Titan 18 HX AI A2XWJG upgrade (CSODIMM and SSDs)

[joao.sousa.domingo158102d7]

I tried sourcing the Kingston RAM from a local distributor, and had been waiting on my order for a couple weeks - when I got a call today saying that they cannot fulfill my order due to a "discovered manufacturing defect" that has delayed production of new units.
You're very lucky your units are working well thus far! Just wanted to share that on the RAM side.
And yes, not surprised to hear RAID 0 is meaningless in today's world of "gumstick SSDs" - although of course, it is disappointing and one wishes it would have helped.

In a world of gen5 SSDs, MSI Super Raid 5 is just promotional marketing..
But if you converted your gen5 M.2 NVMe slot to OCulink SFF-8612 via an adaptor in order to have an OCulink PCIe 5.0x4 port, then creating a RAID0 system of two or three gen4 SSDs will still be worth it - so it's still good to have.

I have a contact in Kingston Europe - I'll ask him about my RAMs. But I'm sure mine are just fine given the stress tests.

 

[ix015d202ee]

Well both Kingston and Crucial kits are pretty much same speed, but 52-51-51-102 is still better than 52-52-52-103. But the Crucial kits are not on sale anyway.

Sorry for the delay, but I was trying to make a summary of all the tests I made in the previous post regarding SSDs and RAID.
You can try to create a RAID0 system, but best you will achieve is +15000MB/s - the 18,000Mb/s are just theoretical. Still that's just synthetic sequential speed - not the most important - and in CrystalDiskMark it does not even reflect real-world speeds/performance. Look at my previous post for more information.

Thank you very much for the thorough update. It's beyond amazing how thorough you are; mythical, legendary even
As to me; I'm running (1x 9100 Gen 5 , 4TB) + (2x 990 Pro Gen4, 4TB ) in RAID 0 configuration, and set as storage space (drive D.
I'm employing a WD-Black SN850X (8 TB) as the OS.

As for drive speeds on the "MSI SUPER RAID 0" ... I'm getting close to and around 12000 mbps. I'm a little disappointed, but, marketing gets all of us some of the time.

For drive temps I'm using 1mm and 0.5 mm Arctic TP-3 pads. They were cheap and abundant, but, seem to have an okay rating. They're not the best of the best, but, they'll do the job, I hope.
The 990 Pro SSDs hae a low point half the length of the drive that's about 0.5mm. I don't have precision calipers to measure it, but I read somewhere that it was a 0.5 difference between each half lengthwise. Because of this, I applied 0.5mm Arctic TP-3 pads on the low points, then stacked a 1mm Artic TP-3 along the entire length of each SSD
I don't recall if the 9100 had a low point, but, if it did, it would have gotten the same treatment and on the heat pipe, I removed the OEM pads, and replaced the smaller one with Arctic TP-3 pad 05mm.
For heat sinks, I ordered an assortment of varying heights. I even have some very similar or the same as yours, BUT, I opted to appoint a heatsink that's 3mm tall, and they fit.
Here's the Amazon Link for the heatsinks I'm using: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CR69GG3W?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
I hope that link works, but, if not, the seller or brand is ELUTENG.
I chose these because the vertical fins were higher, which translates in my little brain to more surface area, and better cooling.
These heatsinks are resident on the 3 Gen 4 SSDs.
Lastly, the whole kit sits on a Llano big single fan cooler.
Below are the temps I'm getting, but, none of that is under any load stress.

I'm still working on migrating personal files, installing apps and all the time-eating labors of moving from one PC to another.
Oh, I ran the Talon app for Win 11 to debloat the OS of all the Copilot, Recall, tracking, advertisements, Xbox software, Edge, and almost everything that's annoying AF with Win 11.
This MSI Titan 18HX AI is my first hand-on with Win 11. I've been hanging on to Win 10 Pro because it's comfortable. I know it, and, I'm a little bit adverse to change. Further, I seem to encounter more disappointment and frustration around the web about Win 11, than praises, ... but, Win 10 is at end-of-life update/support-wise, so, here I am with Win 11. It'll take some adjustment.

Thank you again for reporting on all these metrics. I'm still waiting for the 2x 64GB csodimm ram, and it looks like I won't see it until around Jun 7. or a bit over a week away.

 

[joao.sousa.domingo158102d7]

Thank you very much for the thorough update. It's beyond amazing how thorough you are; mythical, legendary even
As to me; I'm running (1x 9100 Gen 5 , 4TB) + (2x 990 Pro Gen4, 4TB ) in RAID 0 configuration, and set as storage space (drive D.
I'm employing a WD-Black SN850X (8 TB) as the OS.
View attachment 202423

As for drive speeds on the "MSI SUPER RAID 0" ... I'm getting close to and around 12000 mbps. I'm a little disappointed, but, marketing gets all of us some of the time.

For drive temps I'm using 1mm and 0.5 mm Arctic TP-3 pads. They were cheap and abundant, but, seem to have an okay rating. They're not the best of the best, but, they'll do the job, I hope.
The 990 Pro SSDs hae a low point half the length of the drive that's about 0.5mm. I don't have precision calipers to measure it, but I read somewhere that it was a 0.5 difference between each half lengthwise. Because of this, I applied 0.5mm Arctic TP-3 pads on the low points, then stacked a 1mm Artic TP-3 along the entire length of each SSD
I don't recall if the 9100 had a low point, but, if it did, it would have gotten the same treatment and on the heat pipe, I removed the OEM pads, and replaced the smaller one with Arctic TP-3 pad 05mm.
For heat sinks, I ordered an assortment of varying heights. I even have some very similar or the same as yours, BUT, I opted to appoint a heatsink that's 3mm tall, and they fit.
Here's the Amazon Link for the heatsinks I'm using: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CR69GG3W?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
I hope that link works, but, if not, the seller or brand is ELUTENG.
I chose these because the vertical fins were higher, which translates in my little brain to more surface area, and better cooling.
These heatsinks are resident on the 3 Gen 4 SSDs.
Lastly, the whole kit sits on a Llano big single fan cooler.
Below are the temps I'm getting, but, none of that is under any load stress.
View attachment 202426

I'm still working on migrating personal files, installing apps and all the time-eating labors of moving from one PC to another.
Oh, I ran the Talon app for Win 11 to debloat the OS of all the Copilot, Recall, tracking, advertisements, Xbox software, Edge, and almost everything that's annoying AF with Win 11.
This MSI Titan 18HX AI is my first hand-on with Win 11. I've been hanging on to Win 10 Pro because it's comfortable. I know it, and, I'm a little bit adverse to change. Further, I seem to encounter more disappointment and frustration around the web about Win 11, than praises, ... but, Win 10 is at end-of-life update/support-wise, so, here I am with Win 11. It'll take some adjustment.

Thank you again for reporting on all these metrics. I'm still waiting for the 2x 64GB csodimm ram, and it looks like I won't see it until around Jun 7. or a bit over a week away.

Looks good.
But using the 9100 Pro on the gen5 slot for OS and main programs will always be the fastest system. Then creating a RAID0 of gen4s for storage and extra stuff would be the next fastest "SSD".

I saw that heatsink as well but it was made of aluminium, not copper, so I didn't go for it - but I'm sure it still drops temperatures specially cause it's 3mm deep. It's good to know the back case still closes fine with 1mm pad + 3mm heatsink = 4mm at least. And then with the Llano V12, you'll never have high temperature problems anyway.

I just wished the back case had more holes specially over the SSD slots..

 

[sonstiges.x36012c302b2]

Hi, maybe you can help me. I received an MSI Titan 18 HX Dragon Edition Norse yesterday. A2XWJG-273DE and I removed the three pre-installed SSDs and replaced them with four 8TB SSDs.

Now I can’t get Windows 11 to install.

In the BIOS, under the “Intel Rapid Storage” section, I created a RAID 0 volume using all four SSDs as members. Then I used the Windows Media Creation Tool to create a USB stick for booting and installing Windows 11.

But that’s where the problems begin. Without a RAID driver, the Windows installer does not detect the RAID volume at all. And even if I delete the RAID volume in BIOS, the installer doesn’t see the individual SSDs either.

I then downloaded the Intel RAID driver from the MSI support site and integrated it into the installation. With that, the RAID volume is detected and Windows Setup starts. copying 100% files. and then...after the first reboot, I always get a blue screen saying Stop Code: INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE,

I’ve spent three hours working with ChatGPT, which gave me many methods to integrate the RAID drivers into the Windows 11 image so they’re automatically loaded when booting from the USB stick. That part actually works – the RAID volume shows up in the installer. But after the installation reaches 100% and reboots, it always fails with the same “boot device inaccessible” error. After rebooting MSI says "Abnormal status reported by Rapid Storage Technolgy UEFI driver." To fix that I have had to delete theRAID-Volume and recreate it. Looks like Windows does something while installing with that Raid volume...

At this point, I’m thinking of giving up and reinstalling the three original SSDs. But I’m a bit afraid that the BIOS won’t recognize that they were previously part of a RAID volume, and I may need to recreate the RAID manually – which could risk making them unbootable.

I’ve read that you (MSI) have tested many SSD and RAID configurations with this model, and I’m wondering: how did you reinstall Windows after changing or swapping SSDs? How do you handle this kind of RAID/VMD-related boot issue internally?

Is it possible, to disable RAID complete in BIOS? I did not found a way...
(okay, pressing FN + Copilot + right_shift + left_alt + F2 get me into advances bios menu, I can disable VMD/Raid-Controller there... that would be my fallback-option if I cant finaly install windows11 with VMD/Raid activated)

Any tips or help would be greatly appreciated.


Edit: Extra Informations:
- I Downloaded the "Intel Rapid Storage Technology F6 Driver20.2.1.1016" and used the iaStorVD.inf. ChatGTP told me at the end its the wrong driver, I need a "iaVROC.inf" which is not availale at msi support download. I know ChatGPT is wrong some times Also I tryed the iaVROC.inf download from intel. But same negative result.

 

[mimarsina158b02db]

Hi, maybe you can help me. I received an MSI Titan 18 HX Dragon Edition Norse yesterday. A2XWJG-273DE and I removed the three pre-installed SSDs and replaced them with four 8TB SSDs.

Now I can’t get Windows 11 to install.

In the BIOS, under the “Intel Rapid Storage” section, I created a RAID 0 volume using all four SSDs as members. Then I used the Windows Media Creation Tool to create a USB stick for booting and installing Windows 11.

But that’s where the problems begin. Without a RAID driver, the Windows installer does not detect the RAID volume at all. And even if I delete the RAID volume in BIOS, the installer doesn’t see the individual SSDs either.

I then downloaded the Intel RAID driver from the MSI support site and integrated it into the installation. With that, the RAID volume is detected and Windows Setup starts. copying 100% files. and then...after the first reboot, I always get a blue screen saying Stop Code: INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE,

I’ve spent three hours working with ChatGPT, which gave me many methods to integrate the RAID drivers into the Windows 11 image so they’re automatically loaded when booting from the USB stick. That part actually works – the RAID volume shows up in the installer. But after the installation reaches 100% and reboots, it always fails with the same “boot device inaccessible” error. After rebooting MSI says "Abnormal status reported by Rapid Storage Technolgy UEFI driver." To fix that I have had to delete theRAID-Volume and recreate it. Looks like Windows does something while installing with that Raid volume...

At this point, I’m thinking of giving up and reinstalling the three original SSDs. But I’m a bit afraid that the BIOS won’t recognize that they were previously part of a RAID volume, and I may need to recreate the RAID manually – which could risk making them unbootable.

I’ve read that you (MSI) have tested many SSD and RAID configurations with this model, and I’m wondering: how did you reinstall Windows after changing or swapping SSDs? How do you handle this kind of RAID/VMD-related boot issue internally?

Is it possible, to disable RAID complete in BIOS? I did not found a way...
(okay, pressing FN + Copilot + right_shift + left_alt + F2 get me into advances bios menu, I can disable VMD/Raid-Controller there... that would be my fallback-option if I cant finaly install windows11 with VMD/Raid activated)

Any tips or help would be greatly appreciated.


Edit: Extra Informations:
- I Downloaded the "Intel Rapid Storage Technology F6 Driver20.2.1.1016" and used the iaStorVD.inf. ChatGTP told me at the end its the wrong driver, I need a "iaVROC.inf" which is not availale at msi support download. I know ChatGPT is wrong some times Also I tryed the iaVROC.inf download from intel. But same negative result.

Count yourself lucky! MSI Raider will BRICK your SSDs the moment you plug them in and power on the device.
Please upvote to hold them accountable:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MSILaptops/comments/1kwn3cy

 

[joao.sousa.domingo158102d7]

Hi, maybe you can help me. I received an MSI Titan 18 HX Dragon Edition Norse yesterday. A2XWJG-273DE and I removed the three pre-installed SSDs and replaced them with four 8TB SSDs.

Now I can’t get Windows 11 to install.

In the BIOS, under the “Intel Rapid Storage” section, I created a RAID 0 volume using all four SSDs as members. Then I used the Windows Media Creation Tool to create a USB stick for booting and installing Windows 11.

But that’s where the problems begin. Without a RAID driver, the Windows installer does not detect the RAID volume at all. And even if I delete the RAID volume in BIOS, the installer doesn’t see the individual SSDs either.

I then downloaded the Intel RAID driver from the MSI support site and integrated it into the installation. With that, the RAID volume is detected and Windows Setup starts. copying 100% files. and then...after the first reboot, I always get a blue screen saying Stop Code: INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE,

I’ve spent three hours working with ChatGPT, which gave me many methods to integrate the RAID drivers into the Windows 11 image so they’re automatically loaded when booting from the USB stick. That part actually works – the RAID volume shows up in the installer. But after the installation reaches 100% and reboots, it always fails with the same “boot device inaccessible” error. After rebooting MSI says "Abnormal status reported by Rapid Storage Technolgy UEFI driver." To fix that I have had to delete theRAID-Volume and recreate it. Looks like Windows does something while installing with that Raid volume...

At this point, I’m thinking of giving up and reinstalling the three original SSDs. But I’m a bit afraid that the BIOS won’t recognize that they were previously part of a RAID volume, and I may need to recreate the RAID manually – which could risk making them unbootable.

I’ve read that you (MSI) have tested many SSD and RAID configurations with this model, and I’m wondering: how did you reinstall Windows after changing or swapping SSDs? How do you handle this kind of RAID/VMD-related boot issue internally?

Is it possible, to disable RAID complete in BIOS? I did not found a way...

Any tips or help would be greatly appreciated.


Edit: Extra Informations:
- I Downloaded the "Intel Rapid Storage Technology F6 Driver20.2.1.1016" and used the iaStorVD.inf. ChatGTP told me at the end its the wrong driver, I need a "iaVROC.inf" which is not availale at msi support download. I know ChatGPT is wrong some times Also I tryed the iaVROC.inf download from intel. But same negative result.

Hey,

1. The max I tested was 3 SSDs (gen5 + 2 gen4s) because that is supposed to be the max number of SSDs the Super Raid 5 allows, as mentioned here:

MSI did confirm to me by email as well to not do more than 3 SSDs (tho I tend to not believe them). But in the video the theoricatical speed of 18k MB/s is said to be with gen5 + 2 gen4s. The best you will get is a sequencial of +15k MB/s - which is NOT real-world performance.
- So, if your RAID system of 4 SSDs is not being recognised after you load the "Intel Rapid Storage Technology F6 Driver", it might be because of that..

2. Install your main OS and programs on the gen5 SSD - that is the best performance you will ever have as shown by benchmarks like the real-world PCMark 10 FSDBenchmark. Then create a RAID0 with the remaining three gen4 SSDs if you want for store or other stuff - that will be your next best "drive."

3. RAID systems created in BIOS (and sometimes even some SSDs) will never be recognised when you first install Windows (from bootable USB drive or whatever). After I create the bootable USB stick with Windows (11) Media Creation Tool (or Rufus), I always download the Intel Rapid Storage Technology F6 Driver and unzip it into the same bootable USB stick. This way when it comes to the Windows install window to create partitions, you first load the driver by going to that folder and opening the "Intel RST VMD Controller" - then all RAID and SSD drives should be visible and you can delete and create new partitions as you want. there's no need to do anything else when installing Windows - just load the "Intel RST VMD Controller" driver every time from the bootable USB stick. (Ofc you can include it in the install itself and so on, but I don't bother)

4. I've never seen that "Stop Code: INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE" at least when installing Windows on a RAID volume with up to 3 SSDs.. Again, the 4 SSD might not be supported as MSI mentions. The 8TB SSDd shouldn't matter as well, but I don't know if there's any problem when dealing with 32TB RAID systems.. Still, just use a gen5 for OS - that will be your best real-world performance. You're then free to create a RAID of three other SSDs.

5. Every time you create a RAID system in BIOS, if you don't want it anymore, you can go to the same place in BIOS and delete the previously created RAID system - and then recreate a new one with same SSDs, or change SSDs and then create a new one again. But you need to go there to delete the RAID volume if you just want to create a new RAID volume or use the SSDs (in the current RAID volume) separately (you will lose all data tho).

6. If the three OEM SSDs were used to create a RAID system and they were removed form the slots to be replaced with new ones... I'm not sure what happens there, but I have a feeling you might have lost all data... Just try to put them back in the exact same slots they were in initially and see if you can boot and it recognizes Windows (if an OS is installed). But if not, even if BIOS shows it is a RAID system, you'd probably just have to delete the RAID volume there (lose all data) so you can then either create a new RAID system again, or just use each individual SSD.

 

[joao.sousa.domingo158102d7]

Look here [How To] Load VMD/IRST driver during Windows installation from MSI.
That's all you have to do - its super fast to do it every time you install Windows. No need to complicate.

 

[mimarsina158b02db]

Also, in case anyone is wondering how to add a driver to an existing installation AFTER it has already been installed, here's what you do:
1) Boot into Windows PE/RE (while you are outside the image that won't currently boot due to missing RAID and/or other kinds of storage drives) from a thumb drive or similar.
2) Run this single command:
dism /image:c: /add-driver /driver:d:\drivers\f6flpy-x64 /recurse /forceunsigned
That's it!
In the command above, drive C: is where your existing installation is found. Needless to say, Windows PE/RE must already have the driver integrated so it can access your existing installation.
And d:\drivers\f6flpy-x64 is where you have the drivers you want to add to your image. This can be a parent path that contains way more drivers than just boot drivers (ex: network, too).
Last but not least, you may find it convenient to use a tool like Macrium Reflect to build the Windows PE/RE bootable USB. They make it easy to load drivers like RAID during booting of the PE/RE.
Otherwise, you end up with kind of the chicken and egg problem.
Hope that helps! With this trick, I've been maintaining my existing Windows images for decades even, upgrading through version after version of Windows!

 

[joao.sousa.domingo158102d7]

Hi, maybe you can help me. I received an MSI Titan 18 HX Dragon Edition Norse yesterday. A2XWJG-273DE and I removed the three pre-installed SSDs and replaced them with four 8TB SSDs.

Now I can’t get Windows 11 to install.

In the BIOS, under the “Intel Rapid Storage” section, I created a RAID 0 volume using all four SSDs as members. Then I used the Windows Media Creation Tool to create a USB stick for booting and installing Windows 11.

But that’s where the problems begin. Without a RAID driver, the Windows installer does not detect the RAID volume at all. And even if I delete the RAID volume in BIOS, the installer doesn’t see the individual SSDs either.

I then downloaded the Intel RAID driver from the MSI support site and integrated it into the installation. With that, the RAID volume is detected and Windows Setup starts. copying 100% files. and then...after the first reboot, I always get a blue screen saying Stop Code: INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE,

I’ve spent three hours working with ChatGPT, which gave me many methods to integrate the RAID drivers into the Windows 11 image so they’re automatically loaded when booting from the USB stick. That part actually works – the RAID volume shows up in the installer. But after the installation reaches 100% and reboots, it always fails with the same “boot device inaccessible” error. After rebooting MSI says "Abnormal status reported by Rapid Storage Technolgy UEFI driver." To fix that I have had to delete theRAID-Volume and recreate it. Looks like Windows does something while installing with that Raid volume...

At this point, I’m thinking of giving up and reinstalling the three original SSDs. But I’m a bit afraid that the BIOS won’t recognize that they were previously part of a RAID volume, and I may need to recreate the RAID manually – which could risk making them unbootable.

I’ve read that you (MSI) have tested many SSD and RAID configurations with this model, and I’m wondering: how did you reinstall Windows after changing or swapping SSDs? How do you handle this kind of RAID/VMD-related boot issue internally?

Is it possible, to disable RAID complete in BIOS? I did not found a way...
(okay, pressing FN + Copilot + right_shift + left_alt + F2 get me into advances bios menu, I can disable VMD/Raid-Controller there... that would be my fallback-option if I cant finaly install windows11 with VMD/Raid activated)

Any tips or help would be greatly appreciated.


Edit: Extra Informations:
- I Downloaded the "Intel Rapid Storage Technology F6 Driver20.2.1.1016" and used the iaStorVD.inf. ChatGTP told me at the end its the wrong driver, I need a "iaVROC.inf" which is not availale at msi support download. I know ChatGPT is wrong some times Also I tryed the iaVROC.inf download from intel. But same negative result.

oh and I never had to change anything in Advanced BIOS to make RAID work. My BIOS is literally "Load default values", change to "Best Performance" and change boot order if really necessary. "Save"

 

[mimarsina158b02db]

Their latest response is "We are very sorry that we cannot provide you with instructions for recovering the device or loss." as predicted.
So a company with ten billion dollars in revenue, "the most trusted name in gaming and eSports. We stand by our principles of breakthroughs in design" is unwilling to clean up the mess it makes, wow!
I have suffered material losses of $4,000 and who's responsible for this loss but MSI? They've definitely achieved a new breakthrough by inventing a world-first technology that bricks SSDs just by virtue of booting up a BIOS.

 

[ix015d202ee]

oh and I never had to change anything in Advanced BIOS to make RAID work. My BIOS is literally "Load default values", change to "Best Performance" and change boot order if really necessary. "Save"

This morning, on a whim, I ran CrystalDiskMark on my MSI Titan 18HX AI.
I chose Peak Performance +Mix & Read/Write + Mix test profile:

18,5711.91 ?!
219081.05 ?!
I'm pretty sure I'm not hallucinating.
Perhaps I'm not understanding what's happening and those numbers are not the scores I'm thinking?
Now, the system was on idle all night, and drive temps according CPUID HWInfo clocked around 30 degrees C for all the drives, so, perhaps the cooler temps had an effect:?
Here's screen cap of CPUID HWInfo after the CrystalDiskMark run:

... and for clarification, my drive setup is 1 WD_Black 8TB for sytem drive, + MSI "Super" RAID 0 volume consiting of 1x Samsung 9100 4TB + 2x Samsung 990 Pro 4TB ... but, that's also shown on CPUID HWInfo.

Have you had any anomalous outlier results like this? Can someone else replicate this?

 

[joao.sousa.domingo158102d7]

This morning, on a whim, I ran CrystalDiskMark on my MSI Titan 18HX AI.
I chose Peak Performance +Mix & Read/Write + Mix test profile:
View attachment 202563
18,5711.91 ?!
219081.05 ?!
I'm pretty sure I'm not hallucinating.
Perhaps I'm not understanding what's happening and those numbers are not the scores I'm thinking?
Now, the system was on idle all night, and drive temps according CPUID HWInfo clocked around 30 degrees C for all the drives, so, perhaps the cooler temps had an effect:?
Here's screen cap of CPUID HWInfo after the CrystalDiskMark run:
View attachment 202564

... and for clarification, my drive setup is 1 WD_Black 8TB for sytem drive, + MSI "Super" RAID 0 volume consiting of 1x Samsung 9100 4TB + 2x Samsung 990 Pro 4TB ... but, that's also shown on CPUID HWInfo.
View attachment 202565

Have you had any anomalous outlier results like this? Can someone else replicate this?

The 9100 Pro can theoretically do read/write speeds up to 2,200K/2,600K IOPS. That's 2,200,000/2,600,000 IOPS.

 

[ronvessGL76]

"In a world of gen5 SSDs, MSI Super Raid 5 is just promotional marketing.."
Good luck monkeying with RAID anyting these daze. Me, I am patiently waiting for Crucial T710 (7/25) release date for cooler/ faster SSD's. RAID anyting worked a long long time ago, nowadays not so much.

 

[joao.sousa.domingo158102d7]

"In a world of gen5 SSDs, MSI Super Raid 5 is just promotional marketing.."
Good luck monkeying with RAID anyting these daze. Me, I am patiently waiting for Crucial T710 (7/25) release date for cooler/ faster SSD's. RAID anyting worked a long long time ago, nowadays not so much.

Super Raid is still useful while there are at least two gen4 SSD slots. Only when all slots become gen5 will it be just a gimmick

 

[joao.sousa.domingo158102d7]

UPDATE on real-world SSD performance

Given the previous RAID results and since the Samsung 9100 Pro showed the best real-world performance in PCMark 10 FSDBenchmark, I decided to also run the benchmark on single SSDs on the gen4 slots. From worst to best real-world performance (none of the following SSDs have OS, except the 9100 Pro):

- Samsung 990 Pro (gen4) on gen4 slot (with heatsink):

- RAID0 (64KB) Samsung 990 Pro (gen4) + OEM Samsung (gen5) on gen4 slot (both with heatsinks):

- OEM Samsung (gen5) on gen4 slot (with heatsink):

- Samsung 9100 Pro (gen5) on gen5 slot (with MSI cooling heatsink and with OS):

So, a RAID0 system really only might be better if made with two gen4 SSDs. If a RAID0 volume is made even with a gen5 SSD, added to a gen4 SSD, both on gen4 slots, RAID performance will be worst than just using the gen5 SSD alone in gen4 slot. And as the results show, even using gen5 SSDs on gen4 slots gives substantially better real-world performance than using gen4 SSDs on gen4 slots.

 

[aksoyozca150e02d4]

Hey All,

Just got the Titan 18 HX AI A2XWJG and been playing around (I am leaving attached some quick bench tests out of the box if anyone is interested).

View attachment 201038

Questions:
1. Laptop came with 6400MHz 64Gb SODIMM. Different online sources point out both Titan and Raider are already compatible with CSODIMM which include a clock driver (CKD) on the DIMM itself (better for signal stability specially at frequencies higher than JEDEC). If wanting to upgrade RAM from the 64GB to 128Gb, I have looked online and soon 64GBx2 DDR5-6400 CSODIMM kits like this will be available. BUT, officially MSI rates max RAM on the laptops at 96GB (as in 2x48Gb):
1.1 - Was the 96Gb max defined when using SODIMMs only? Is the real max 128Gb using 2x64GB CSODIMMs? Why would the laptop not be able to recognize 128Gb on 2 slots? (Intel is maxed at 192Gb and I believe there is no BIOS constraint..)
1.2 - If I bought the 128GB DDR5-6400 CSODIMM kit from Crucial above, would it work out of the box? Likely I would need to at least enable XMP memory profile (to custom) in Memory Overclocking Menu (Advanced BIOS), but would I need to set anything else in BIOS?
1.3 - What's the best way to remove the metallic box around the 2 RAM slots without scratching the board if using a screwdriver to pull it up? I see an arrow there (in the image) - should a screwdriver be inserted there to pull the box up? If so, I would need to remove that plate with 6 screws in the first place - is this what is expected to upgrade RAM?

2. Laptop comes with a 2TB Samsung SSD whose model I cannot find online - but given the DiskMark speeds seems to me that needs to be something gen 5 already. Nevertheless, I ordered a gen5 4TB Samsung 9100 Pro to replace it:
2.1 - To replace the gen 5 SSD, do I only need to remove the 2 SSD screws and the 2 screws above on the SSD cooling pipe plate? Is it that simple?
2.2 - I imagine it is ok to also replace the OEM thermal pad with a custom one? I ordered a GELID SOLUTIONS GP-Ultimate thermal pad which should be better.
2.3 - I do currently also have two 4TB Samsung 990 Pro SSDs from a previous laptop. If I wanted to test this laptop Super Raid 5 by combining the 9100 (gen5) + 990Pro (gen4) and/or 9100 (gen5) + 2x 990Pro (gen 4), which two other gen 4 slots should I use (and their order of best and worst in speeds if the case)?
2.4 - I imagine the RND4K speeds will suffer a lot.. but I do have the 990 Pro drives anyway and would like to check out that RAID0 system. I imagine the two other gen 4 SSD slots that allow RAID are 2 PCIe 4.0 lanes both connected to the intel cpu? I hope there's no other motherboard chipset involved that would drop a lane speed.
2.5 - What are those black SSD covers on gen4 slots? They only have glue on both ends and don't seem to be heat-conductive anyway. Do they have any purpose at all? I have a 1mm SSD copper heatsink and would like to place them on top of the gen4 SSDs, but I would need to remove the black SSD covers for that purpose.
2.6 - I guess it is fine to use the OEM gen 5 2TB Samsung SSD in the remaining gen 4 slot? I expect the speeds to only be gen4 slower.

Thanks in advance for the time and partial or full answers!

good post thanks a lot.just would like to hear your experience about removing the backcover and putting back again.
as we know, MSI backcover locking clips are very fragile and easy to break and I already experienced this on my GE76 Raider model.
Now I have MSI Titan HX 2025 and really afraid of to remove the back cover for upgrade. How was your experience after placed back the cover?
Did you notice any loose section due to the damaged locking clips?
Those tiny locking clips hard to see if missing or damaged but you if it was damaged, normally can hear cracking noise when you press over the back cover.

 

[joao.sousa.domingo158102d7]

good post thanks a lot.just would like to hear your experience about removing the backcover and putting back again.
as we know, MSI backcover locking clips are very fragile and easy to break and I already experienced this on my GE76 Raider model.
Now I have MSI Titan HX 2025 and really afraid of to remove the back cover for upgrade. How was your experience after placed back the cover?
Did you notice any loose section due to the damaged locking clips?
Those tiny locking clips hard to see if missing or damaged but you if it was damaged, normally can hear cracking noise when you press over the back cover.

I did lose two of them on the bottom near the battery, but nothing more. back cover is tight tho - all screws in - no lose sections or noises

 

[aksoyozca150e02d4]

I did lose two of them on the bottom near the battery, but nothing more. back cover is tight tho - all screws in - no lose sections or noises

Thanks, just be careful more you open, close more prone to broken those clips

 

[stevenmfarme151802cd]

I did lose two of them on the bottom near the battery, but nothing more. back cover is tight tho - all screws in - no lose sections or noises

What is your current setup on this machine? Like you, I am considering going the 128GB RAM route. I am still trying to figure out my HD layout. I need a lot of storage. I will probably buy a 4TB Samsung 9100 for the Gen 5 slot and then put in 3x 2TB Samsung 990 Evo Plus drivers into the Gen 4 slots (I have them sitting on a shelf unused). What do you think of that setup?

My uses are light gaming (the most taxing that I play rarely is Ark Survival Ascended), but mostly VMs and some video work. Most of my use is regular office-type programs.

Do I remember you saying something about RAID-5? If so, how is that working out?

 

[joao.sousa.domingo158102d7]

What is your current setup on this machine? Like you, I am considering going the 128GB RAM route. I am still trying to figure out my HD layout. I need a lot of storage. I will probably buy a 4TB Samsung 9100 for the Gen 5 slot and then put in 3x 2TB Samsung 990 Evo Plus drivers into the Gen 4 slots (I have them sitting on a shelf unused). What do you think of that setup?

My uses are light gaming (the most taxing that I play rarely is Ark Survival Ascended), but mostly VMs and some video work. Most of my use is regular office-type programs.

Do I remember you saying something about RAID-5? If so, how is that working out?

As I said previously, just get 128GB Kit (64GBx2) Kingston ValueRAM 6400MT/s DDR5 CSODIMM 52-51-51-102 (KVR64V52BD8-64) - they are stable and never had a problem.

Regarding SSDs, just look at the UPDATE on real-world SSD performance post above: forget RAID - even a gen5 SSD on a gen4 slot is faster than any RAID0 system of two gen5 SSDs (on gen5 + gen4 slots) or even three of them. And by faster, I mean real-world performance, which is all that matters.
I have a 4TB Samsung 9100 on the gen5 slot where I install OS and everything. And then I use the 2TB OEM gen5 Samsung and another gen4 4TB Samsung 990 Pro on other gen4 slots just for extra storage. No RAID, no nothing - it's slower and more risky in case of RAID0 or RAID5. (Nothing on the bottom right gen4 slot - one less potential 40/50°C source)
In today's gen5 SSD world, RAID only matters if you want to do redundancy - RAID1 (to have a copy of any given SSD).

My laptop looks like this: