AMD delays driver release supporting NVMe SSDs in RAID on Threadripper

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More testing is needed.

When AMD launched its Ryzen Threadripper 1900X processor at the end of August, the company said it would be introducing NVMe RAID support to X399 motherboards with a driver update planned for September 25, or somewhere thereabouts. The good news is AMD is still planning to implement support for multiple NVMe SSDs configured in RAID, but not just yet.

"I just wanted to do a quick follow up on NVME RAID status from AMD. I know that during our Threadripper 1900X presentation we had noted September 25th as possible availability timeframe. AMD is still very excited about bringing FREE NVMe RAID support to the Threadripper platform with no strings attached," AMD told HardOCP.

Why the delay? AMD said that support for NVMe RAID requires a new driver, BIOS, management console, and installer, and that it is currently working with board partners to get all those things in order. AMD also hinted that RAID support might be a bit buggy at the moment, noting that it is "committed to software quality."

"We have been  testing its deployment and have decided to postpone the release by a few days to enhance the install experience," AMD added.

AMD's wording indicates a possible release by the end of this week, though it does not have an exact date in mind just yet.

Whether you would want to install multiple NVMe drives in RAID is another question. One possible scenario is a RAID 0 array, though NVMe SSDs typically boast really fast read and write speeds already. The added speed may not be worth the risk—if one drive goes down in a RAID 0 array, all data is lost.

Alternately, users could choose a version of RAID for redundancy. The downside there is cost, especially compared to bulky hard drives.

Regardless, NVMe RAID support is coming for those who are interested.

Paul Lilly
Paul Lilly

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).