SOlidwire

And Yes, I found the 325Gb torrent on Archive.org and I may end up setting up a repository server for these one fine day but that day can't be now… I must have been in a comma or deep in a job when Intel announced they were removing years of support files as I didn't notice until now. It's at least a little wacky to think that everyone who wants a driver or bios file needs to download a 325gb torrent. This is why I emphasized individualized. Regardless… It is amazing how may *.in .mu .na sites there are for these downloads and they all say -- FREE - TESTED -- SAFE. I need neither the coronaIT nor to pay $15 for a bios file that probably has the coronaIT anyway. Like taking a fist in the you know where… Not that I discourage anyone's recreation but it's not my preference. Really appreciate an expedited solution. Don - The Solidwire

Does the Asus TUF Gaming X570-Plus have the full PCI 3.0 x 4 connectivity to both M.2 slots OR is it one PCI express 3.0 x 4 to the CPU and the other going through the PCI express lanes through the chipset? If not which consumer grade mother boards have full PCI 3.0 x 4 connectivity to both M.2 slots?

Quite honestly I didn't know any of this until you edumacated us... Besides I respect a bit of passion. Thank you. Besides... it just made NO SENSE that an additional 4 pin connector was a "marketing feature"

The short answer is... a heatsink is NOT a good idea... Actually can be harmful. I'm going to tend to lean toward the opinion of the forefront expert in this field, Allyn Malventan of Intel/ PCper... The NAND prefers to be warmer while doing writes. A point of thermal throttle is rear to hit. "JEDEC rates SSD with an operating temp of 40C. If the flash is forced to room temp 25C then with the same amount of writing done at the lower temp (room temp) the end of LIFE retention time WILL BE CUT IN 1/2. An M.2 SSD without a heatsink will naturally rise above ambient. Same goes for SSD's with heat spreaders and heat spreading labels they just spread the heat more evenly which is better for endurance since the flash will run slightly warmer, even at idle. The heatsink/ waterblock problem. The goal is to prevent thermal throttling which is a controller issue, not a flash issue. Flash LOVES to be HOT while operating specifically during writes as that is what causes the wear. A heatsink/ waterblock should only contact the controller and NOT the flash.

ok oK OK... I give... That's it... No miracle brew (for the moment). Just wanted to update my actions and rational given the options and price points. These choices might not make sense in 30 days from now but for today.... For Starters.... QVL's are they RIDICULOUS??If I was to strictly stick with the QVL there are 3! THREE CHOICES!! That's IT! Out of a total of 659 possible RAM Choices, AMD offers 139 and Asus 520. I imported the lists into a spreadsheet to find the common part numbers.There are 3 - TOTALTo stick with the QVL means finding RAM that is approved by BOTH the mobo manufacture and the CPU manufacture.... In my case... Asus TUF Gaming X570-PLUS and AMD 2700X. The ram I chose was on both the ASUS and AMD QVL YET I choose ram off of the 3rd GEN QVL list, while ASUS had this particular RAM on both their 2nd Gen & 3rd Gen list. Also, I found a few others who were successful with 2nd Gen CPU in the X570. The final result... (to the order process at least) In my analysis I priced RAM out at 5 places.To not have to repurchase RAM next year for the CPU upgrade I would have had to spend between $105 and $200 MORE for B-DIE at 3600 than getting HyperX Predator 3200 CL16 [HX432C16PB3K2/16 - 2 kits @ $77 each] today and probably have to tweak that 3600 ram just for stability never mind performance. (I love to tweak for performance, not stability). If all things tech remain consistent the price of those higher MHz modules will come down over the next year or so... Even if I get .50 on the $1 for the ram I bought today I will probably be ahead financially without sacrificing any performance today... Hope this exercise helps others... Thanks again to all who graciously offered their input.Don - The SOlidwire

Thank your for your response. I respect the limitations of Gen 2 CPU's with the relationship to the infinity fabric. I mention the infinity fabric as it applies to the 3rd Gen Asus mobo - ONLY using it to illustrate the known mobo's ability communicate reliably with the CPU at 1800MHz and often above. Therefore reinforcing the 10's if not 100's of examples of a stable 3600MHz kit operating to spec with 2700X via X570 or less. I agree with your assertion the 2700X tends not to play nice with 3600MHz ram and success will come down to luck of the draw in the silicone lottery with regard to the 2700X's IMC and Asus TUF infinity fabric communicating stably at 1800MHz or above. Thus my, and many others, plea for a proven ram kit. The plea here is to find the Part Number to one of the proven ram kits with Asus X570/ 2700X.I would not be pushing for this solution if I didn't have a planned year out upgrade to 3900X or greater. - trying NOT to have to purchase ram AGAIN in a year... AND I would NEVER be approaching it like this if wasn't for mobo/ram failure. Side Note - Just wanted to mention... Honored to have you responding to my inquiry. Been a few years of having respect for your contributions on a variety? of forums, your no nonsense approach to the issues while offering up a mediated yet effective shellacing to the arrogant. Much appreciated... Ok... ok... Enough... my lips are starting to hurt!

Thank you & yes that can be done but the objective is not to OC a kit but to run a native kit at 3600MHz preparing for next years Ryzen 3900X or greater CPU. The tech leads me to believe it can be accomplished with stability and there is a kit out there that will work. The limitation of the 2nd Gen CPU is maintaining the 1:1 relationship of the CPU's memory controller and the infinity fabric. From what I understand, the infinity fabric is known to reliably hit 1800 mhz and with the bandwidth of ram 1/2 it's clock speed making 3600 ram the theoretical max while maintaining the FCLK /MCLK 1:1 relationship. The issue is the manufactures, AMD/ASUS have yet to test and QVL a 3600 kit with X570/ 2700X combo. I am not alone, having found this question for this hardware combination posted in a variety of forums. Since we can't afford to play the RAM lottery and I no longer have the resources of a computer company at my finger tips to test combinations and post findings, someone out there will... Thank you Don - The SOlidwire

Has anyone accomplished this? Successfully? Success meaning running at 3600 with stock timings and little configuration? If so please provide ram Name/ Part Number. Really appreciate input from those who were brave enough... "to go where no man has gone before" - Old enough to be OG Star Trek!Background and why?My X470 board smoked and took ram with it... So I only started this process due to the smoked mobo. I was going to, and still will, replace the 2700X in a year or two with 3950 or whatever makes sense then. But I'd rather not have to replace the ram then also. Before the ducks start quacking... I'm very familiar with the QVL's of both mobo and CPU, or should I say all 4 QVL's - ASUS & AMD both have 2 - 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen QVL's for the X570 chipset. One of the points regarding QVL's that seems to get lost in the forums is that QVL's are fluid... especially while the product line has barely stopped teething... So I would consider something off of the QVL if it worked plug & play AND runs at specification or very close. AND NO they wouldn't already necessarily have it on the QVL list already - they can only test X amount of memory. Optimally someone will present a RAM Kit meeting the criteria that is on both ASUS and AMD QVL list for 3rd Gen.Your time and consideration is greatly appreciated.Don - The SOlidwire