MSI MEG X570 Unify Motherboard Review

[David_Schroth]

Thanks for the thorough review. I've been considering purchasing an MSI MEG X570 Unify MB for some time now. I just want to confirm that the board does not support RAID for the M.2 NVMe drives. While the manual doesn't seem to mention it, the manual for the X570 ACE seems to allude to NVMe RAID, but doesn't come right out and say it is supported. I've seen people claim in other posts that they are running Sabrent Rocket NVMe drives in a RAID 0 config on a Unify MB, so I'm seeking the truth... The ACE and Unify are fairly similar. They run the same PIDE/SATA, and System/Chipset drivers. And, while the BIOS versions are off, they both run a derivative of AMI 7C35V, and the comments in the BIOS updates are identical even though the ending versions are different. I'd just like to know for certain if this board can handle RAID 0 on NVMe drives.
Thanks once again.
Steve

I just fired it up and looked through the BIOS and did not find a single thing alluding to being able to configure RAID for the NVMe devices. It's possible I didn't look in the right place, so I can page @Dan_D to see if I'm looking in the wrong place.

 

[Steve B]

Thanks for the prompt response. I'd really like to know for certain. I've posted a question on Newegg.com, and have also tried emailing MSI. The onboard M.2 sockets are nice, but not a huge benefit if RAID 0 isn't available. RAID 0 on 2 or 3 NVMe cards would really make this baby fly.

 

[Dan_D]

It doesn't help that MSI's specifications aren't terribly clear on the subject. The way it's worded in their detailed specifications, it gives the impression that support for NVMe RAID can go either way. However, I was never able to figure out how to enable it. Therefore, I do not believe it supports the feature at all.

Typically, you have to go into a higher price bracket to support NVMe RAID. Also, I have tested the feature on higher end MSI boards, so I am confident that the MSI X570 Unify does not support the feature.

 

[Steve B]

It would appear to be possible based on what I'm reading on various forum threads. Just in case you get a chance to try it out, this doc has the instructions.
https://1drv.ms/b/s!AhF0C_g0rDpxjX72o6P8tNwfCPtz?e=QPKL3U
I'm still evaluating boards. I was about set on the Unify, but now I'm considering the Asus Hero, Gigabyte Aorus , or ASRock Taichi as possible alternatives. Really liked the looks of the Unify, but a PC needs more than looks.

 

[noko]

Well this board is looking like the one that will replace now my defunct ASUS CrossHair 6 Hero. Now I will try to run 4 B-Die sticks with her, 32gb, 3600MHZ+ would be the goal. Unexpected failure with the Crosshair but that is how it goes sometimes, lasted 3.5 years and died.

 

[homecinemaman]

Dan,
I just purchased this board. I was looking to get a X570 Tomahawk, but they are as expensive as the unify and the unify has a few more features. My main concern is that this board does not support M.2 NVMe. Your review says that two slots do support NVMe however, a article I just read said the Unify does not support NVMe. I scoured the MSI website and nowhere do I read about NVMe support. Where did you get your info? Thanks

 

[homecinemaman]

By the way, nice review. I did see under expansion you said " The motherboard has three M.2 SSD slots. Two of which support both NVMe and SATA type devices and drives as long as 80mm." yet you said it does not support NVMe Raid " The MSI MEG X570 Unify does not support M.2 NVMe RAID. Therefore, we obviously don’t have numbers for that." Why one and not the other?

Dan,
I just purchased this board. I was looking to get a X570 Tomahawk, but they are as expensive as the unify and the unify has a few more features. My main concern is that this board does not support M.2 NVMe. Your review says that two slots do support NVMe however, a article I just read said the Unify does not support NVMe. I scoured the MSI website and nowhere do I read about NVMe support. Where did you get your info? Thanks

 

[Grimlakin]

By the way, nice review. I did see under expansion you said " The motherboard has three M.2 SSD slots. Two of which support both NVMe and SATA type devices and drives as long as 80mm." yet you said it does not support NVMe Raid " The MSI MEG X570 Unify does not support M.2 NVMe RAID. Therefore, we obviously don’t have numbers for that." Why one and not the other?

Unless I misread your response...

I think you must have missed it.

Step 1. Go here: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MEG-X570-UNIFY

Step 2 read this:

• Lightning Fast Game Experience: PCIe 4.0, Triple Lightning Gen4 x4 M.2 with M.2 Shield Frozr, StoreMI, AMD Turbo USB 3.2 Gen2.

 

[Dan_D]

Dan,
I just purchased this board. I was looking to get a X570 Tomahawk, but they are as expensive as the unify and the unify has a few more features. My main concern is that this board does not support M.2 NVMe. Your review says that two slots do support NVMe however, a article I just read said the Unify does not support NVMe. I scoured the MSI website and nowhere do I read about NVMe support. Where did you get your info? Thanks

NVMe and RAID have nothing to do with each other. RAID support is a matter of enabling the feature via firmware. Nothing more. In any case, the specifications list RAID support, but not specifically for the M.2 slots. Typically RAID support is listed for the M.2 devices specifically when the support is there. I don't have the motherboard in my possession anymore to check it but I could have missed it. MSI's product page isn't super clear on it.

 

[Grimlakin]

NVMe and RAID have nothing to do with each other. RAID support is a matter of enabling the feature via firmware. Nothing more. In any case, the specifications list RAID support, but not specifically for the M.2 slots. Typically RAID support is listed for the M.2 devices specifically when the support is there. I don't have the motherboard in my possession anymore to check it but I could have missed it. MSI's product page isn't super clear on it.

Not to mention some motherboard companies are letting the windows raid mean raid support.

Problem here is that tonget raid support you would need all of your nvme ports in use passing through the raid controller logic. What happens on many of these boards is the first or first two nvme ports are direct to cpu. The rest are actually through the motherboard chipset. What you would need to have is a pcie nvme raid controller card in an x8 or x16 slot to actually get a solid raid controller. (With a couple gig of built in raid cache would help.)

 

[Dan_D]

Not to mention some motherboard companies are letting the windows raid mean raid support.

Problem here is that tonget raid support you would need all of your nvme ports in use passing through the raid controller logic. What happens on many of these boards is the first or first two nvme ports are direct to cpu. The rest are actually through the motherboard chipset. What you would need to have is a pcie nvme raid controller card in an x8 or x16 slot to actually get a solid raid controller. (With a couple gig of built in raid cache would help.)

It's just the first M.2 slot that goes through the CPU. There are 4x PCIe Gen 4.0 lanes dedicated to storage off the CPU. It is possible to split these, but you end up with a configuration of 2x M.2 slots that only have 2x PCIe Gen 4.0 lanes each. They also have the option of using those lanes for SATA ports. I have yet to see a manufacturer offer anything but a single 4x PCIe lane M.2 solution with those lanes.

NVMe RAID implementations on motherboards simply use 8x PCIe lanes (which gives them 2x slots) off the PCH. There is no caching or anything like that. There is no dedicated ASIC for parity calculations which is ideal for RAID 5 and RAID 6 support.

Every motherboard I've ever worked with in the consumer market implements these things the same way. The only difference is between Intel vs. AMD. AMD implements one M.2 slot through the CPU and the rest through the PCH. Intel does all three through the PCH.