Asus X299 - Support

djbuddha · Jan 7, 2021

Loloflatsix said:
Yes the 970 EVO works fine no problem on my side or reported , but not the 970 EVO Plus due to Samsung firmware which must be updated before use.

Perfect. I already downloaded the firmware tool and made my bootable USB as per other threads in the forum. This Sabrent 256 GB NVME I have in there as a scratch drive is part of my bottleneck, the other being my 500 GB 860 EVO (SATA) SSD. That should allow me to actually push my 10980XE during Final Cut exports instead of hitting the wall because of transfer speed.

Even if I only gain a few more percent of CPU usage it’s completely worth it. Not to mention having lots of fast storage to work with / boot with. :headbang:

izo1 · Jan 7, 2021

Loloflatsix said:
Yes the 970 EVO works fine no problem on my side or reported , but not the 970 EVO Plus due to Samsung firmware which must be updated before use.

Can confirm on 970 Evo Plus. Works fine here in Catalina + Big Sur, but I just got it and checked for a firmware update in Windows before trying to use it, and it had the latest firmware already.

My main drive is the 970 Pro which is a better and longer lasting drive, it has Big Sur on it. The 970 Evo Plus has Catalina

Screen Shot 2021-01-07 at 9.31.30 AM.png

djbuddha · Jan 7, 2021

izo1 said:
Can confirm on 970 Evo Plus. Works fine here in Catalina + Big Sur, but I just got it and checked for a firmware update in Windows before trying to use it, and it had the latest firmware already.

My main drive is the 970 Pro which is a better and longer lasting drive, it has Big Sur on it. The 970 Evo Plus has Catalina

View attachment 504173

Awesome!

I opted for these because I needed it relatively soon for a new project. (Plus the great sale price). If the funds I get can justify major drive upgrades I’ll consider selling these.

izo1 · Jan 7, 2021

djbuddha said:
Awesome!

I opted for these because I needed it relatively soon for a new project. (Plus the great sale price). If the funds I get can justify major drive upgrades I’ll consider selling these.

Evo Plus is a great drive, I try to stick to Samsung NVME drives for longevity. I think I paid $150 USD for this, which isn't bad considering I paid $350 a while back for the 970 Pro

djbuddha · Jan 7, 2021

izo1 said:
Evo Plus is a great drive, I try to stick to Samsung NVME drives for longevity. I think I paid $150 USD for this, which isn't bad considering I paid $350 a while back for the 970 Pro

So excited over here! :crazy:

Loloflatsix · Jan 7, 2021

izo1 said:
Evo Plus is a great drive, I try to stick to Samsung NVME drives for longevity. I think I paid $150 USD for this, which isn't bad considering I paid $350 a while back for the 970 Pro

I am considering the 970 Pro for my EVGA system: I have two U2 ports and I just received the delivery of M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD to U.2 SSD docking station + Internal mini SAS cable: I tested with an NVMe WD SN750 and it looks ok but will be better with 970 EVO PRO.

izo1 · Jan 7, 2021

Loloflatsix said:
I am considering the 970 Pro for my EVGA system: I have two U2 ports and I just received the delivery of M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD to U.2 SSD docking station + Internal mini SAS cable: I tested with an NVMe WD SN750 and it looks ok but will be better with 970 EVO PRO.

I've had the 970 Pro 1TB NVMe for a while now, I got it maybe 2-3 years ago when it first came out, and it's a great drive. There's a reason why it's pricey because of it's durability. I think I've written hundreds of Terabytes on it and it's still at 99% health in Samsung Magician (Windows). I use it as a cache drive for Photoshop and After Effects and some projects on my desktop for speedy purposes (with Time Machine always running for backups).

Never tried or even thought about U2 ports for NVMe. I am just using the 2x M.2 slots on the Sage 10G. The 970 EVO Plus is on the slot that's sticking out (horrible design decision by Asus).

Currently I am not really using Big Sur on the 970 Pro (which was my main drive for a very long time) because it has major crashes with Adobe After Effects, so waiting for .2/.3 at least to move over full time. I submitted a lot of bug reports to both Adobe and Apple. Maybe AE 2021 will fix it but it's not out yet.

PS I really want 2TB drives now for the OS, 1TB isn't enough anymore

Loloflatsix · Jan 7, 2021

izo1 said:
I've had the 970 Pro 1TB NVMe for a while now, I got it maybe 2-3 years ago when it first came out, and it's a great drive. There's a reason why it's pricey because of it's durability. I think I've written hundreds of Terabytes on it and it's still at 99% health in Samsung Magician (Windows). I use it as a cache drive for Photoshop and After Effects and some projects on my desktop for speedy purposes (with Time Machine always running for backups).

Never tried or even thought about U2 ports for NVMe. I am just using the 2x M.2 slots on the Sage 10G. The 970 EVO Plus is on the slot that's sticking out (horrible design decision by Asus).

Currently I am not really using Big Sur on the 970 Pro (which was my main drive for a very long time) because it has major crashes with Adobe After Effects, so waiting for .2/.3 at least to move over full time. I submitted a lot of bug reports to both Adobe and Apple. Maybe AE 2021 will fix it but it's not out yet.

Yes, the durability of the 970 PRO is essential for cache drive, storage and backup. Since I have a Carbide Series Air 540 ATX Cube case, I want to install my storage on the two internal hot-swappable drive bays and that's why I'm considering using the U.2 ports.

djbuddha · Jan 8, 2021

Installed, latest firmware was on it. This is amazing, I may get some heat sinks for both of these ASAP, I'm sure I can squeeze more out of it, or better yet, get more life out of them long term. Otherwise, everything is running flawless! Thanks everyone & @CaseySJ !

MacArthur · Jan 8, 2021

@CaseySJ