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Intel VROC Problems (X299 Board, Hyper Nvme 16x, Premium VROC Key)

PMacf
Beginner
16,514 Views

Hi All,

Is it just me or is Intel VROC a troll? I have been in discussions with Asus trying to get a problem rectified for months now with ZERO resolution.

I have tried a significant amount of configurations and have had no success whatsoever.

So the current system i am trying to get VROC to work with is as follows:

Intel I9-7960X

Asus WS X299 Pro With Asus Hyper NVMe 16X (4 way M.2 Adapter) & VROCPREMMOD

32Gb DDR4 3000Mhz

Windows 10 Pro 1709 fully updated

(Irrelevant components: 1Kw PSU, Quadro P1000, Corsair 400Q)

So the configurations i have tried:

4 x 500Gb Samsung SM961

4 x 500Gb Samsung Evo 960

4 x 1Tb Samsung Pro 960

I have several VROC keys including: VROCISSDMOD and VROCPREMMOD

So i have tried everything as far as i can tell to get this configuration to work with no luck at all. I have set the PCIe slot in the CPU Storage Configuration to Asus Hyper 16X (VROC MODE) in the BIOS but regardless of what drives it has in it, a) the BIOS will only see 2 of the drives and b) they will not allow a RAID array to be configured as it constantly states (UNSUPPORTED)

According to Intel the SM951/961 are supported. I find it highly annoying that not only have Intel released a chipset that has poorer support, terrible compatibility and worse performance than the previous chipset (x99) and then expect to purchase a VROC key to get it to run via the PCIe from the CPU rather than the PCH and even then it doesn't work.

Any help would be appreciated.

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7 Replies
idata
Employee
14,883 Views

Hello ZXSpectrum,

 

 

Thank you for contacting Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU support

 

 

In regards to the information you have provided us about the issues that you are experiencing, we would like to inform you the following:

 

 

There is 2 versions of Intel® VROC
  • Intel® VROC for enterprise on Intel® Xeon using C600 chipset
  • Intel® VROC for high end user systems on Skylake X processors using X299 chipset

The reason that you are experiencing issues while setting up the raid is because Intel® VROC on x299 requires the VROCISSDMOD key since it is the only key compatible, additionally X299 system only supports Intel SSDs (SM951/961 SSDs and VROCPREMMOD are only supported on the enterprise version of Intel® VROC using Intel® Xeon).

Please find a FAQ file for Intel VROC on x299 systems

Best Regards

Luis H

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SEric
Novice
14,883 Views

First of all you are using the incorrect key. The one you have will not work on X299. Period. You need the. VROCISSDMOD key. Mouser.com has them. Second, if you want it to be bootable you MUST use only Intel NVME drives. Notbing else is supported. Period. I suggest either 900P drives in U.2 to M.2 or the new Intel 760P drives.

Intel's messging on VROC was poor but the knowwledge is now out there.

The above is the ONLY WAY VROC WILL WORK.

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idata
Employee
14,883 Views

Hello ZXSpectrum,

We are following on your community Post since we provided you information a few days ago, but we haven't received a reply yet.

Please let us know if you require further assistance

Best Regards

 

Luis H
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GAcke
Beginner
14,883 Views

I have 2 760p drives, and a VROCISSDMOD key.

Using x299 MSI Gaming Carbon Pro AC.

I have both sticks in the M.2 slots.

Cannot get VROC working at all...

Even trying a chipset raid (IRST) windows will not recognize the RAID even after loading IRST drivers during Windows installation.

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idata
Employee
14,883 Views

Hello MrTrumpz,

 

 

We are currently investigating on the issue that you are experiencing on the following community post /thread/122448 https://communities.intel.com/thread/122448

 

 

In regards to last part that you mentioned using IRST, did you download the following drivers from your Motherboard OEM since Intel® VROC will only work with the Intel® RSTe drivers

 

 

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/X299-GAMING-PRO-CARBON-AC# down-driver&Win10%2064 https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/X299-GAMING-PRO-CARBON-AC# down-driver&Win10%2064

 

 

Regards

 

Luis H

 

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GAcke
Beginner
14,883 Views

Sorry to hijack the OP's post. I did get everything working. I foolishly did not realize I needed to use a PCIe M.2 expansion card. Thank you though.

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idata
Employee
14,883 Views

Hello MrTrumpz,

 

 

We are glad to hear that you were able to setup your system using PCIE expansion card and thank you for letting us know that your system is running properly.

 

 

Please don't hesitate to contact us back if you require further assistance in the future

 

 

Best Regards

 

Luis H
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