Where to DL Driver V9.00.00.88?

MisterJ wrote: OK, where are we to DL driver V9.00.00.88 (required for BIOS 1.70 RAID), which I believe is really AMD RAIDXpert2 utility ver:V9.00.00.88?  I think I will pause till all the pieces magically appear.  Enjoy, John.

I assume you mean for the new AMD X399 NVMe RAID software and driver? Hopefully this version will not be removed, like the first one was.

(Not speaking to you MisterJ) Please read the limitations and requirements of this software. It is X399/Threadripper ONLY, and Windows 10 build 1703 ONLY. Don't like that? Talk to AMD, it's their requirement.

First a link to the AMD X399 NVMe RAID information page, which has a link to the driver and software downloads:

https://community.amd.com/community/gaming/blog/2017/10/02/now-available-free-nvme-raid-upgrade-for-amd-x399-chipset

Or the direct link to the driver and software downloads:

http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/NVMe-RAID-Support-for-the-AMD-Ryzen-Threadripper-platform.aspx

If that is not it, I don't know where it is otherwise. There are two downloads, one is the RAIDXpert2 software, the other is the F6 RAID driver.

ASRock has provided matching UEFI updates for the Fatal1ty X399 Professional Gaming and X399 Taichi boards to support the new AMD NVMe RAID driver. No doubt an Option ROM update from AMD in the new UEFI, as well as updated AMD UEFI RAID utility. Both boards have this in their UEFI versions 1.70, posted October 2, 2017.

http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/Fatal1ty%20X399%20Professional%20Gaming/index.asp#BIOS

http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/X399%20Taichi/index.asp#BIOS

NOTE: The new AMD NVMe RAID driver and RAIDXpert2 software is NOT yet available for download on either board's Windows 10 download pages. That is likely due to the specific build requirement of Windows 10 support (1703).

These NVMe RAID arrays can be used as bootable/OS drive volumes.

The F6 RAID driver MUST be loaded during a Windows 10 installation if the OS drive is an AMD NVMe RAID array. Probably best practice to install it during the Windows 10 installation regardless. This F6 driver is NOT recommended for updating from the earlier 8.2.0.xx RAID driver, such as via Device Manager.

Any existing SATA RAID arrays in an X399 system must be backed up, broken, and recreated after installing the new driver and RAIDXpert2 software.

Leaving Intel's NVMe RAID in the dust... or so it seems with the limited results I saw of only large file sequential read and write speed testing. That was done on a raw file system. I'm curious what the small file, 4K random and high queue depth performance results will be, since they are weak in Ryzen/X370, etc boards.

Information from the F6 driver's Readme:










Edited by parsec - 03 Oct 2017 at 11:29am

MisterJ wrote: Thanks, parsec, especially for the AMD driver and SW links.  I am becoming more and more afraid with product from ASRock.  It looks like the driver is available on the Fat1 ASRock page now.  The confusion for me is that the Floppy drivers (Floopy(v8.2.0.24)) are still there.  I assume these are what you are calling the F6 drivers.  Floopy and AMD RAID driver ver:9.00.00.088 are all the same files, just difference versions.  I suspect they should not be used system at the same time (one for boot and one for W10).  What a mess!  I inject my drivers into the boot and install images.  Should I use two different folders?  What a mess!  As I said above, I will take a pause and see what shakes out.  One user failed to backup and delete the old RAID, did not lose data but did end up with an un-bootable system until making some changes.  What a mess!  Thanks and enjoy, John.

If you click on the AMD NVMe RAID driver download, the Standalone NVMe RAID Driver for Windows 10 Installation of Windows 10 64 Bit, the file name is raid_windows10_f6_install.

The terms "F6" and "Floopy" (floopy is a typo of floppy, as in the old floppy disk storage media) are hold-overs, old terminology for drivers (usually SATA RAID/AHCI) loaded during a Windows installation. The F6 key could be pressed to invoke loading of these drivers from a floppy disk, which we now put on a USB flash drive. Both F6 and floppy refer to the same driver.

Intel still names their RAID/AHCI driver file download, "f6flpy-x64" to this day. That is the driver installed during a Windows 10 installation for example. Windows 10 has this Intel RAID/AHCI driver among its files, but an older version that does not support Intel's NVMe RAID or Optane. Windows 10 also has an older AMD RAID driver, but not Ryzen compatible, at least the last time I checked.

The AMD driver files you listed are different versions of the same general driver for the AMD Ryzen chipset that supports RAID. They cannot be used at the same time, installing one over another just changes which version is installed. It is the same driver that is used for boot and Windows 10, if I understand what you mean. I imagine the Windows installation program would list multiple drivers in the same folder separately for selection, but frankly I've never presented Windows with that situation in the past.

The information about the new AMD RAID driver clearly states it is not compatible with the older version, and old driver RAID arrays must be backed up, deleted, and created again with the new driver. If the OS/boot drive is an AMD RAID array, I wouldn't dare even attempt not following AMD's instructions. Sure it is a pain and some work, but a mess?

This is a major new feature for AMD and PCs, NVMe RAID via PCIe is not how it is done in the Intel 100 and 200 series chipset boards. The chipset supplies the resources, not the CPU, and is bandwidth limited even with Intel's DMI3 in the chipset. The new X299 VROC RAID from Intel, using a new version of the different RSTe RAID driver, now uses PCIe lanes from the CPU, but does not match AMD's implementation by a long-shot with the available interfaces. I hope AMD's NVMe RAID works well, and will put Intel's PC NVMe RAID to shame when it does. I was flirting with getting an X299 board, but now with this feature from AMD for X399, the only choice is clear. This from an Intel fan, BTW. That is, if it works well, and the early indication is that it does.

I just checked the Fatal1ty X399 Professional Gaming Windows 10 download page, and the new ver:9.00.00.088 RAID driver is available, along with the old version. The RAIDXpert2 download has also been updated to ver:9.00.00.088.

http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/Fatal1ty%20X399%20Professional%20Gaming/index.asp#osW1064

FINALLY not calling the new AMD RAID driver F6 or floppy anymore! Using "floppy" in the name of a driver that support NVMe SSDs in RAID is just so wrong!