Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST) Question


mccnavy

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Intel used to have a summary explaining the different versions of their Graphics Driver. I never found one for RST, although there are a lot of versions. It seems the current versions getting periodic updates are 17.X, 18.X, and now 19.X (which I believe is for the newest motherboards). However, I've found that both 17.X and 18.X will install on my machine (Z270 chipset...so several years old now). Does anyone know the features enabled in each version, or a resource that provides that information? I'd obviously like to make sure I'm installing and using the optimum drivers. Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-7700K
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime Z-270A
    Memory
    32GB 2666Mhz (Kingston Hyper X Fury)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus Nvidia 1050Ti
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung C27F390
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Evo 512GB
The later versions are for newer Intel CPUs and chipsets (10th, 11th gen etc.), however if you are not using Intel RAID and/ or Optane cache then you really do not need the RST drivers or application.
Windows 10 and above have out of box drivers (with AHCI set in BIOS) that work as good as the RST ones.
If you are using Intel NVME drives then there are specific Intel NVME drivers but again the Windows drivers will work fine (you may need the Intel drivers for extra functions, such as the MAS toolbox, depending on the drive).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 22H2, build: 22621.521
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Scan 3XS Custom 1700
    CPU
    Intel i7-12700K 3.6GHz Base (5.0GHz Turbo)
    Motherboard
    Asus ProArt Creator B660 D4
    Memory
    64GB DDR 3600Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus Tuff RTX 3080 10GB OC
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gigabyte G32QC 32inch 16:9 curved @2560 x 1440p 165Hz Freesync Premium Pro/ Dell SE2422H 24inch 16:9 1920 x 1080p 75Hz Freesync
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440p & 1920 x 1080p
    Hard Drives
    WD SN570 1TB NVME (Boot), Samsung 870QVO 1TB (SSD), SanDisk 3D Ultra 500Gb (SSD) x2, Seagate 3Tb Expansion Desk (Ext HDD), 2x Toshiba 1Tb P300 (Ext HDD)
    PSU
    Corsair RM1000X Modular
    Case
    Corsair 4000D Airflow Desktop
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H150i RGB Pro XT 360mm Liquid Cooler, 3 x 120mm fans, 1x Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Ergonomic
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    800Mbs
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Defender, Malwarebytes
One thing I discovered with the RST drivers vs Microsoft's own AHCI driver, is if a device gets CRC errors, then the RST driver will auto cap the SATA port speed to 300/300 instead of 600/600 in an effort to clear up the errors.

I discovered this back when I had a incorrect voltage configured on my motherboard which was causing signalling errors on the SATA ports (later discovered also NVME).

On the stock AHCI driver, these errors would just keep accumulating. On the RST drivers, there would be initially a few errors, but then the port would be capped until the next reboot which killed the errors but of course also slowing down the SSD.

A nice feature, of course it doesnt solve the source of the errors, but does mitigate damage, in terms of system stability and filesystem corruption.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    9900k
    Motherboard
    Asrock Fatality K6 Z370
    Memory
    32 Gig 3200CL12
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 3800 RTX
    Sound Card
    Asus Xonar D2X
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 27GL850
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    970 EVO 1TB
    860 EVO 1TB
    3 x 3TB WD Red
    2 x 4TB WD Red
    PSU
    Antec HCG 750
    Case
    Fractal Define R4
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15S
    Internet Speed
    80/20
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
18.x is meant for z490 and newer, 19.x for z590 and newer. You might run into issues with 18.x with a z290

Intel often does provide release notes on their download site. For instance:


You can find older versions:


The release notes sound pretty scary sometimes, but I have never had issues, they are generally rare bugs

Generally I find the latest version appropriate to you chipset work best.
 
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My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Photoshop/Game/tinker build
    CPU
    Intel i9 1300KS
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Maximus Z90 Dark Hero
    Memory
    64GB (2x32) G.skill Trident Z5 RGB 6400 MHZ 32-39-39
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus ROG Strix 4070 Ti OC
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio, Vanatoo Transparent One; Klipsch R-12SWi Sub; Creative Pebble Pro Minimilist
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Eizo CG2730, ViewSonic VP2768
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440p x 2
    Hard Drives
    WDC SN850 1TB nvme, SK-Hynix 2 TB P41 nvme, Raid 0: 1TB 850 EVO + 1TB 860 EVO SSD. Sabrent USB-C DS-SC5B 5-bay docking station: 6TB WDC Black, 6TB Ironwolf Pro; 2x 2TB WDC Black
    PSU
    850W Seasonic Vertex PX-850
    Case
    Fractal Design North XL Mesh, Black Walnut
    Cooling
    EKWB 360 Nucleus Dark AIO w/Phanteks T30-120 fans, 1 Noctua NF-A14 Chromax case fan
    Keyboard
    Glorious GMMK TKL mechanical, lubed modded
    Mouse
    Logitech G305 wireless gaming
    Internet Speed
    380 Mb/s down, 12 Mb/s up
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender, Macrium Reflect 8 ;-)
  • Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Apple 13" Macbook Pro 2020 (m1)
    CPU
    Apple M1
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1600
    Browser
    Firefox

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Core i7-13700K
    Motherboard
    Asus TUF Gaming Plus WiFi Z790
    Memory
    64 GB Kingston Fury Beast DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 Super Gaming OC 8G
    Sound Card
    Realtek S1200A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VP2770
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Kingston KC3000 2TB NVME SSD & SATA HDDs & SSD
    PSU
    EVGA SuperNova G2 850W
    Case
    Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Digital Media Pro
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    15 Mb / s
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Defender
I forgot about that site...thanks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-7700K
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime Z-270A
    Memory
    32GB 2666Mhz (Kingston Hyper X Fury)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus Nvidia 1050Ti
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung C27F390
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Evo 512GB
This is my experience, and it's on Win10, so take it for what it's worth.

I'm running v.18.6 (September 2021) on both a 10th-gen PC (Z490 chipset) and a 5th-gen (X99) chipset without issue, even though Intel says the latest version 'technically' doesn't support the X99 chipset. What I've noticed is if it will install, it should work. If you try to install newer versions on really old chipsets, they say they're not supported. Like I have a 10-year old Win10 PC in the den that's a 1st gen Core, H55 Express chipset, and the last version it supported was 12.9, which is what it's running. Runs like a champ.

I do have Intel RAID5 D: drives on the two machines listed in my profile (3 drives each). I have found it to be hit-or-miss with various driver versions they've released because of the Intel Optane Memory and Storage Management UWP app. This is what replaced the old Win32 app where you could create new RAIDs and verify them (I do this periodically, and this is what I base my assessment on).

For instance (this is true on both motherboards listed in my profile), v.18.3 or v.18.1 would never finish verifying without multiple reboots. After a certain percentage was complete, the verification would stall out -- it could run for days without incrementing the percentage complete. But if I rebooted, it would pick up where it was and move forward a bit more before it would stall out again. It would take several reboots to verify the RAID on either one of them. This was consistent, happening every single time. But v.18.6 does the verification to completion on both without reboots, also every single time. I ran about half-a-dozen of them to confirm v.18.6 seems solid, and I plan on sticking with it. Version 17.9 was also solid on both motherboards.

So my thoughts on recent versions:
17.9 -- great
18.1 -- awful
18.3 -- awful
18.6 -- great
19.x -- haven't tried it, probably won't any time soon.

Editing to add I never ran 18.1/3 for more than the few days of testing it took before I rolled back to 17.9. I just updated from it a few weeks ago when prepping the machines for a possible Win11 upgrade, which is now not happening any time soon.
 
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My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    built myself
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 10700K
    Motherboard
    MSI Z490-A Pro
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    built myself
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 6800K
    Motherboard
    Asus X99-E
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    no TPM

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