Reasons i look at the MSI MEG, it has 16VRM design and i tend to overclock really hard on cool (50~55F ambient) water. It also comes with a 16x pci-e 4 nvme card holder so i can store my videos on a raid 0 software array. for around 550$ on amazon.
Normally i am Asrock or maaaybe a gigabyte fan. I do like Asus my 7980xe is on a x299 apex. But i try and stay as far away as possible for the most part as they are really really bad about warranty support. (i bought the apex assuming i have no warranty on it)
Going the 2970wx for streaming and i know its overkill, but i also like to benchmark and tinker, will most definitely do a build video on it as well. My thought is the 6 core per die will work better with the limited bandwidth of 4 dies over Infinity fabric.
I think i will run my Vega LQ FE in it. And pick up 4 16GB sticks of 3600 cl 15,15,15 gskil ram.
For storage i am thinking a smaller optane drive like the 900 480gb as a boot drive. then 4~7 HP EX920 M.2 1TB nvme drives. And then maybe add some spinning rust for back up. altho i might just leave that for external drives.
For cooling i might just pick up a Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3 to get started with. Then once i learn the board i could possibly make a custom loop, unless someone knows of a extremely good AIO for a full cpu cover solution?
PSU evga 1600w superNova T2 Titanium.
I have a extra Fractal XL R2 case here i might use for now.
Ya so ideas welcome I am a little worried about the bios and warranty support on the MEG mobo so if anyone has any insight it would be greatly appreciated!
X399 MEG is the best X399 board vrm wise.
We are still waiting for Asrock and Asus releasing X399 gen 2 boards with upgraded vrm implementations.
But i have not seen anything from them yet.
For a 250W tdp cpu like the 2970WX / 2990WX, i would say go with the MEG,
if you want to tinker with some overclocking.
But dont expect anything mindblowing from overclocking TR.
There isnt that much stretch in overclocking TR currentlly.
Thanks for the reply. Would you happened to have used this mobo bios? And yes you are very much correct by saying the TR will not clock very far. And that is just fine. I would hope i can do 4.0 on all cores but 24cores is a lot!
That said my 18 core intel is doing 5.0 happly chugging along for what i use it at least. It will not handle prime95 for over 10 min the vrm will shut down! XD That said i have heard some… interesting things about PBO??? some fool said he got 4.6 on his 1950x LUL. I certainly do not believe this at all. But IF this board supports PBO i think it would be fun nonetheless.
I also 100% will be updating this system to the 3xxx gen ryzen 32 core when it is released. And would love to have a VRM to support it.
Will i keep this motherboard i can not say. But it would be nice if i could keep it as its VRM is pretty decent looking. I just worry the bios updates maybe not up to my liking. Some users report taking 2~5min for windows to load after bios update?! And very poor DPC latency as well. And this would be a shame if it limits me in testing TR vs my i9
I have not used the bios of the board recentlly.
But Msi does has put allot of effort in their bios latelly.
Atleast according to wendell.
But as far as the vrm implementation is concerned, and especially with overclocking a 2970WX or pin all cores to like 4.0GHz, without your vrm temps to go bonkers,
then just go with the MEG really.
I mean yeah the Gigabyte X399 Aorus extreme also has an upgraded vrm with 10phases for vcore. (doubled 5 phase)
But that board still uses IR3556 50A powerstages i believe, which are less decent,
and will run significantlly hotter and less efficient with a 250W tdp cpu then the MSI meg will.
Because the Msi MEG has a doubled 8 phases so 16 phases.
But they use the significantlly better Infeneon 70A powerstages.
So not only is the vrm more powerfull and has a better current capabillity.
But it should technically also run significantlly cooler and more efficient.
Order placed! decided to go for the MEG x399! ($550) and 64gb of g.skill 2800 cl 14 14 14, 4x16gb was only $450 so yes its slow but here’s to hoping it can overclock a bit
I backed out on the 2970wx for the 2920x,(still $650) next year this will be replaced.(i can also sell this to someone local pretty easy so if i really want to i can go with the 24 core later without losing anything) So for a system i don’t need in the first place i opted for something more reasonable.
Got 2 of the HP 1tb drives ($175 each) to see how they work out. i can always get more later if i like them.
Was hoping for a Thermalright TR4 cooler but can’t find one in stock so the Noctua will have to do.
Got a new 1000w evga supernova G2 for 150$ 20$ rebate (that’s how they get ya haha). I have a good 1200w psu i could use but its not silent.
For everything else i have plenty of goodies i can fill in to see how well i like it. Thanks for your help @MisteryAngel muchly appreciated
ok ended up with the 2970wx due to some delivery issues. everything looks great install went well. and that is where the fun stopped lol.
I seem to be stuck on a B1 code. system works fine in bios (did the latest bios update) But every time i try and use a windows install off usb the system stops B1 code. its like it loads up until it wants to wright to the SSD and then stops. does this for both UEFI and for non UEFI. Tested windows 10 and windows 7. used a sata drive instead of m.2 aswell. Also tried to boot off a intel750 1.2tb windows 10 install and it froze every time just after the inital splash screen. IE after the second attempt i seen it say starting windows repair but then it froze as soon as that popped up.
Idea’s? please?! haha i’m pretty lost at this point. I might mention i have tested with 3 different kits 2 kits known to be good and work with ryzen. Single dimm. added voltage to soc 1.125 and 1.35 vdimm. Relaxed timings as well. all the same result. the only thing i can think is the cpu is not making proper contact or the board is dead. neither of witch i believe to be true. the cpu is installed properly and temps are good. 38c is the hottest i have seen it get.
Does it properly detects the storage devices in the uefi?
Installing windows10 should theoretically work without much problems.
But windows 7 will be a bit more troublesome.
Because windows 7 natively does not support usb gen 3.
And also not support nvme drives.
You need to slipstream that stuff into the iso, otherwise you cannot install windows 7 pretty much.
But with windows10 it should all work.
Yes it shows any drive i have used properly in the bios.
Yes i know windows 7 must have nvme slipped in, not really going to use 7 would probably do a Ubuntu or something if i wanted something for non gaming.
Agreed windows 10 should work. I just tried out the usb 2.0 front port (if they are usb2.0 on the board)
Tried no HDD no SSD still locks up B1 error.
Nope that orange slider is needed for installation.
I would say start with everything on stock clocks.
Maybe you could try to clear the cmos, by unplugging the system from wall power, and take out the bios battery for a few seconds.
and put it back in again, this will reset the entire uefi / bios.
connect the ssd’s or drives you want to install windows to,
go into the bios and check if it has detected everything correctlly.
Then set date and time etc.
Then put a usb stick with a working windows 10 setup iso on it.
Or linux.
And then see if it goes.
yup done all of that. still B1 (the terror) re seating cpu… then i guess RMA the board if it does not work.
I mean it must be a bad board or cpu. (prob the cpu socket) Just thought i would check in with some others that have working boards to see if they knew something i did not Thx for your help once again you have been a great help! Take care <3
I am a little worried about the bios and warranty support on the MEG mobo so if anyone has any insight it would be greatly appreciated!
tested 1866. yea i guess. was hoping for some mistery magic 
Thx for your help once again you have been a great help! Take care <3
