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Is VROC worth it?

knotted
Level 7
I have seen all the problems people on this board have had with getting VROC to work on the Rampage boards. Special thanks to JustinThyme for all the info provided.
My question is, was it worth it? Is there a noticeable difference in boot times, game level loads, programs opening etc. Or is it only on large file transfers?
Web reviews are full of synthetic benchmarks, but that doesn't help much in real life.
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45 REPLIES 45

restsugavan
Level 13
For me. VROC has a lot limit for us.
it required special VROC keys to working with many X299 platform on RAID setup ,
we must use Intel SSDs only to make sure VROC setting work efficiently.
Some 3rd party SSD may working but not all 3rd party SSD grant to use VROC on X299 platform.

After setting up VROC already , If you oftenly update BIOS or OS later thus back up devices were require.
Windows Update or BIOS Update may risk the system loss important data permanently.

For gaming I think only use fast NVME SSD or PCIe SSD such as 900P or 905P was more than enough.:cool:

For more info ::
1. https://forums.intel.com/sfc/servlet.shepherd/version/renditionDownload?rendition=SVGZ&versionId=068...

2. https://forums.intel.com/sfc/servlet.shepherd/version/renditionDownload?rendition=SVGZ&versionId=068...

If you need the most fastest solution just waiting Cascade Lake SP with Optane DC Persistence memory better.
W11CANARY 26080.1 Core i9 7980XE 02007006 MCE ME 11.12.95.2499 R6E OFFICIAL BIOS 3801 SAMSUNG OG9 FW 1019.0 SSD 970 EVO PLUS 1 TB x 3 NVIDIA RTX 4090 GAME READY 551.76 64GB GSKILL DDR4 3200MHz JBL 9.1 Sound Bar DTS-X

Thanks, restsugavan. I am somewhat disappointed with VROC. It has great potential but Intel doesn't seem to support it well. Maybe it is still too new. I would love some more lanes on the CPU too. Will check out Cascade Lake.

knotted wrote:
Thanks, restsugavan. I am somewhat disappointed with VROC. It has great potential but Intel doesn't seem to support it well. Maybe it is still too new. I would love some more lanes on the CPU too. Will check out Cascade Lake.


I had tried to get intel support with my ASUS VROC Hardware Key VROCISSDMOD to set up a RAID 10 on CPU. Intel says that ASUS should have the support driver & application files for the key to work, along with their own product support RAID setup steps. All of my efforts indicate that ASUS and Intel both have very little support for the VROC HD key RAID. Intel had no current component compatibility lists for x299 boards or i9-10900 series CPUs. technolgyhttps://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/SocketAM4/TUF_GAMING_X570-PLUS_WI-FI/E14794_RAID_Configuration...

Intel doesn't support 3 part hardware and that ASUS products are made with their own variety of configurations. Searched through the ASUS web Downloads and couldn't find anything for their VROC key.
At least the Intel Web download had the RSTe and VROC files.

I have a support ticket with ASUS that has been cycling with one support service ticket generating another promising 24 to 48 hours solution that never comes. I mostly get new email support service no. promising help. Or I get help links I already have gotten before. What Steps I do get are incomplete and fail to address all the RAID steps.

Intel gave me their RAID GUIDE for a server set up VROC HD key. It had the RSTe driver & application files for the BIOS and Windows installation. But I'm not doing a Server. I just wanted the RAID on CPU with Hyper M.2 Card which requires the Intel's 7600p series M.2 SSD or better with the Key to work. That's made very clear in the ASUS Motherboard RAID Configuration Guide. https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/server-products/server-boards/Intel-VROC-Q...
Go do crazy some place else, we're all stocked up here!

Jahmen wrote:
I had tried to get intel support with my ASUS VROC Hardware Key VROCISSDMOD to set up a RAID 10 on CPU. Intel says that ASUS should have the support driver & application files for the key to work, along with their own product support RAID setup steps. All of my efforts indicate that ASUS and Intel both have very little support for the VROC HD key RAID. Intel had no current component compatibility lists for x299 boards or i9-10900 series CPUs. technolgyhttps://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/SocketAM4/TUF_GAMING_X570-PLUS_WI-FI/E14794_RAID_Configuration...

Intel doesn't support 3 part hardware and that ASUS products are made with their own variety of configurations. Searched through the ASUS web Downloads and couldn't find anything for their VROC key.
At least the Intel Web download had the RSTe and VROC files.

I have a support ticket with ASUS that has been cycling with one support service ticket generating another promising 24 to 48 hours solution that never comes. I mostly get new email support service no. promising help. Or I get help links I already have gotten before. What Steps I do get are incomplete and fail to address all the RAID steps.

Intel gave me their RAID GUIDE for a server set up VROC HD key. It had the RSTe driver & application files for the BIOS and Windows installation. But I'm not doing a Server. I just wanted the RAID on CPU with Hyper M.2 Card which requires the Intel's 7600p series M.2 SSD or better with the Key to work. That's made very clear in the ASUS Motherboard RAID Configuration Guide. https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/server-products/server-boards/Intel-VROC-Q...


Just install the VROC drivers from Intel and the VROC application from the Microsoft Store. If you've plugged in the VROCISSDMOD key, the VROC application will not go into trial mode and you can create the array there. After that the array should be detected in the BIOS if the key is plugged in.

Brighttail
Level 11
Having walked through many of the trials and tribulations together with Justin, I would say that VROC was a big flop for the x299 platform. I have achieved a RAID 0 bootable array that was far inferior to just a standard windows RAID 0 array when it came to speed. Add to the fact the new Spectre/Meltdown patches and the speed further diminishes.

That being said if you were looking to have a RAID 1 array as a bootable drive, then I could see a reason to have it. Other than that there is no real benefit from a speed or stability standpoint.
Panteks Enthoo Elite / Asus x299 Rampage VI Extreme / Intel I9-7900X / Corsair Dominator RGB 3200MHz

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Quozzo
Level 7
If you want VROC go AMD. They have it enabled, for free. Not sure about Zen2 but I seriously doubt they will retract features from their previous lineup.

As for the latter question. An NVMe is no faster loading games or programs than an SSD, so RAID with either storage will show negligible gains.

CharlieH
Level 8
Given my 10 Gb network and running VMs I get a huge benefit from VROC I run a 8 drive (intel 900Ps) RAID 0 setup and it is totally worth it and very stable no key required. It really depends on your needs/use.

CharlieH
Level 8
One other note the faster you OC the faster your VROC is.

JustinThyme
Level 13
It’s all dependent on your use.*
Boot times are actually slower and the raid latency drops the Q1 performance. That being said 2 intel drives in VROC gives everything else on the market a spanking. 4 of them in raid 0 hits 10,000MB/S sequential reads beating Samsung hands down. I’m dumping it in favor of a single drive but only to free up lanes so both my 2080 Ti cards can run at X16.*

If you are just gaming and general use I’d say you won’t see much benifit. If you are a power user running VMs or actually put a HEDT to good use with compiling and batch photo process the intel drives are worth it VROC or not. *

I may go back later with a single hyperX 16 and the new M2 optane variants but will wait for it to mature a little. *



“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, I'm not sure about the former” ~ Albert Einstein