Review on AMD AM4 MSI X570-A PRO Motherboard with DDR4, PCIe 4.0, SATA 6Gb/s, M.2, USB 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI, ATX by Li Mei ᠌

Name: AMD AM4 MSI X570-A PRO Motherboard with DDR4, PCIe 4.0, SATA 6Gb/s, M.2, USB 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI, ATX
Item: AMD AM4 MSI X570-A PRO Motherboard with DDR4, PCIe 4.0, SATA 6Gb/s, M.2, USB 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI, ATX
Rating: 4

October 28, 2022

I'm satisfied, it's a good purchase.

* In my opinion, AC'97 level sound was sufficient (stereo / 20bit / 96kHz or multi-channel / 20bit / 48kHz). Needed the right strapping and protection from interference. The codec in the motherboard, nominally gives much more, but due to the installation of drivers and the Realtek Audio Console application, most of these features do not even know and will not recognize. The limit in stereo mode, quadro is 32 / 192, there is its own surround sound algorithm.
* In modern motherboards, the mode of 4 DDR4 slots is for show. Since the installed modules work in two-rank mode, where each pair plays the role of one rank. As a result, in order to make sense from the installation of modules, it is necessary that all 4 have exactly the same volumes, first of all. Since the amount of memory is outside the same size for all 4 modules, it will work at half speed. For example: 2, 4, 2, 4 - the first 8 Gb works in dualrank mode. and additional 4 Gb for the second pair - in single-rank mode.
In addition, there are problems with the synchronization of 4 modules and heating - for example, I had 4 modules and as it turned out, they constantly heat up more than if only 2 modules are installed, without consequences for performance, due to the fact that if only 2 modules are left , then all memory will work synchronously.
* In general, for an unpretentious consumer who needs to install 2x PCI-e 4.0 x4 drives and does not need RAID, as well as with less than 5 coolers, without a water pump, without any gaming claims - the motherboard will do.
If you're willing to forgo a single PCI-e 4.0 M2 for more gaming features, then rather than buying the lower-end X570, consider the premium version based on the B550 chipset. For example, ASRock B550 STEEL LEGEND or ASRock B550 EXTREME4, which, in addition to the gaming Nahimic, also have an amplifier in the kit. Another option is ASUS ROG STRIX B550-A(E, F, XE) GAMING - there is proprietary software with similar functions from Nahimic, headphone amplifiers 32-600 Ohm.
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Pros

+ Function to stop the fan on the chipset when the chipset temperature is below 60 degrees. During normal operation, my cooler mostly does not rotate at all. + Most of the motherboard components are so widespread or standards-compliant that almost all functions work on Win11 even without drivers - sound, sound format up to 32 bits / 192 Khz, network, chipset. + POST indicator lights. + Cooler control from the BIOS seems to work fine, at least I set it up once and forgot - this is exactly about setting the cooler speeds in the BIOS. + The MSI Center "Live ate" subroutine shows very well which drivers have been ated on the official website and ates them without any problems (chipset, sound, network card), can even ate the BIOS. + Chipset cooler, not closed by video card. + BIOS is ated, and more actively than competitors. + Convenient BIOS interface. + BIOS mode "Memory Try It!", which contains running presets for memory overclocking. + A huge number of sensors, how people burned power conduits, I can’t imagine, I suspect overclocking with poor cooling. + When the backlight is completely off, the chipset cooler spins less frequently.

Cons

- The software is outdated and poorly maintained. MSI Center is not able to show the processor frequency even in Win11, although at the same time the task manager shows it correctly. There are some old problems that don't get fixed with Win 7, like frequently switching "Devices Speed Up" power plans. - The software adjustment of the Water_Pump slot on the motherboard is buggy and often sets the maximum speed. - The SYS_FAN4 slot has a PWM pin, but does not detect a connected PWM-enabled cooler. I bought 5 identical coolers, all were with PWM, but the one installed in slot 4 did not start. After checking it, it turned out that only control in DC mode works. - Cooler management from MSI software is buggy in User Scenario subroutine: randomly coolers spin up to the limit if any mode other than Custom is selected. - There are simply no cooler connectors on the side of the motherboard, where there are SATA ports and 20 pin power supply. To connect the front fans, you have to pull the wires quite far. In the photo, the cooler over the RAM is stretched to Sys_Fan4 above the chipset cooler, for example. - The RAID controller sees only the first 4 SATA ports and does not see 2 more additional ones, M2 is also not considered part of the RAID. At the same time, if these slots are at least occupied by something, then everything, including Windows, starts to get confused due to the fact that the system simultaneously has SATA controllers outside of RAID, RAID-Sata and M2 disks. - Voltages are too high - it costs 2 Patiot 16 Gb 2666 JEDEC, 3200 XMP modules, they work in 3600 mode 18-20-20-20-42. If you set their operating voltage to 1.35 volts, then the system sets the monitoring to 1.372. - Missing utilities aimed at improving the gaming experience - Nahimic, network priority management, Noise Cancelling management. Why is the name Gaming Plus here, if the motherboard is suitable for gaming in exactly the same way as any other. - The chipset cooler is activated if you install an M2 drive in the second slot, and besides, due to the specifics of the cooling orientation, it starts to blow hot air onto it.