the SSD speed.
Earlier post and linux dump indicates that the link speed is at 4x PCIe, just waiting for others to confirm with different configurations.

However the Samsung only supports 512-byte sectors, so before biting the bullet on a $400 USD purchase, I hope someone can confirm they are working fine on High Sierra 10.13.1 with TRIM etc.

Some combined benchmarks can be found here:
http://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Dell-XPS-13-9360/40081

9350 and 9360 both come with NVMe slot PCIe x4 Gen3, that is why our TB port is limeted to only PCIe x2 Gen3. Samsung has a higher power rates and throttling issues, so don't forget about heat dissipation to be able to reach top speeds. Personnaly I'd suggest an RD400 as an alternative rather than pm961 or 960pro ones...
 
hello
I'm slowly trying to configure my laptop
List of What don't work
- in the Finder ➧ Compress Archive
- in the Finder ➧ Thumbnail icon of any image file
- in bad sound during audio playback
Any clue about any of this issues would be much appreciate.
For the Sound I must force ID 13 ....
Thanks
 

Attachments

  • XPS9360_20171101.zip
    4.7 MB · Views: 103
Personnaly I'd suggest an RD400 as an alternative rather than pm961 or 960pro ones...

Not a bad suggestion nos1609, the performance is close to the Samsung and it supports 4K but its $524.99 compared to $399 for the PM961.
I think I'll wait a bit and see what happens with 10.13.1 and Samsung EVO 960 users. It might resolve the APFS / boot time issues.
 
Not a bad suggestion nos1609, the performance is close to the Samsung and it supports 4K but its $524.99 compared to $399 for the PM961.
I think I'll wait a bit and see what happens with 10.13.1 and Samsung EVO 960 users. It might resolve the APFS / boot time issues.

A while back, I was looking at the Toshiba drives too (for 4k configurability, when that was an issue), but the price was an issue for me too. Seems like they are overpriced (and OCZ... can I trust them? based on past experience, not sure...).
 
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