Thanks to Slavic its solved.
Samsung does supply a Windows 8 compatible NVMe driver. However, it's not a windows 8 driver, but a windows 7 driver.
The "64bit Samsung_NVMe_driver_v3.0.0.1802 WHQL for Win7 x64" works for Windows 8 Pro (my PC) and Windows 8 Enterprise (fresh install on my PC).
The "64bit Samsung NVMe driver v3.0.0.1802 WHQL for Win8.1 x64" was neither installable on Windows 8 Pro nor -Enterprise.
Both WHQL drivers can be found at
三星固态硬盘驱动Samsung NVMe driver v3.0.0.1802 WHQL 64位下载-三星SSD-U盘量产网
In Windows 8 Pro and -Enterprise unpack the "64bit Samsung_NVMe_driver_v3.0.0.1802 WHQL for Win7 x64" archive, click secnvme.inf and the driver will be installed. There will be a new entry in Device Manager under Storage controllers: Samsung NVM Express driver. A new drive will appear in Windows explorer as well, i.e. the Samsung NVMe SSD.
Benchmarks for a Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe SSD with "64bit Samsung_NVMe_driver_v3.0.0.1802 WHQL for Win7 x64":
Windows 8 Pro
Samsung Magician | System Compatability: OS Version: 6.2.9200
Sequential (MB/s) Random (IOPS)
Read Write Read Write
3328 822 275146 235351
Windows 8 Enterprise
Samsung Magician | System Compatability: OS Version: 6.2.9200
Sequential (MB/s) Random (IOPS)
Read Write Read Write
3034 2947 279052 232177
I also tested Samsung_NVM_Express_Driver_3.1.exe with Win 8 Pro and Win 8 Enterprise with the following result: "Samsung NVM Express Driver cannot be installed on this Operating System."
Finally I tried the corresponding WHQL drivers in version 3.1 using Win 8 Pro and -Enterprise:
64bit-Samsung-NVMe-drivers-v3.1.0.1901-WHQL-for-Win7-x64
http://www.smartredirect.de/redir/c...Me%20Drivers/64bit%20Samsung%20NVMe%20drivers
%2520v3.1.0.1901%2520WHQL%2520for%2520Win7%2520x64.rar&r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.win-raid.com%2Ft29f25-Recommended-AHCI-RAID-and-NVMe-Drivers.html
Win 8 Pro: The driver installs, but Samsung Magician Performance Benchmark runs for a second and then completes with errors. In addition, copying a 3 GB file with Windows explorer was 10 % slower with driver version 3.1 compared to 3.0.
Win 8 Enterprise: The driver installs and Samsung Magician Performance Benchmark gives the same results as for version 3.0.
64bit-Samsung-NVMe-driver-v3.1.0.1901-WHQL-for-Win8-x64.
http://www.smartredirect.de/redir/c...VMe%20Drivers/64bit%20Samsung%20NVMe%20driver
%2520v3.1.0.1901%2520WHQL%2520for%2520Win8%2520x64.rar&r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.win-raid.com%2Ft29f25-Recommended-AHCI-RAID-and-NVMe-Drivers.html
Win 8 Pro: Installation of the driver fails with "The software was tested for compliance with Windows Logo requirements on a different version of Windows, and may not be compatible with this version."
Win 8 Enterprise: Installation of the driver fails with "The software was tested for compliance with Windows Logo requirements on a different version of Windows, and may not be compatible with this version."
To sum it up: At the moment the most suitable NVMe driver for a Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD for Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 Enterprise is "64bit Samsung_NVMe_driver_v3.0.0.1802 WHQL for Win7 x64".