Final verdict on the USB disconnect/dropout issues.

[setzer]

Hello, I recently acquired a 9950X3D after being an intel guy all my life basically. When choosing my motherboard I am getting extremely nervous about the rampant usb disconnect issues reported.....everywhere. I understand some people don't experience these, but many many many do, and it seems like its across multiple AMD chipsets over many years and seemingly all AIB board vendors can exhibit the problem.

There is always a million different responses and accusations of the problem, and just as many "solutions" with some working sometimes and most not working most of the time. And ultimately It doesn't seem like there is any firm concrete answer on what the problem is or what the solution is, if any. some think its icue software, some think its ram voltage. Some have success with tweaks from either, others can't fix their dropouts no matter what.

So many people assume this was "patched" up and fixed, but the board I am looking at (MSI X870e Carbon) has tons and tons of reports of this exact issue showing its face. Reports from jan, feb, and march of this year. Among many other observations, I would say its clear this problem isn't truly "fixed" yet at all.

I make music and some gaming with computers, so I use usb devices extensively. I use a high end RME audio interface connected by USB and some storage drives. If I start getting intermittent usb drops on these I will lose my mind. This is NOT something I want to entertain. I am considering returning this and getting an intel chip even though I really don't want to.

I guess my ultimate questions:
- is their an OFFICIAL cause for these drop outs and any true solutions that are PROVEN to tackle the source of the problem?

- is their any board that anyone knows is certified to not experience these issues ? something "fail safe" ? it seems like nothing is exempt. I truly see these issues across every brand it seems.

If I can't find any official confirmation of the source and fix of these problems, or any platform that is guaranteed to be exempt from them, I'm simply going to go back to intel. Note that its already such a thin selection of motherboards for me to pick from since I want 3 pci-e slots and have an asus RTX 4080 strix that eats up 4 slots. (I know I can vertically mount it but I still prefer traditional mounting.)

Any information appreciated on this, thank you.

PS. I tried to post this question on reddit and it just got screened and auto-deleted by the mods, which I assume is AMD themselves lol. This forum is for more knowledgeable people anyways, so I figured its probably better to post here.

 

[Rroff]

It is something you either encounter or don't and there is no one given fix as the actual factors which expose the issue vary - AFAIK the underlying problem hasn't been fixed they've just put mitigations in place to stop things exposing the problem which mostly work but occasionally a specific combination of factors will cause the problem to rear its head. If it bothers you get an Intel chip, otherwise chances are you won't encounter it.

I haven't actually experienced this issue myself, that I recall anyhow, but I have encountered a related issue with USB4 where devices either take a long time to be detected on startup or won't be detected on startup unless you unplug them and plug them back in again.

 

[setzer]

It is something you either encounter or don't and there is no one given fix as the actual factors which expose the issue vary - AFAIK the underlying problem hasn't been fixed they've just put mitigations in place to stop things exposing the problem which mostly work but occasionally a specific combination of factors will cause the problem to rear its head. If it bothers you get an Intel chip, otherwise chances are you won't encounter it.

I haven't actually experienced this issue myself, that I recall anyhow, but I have encountered a related issue with USB4 where devices either take a long time to be detected on startup or won't be detected on startup unless you unplug them and plug them back in again.

Thanks for the reply, your assessment sounds accurate and aligns with the evidence and testimonials I've seen.

Whats funny about your last line, as I am currently on a gigabyte Z390 Designare board and one of the problems I have is with the thunderbolt ports doing exactly what you just stated. One is a DAS with 4 hard drives and I have to re-plug it in every single time I reboot. One of the reasons I want to upgrade my motherboard is to have thunderbolt or USB4 jacks that can just work and don't have to constantly be reconnected them to have the devices detected (I also need more usb-c ports), and ironically it sounds like this problem still exists even on the newer chipsets

Slightly off topic question, between the JHL8540 chipset in the x670e motherboards, or the ASM4242 chipset in the x870e motherboards, which controller do you think would be better for working more fluidly and not have issues where devices aren't connected until they are re-plugged in ? I did a lot of searching on both of them but can't come to any clear conclusion about which one is less buggy...

 

[Rawr]

I've had a 7950xd since it launched with a msi carbon x670e and not had any USB issues. That's including having multiple audio devices connected (dac, audio interface and speakers) as well as a mouse, keyboard, 4k bluray drive, storage drives, controllers etc. Many of those are disconnecte/put away and reconnected later a lot since I'm not using all of them at the same time. No issues at all. Admittedly I don't have USB 4 ports though so I can't comment on that.

Big improvement over my previous x570 board which I had no end of issues with usb wise. Even after the bios update that fixed gen 4 pcie issues I still had crackling in audio and stuff. I also had some devices not recognised to be charged by that board too. Just awful.

 

[The Asgard]

I have a MSI Tomahawk X670e and one connection from the CPU USB goes to a 7 port powered hub. A connection from chipset USB goes to an unpowered hub. I have an adjustable height desk and wanted to keep cabling to a minimum. I have speaker, headphones, fingerprint reader, lightspeed mouse, keyboard, mic. USB Drives plugged in and out all the time. Never had an issue. I had the AM4 version of this motherboard previously, again no issue and that’s through hubs.

 

[Sylar2k20]

I have same problem random usb keep disconnecting on asrock x870e nova wifi, found anyone a solution ?

 

[Conanius]

I had a 3900X on a Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE and then moved to an ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero (which at various points an a 5800x, 5950x and then 5800x3D).

I've since moved to an Asus Rog Strix B650E-E Gaming Wifi, that had a 7800X3D and now a 9950X3D.

I've never, ever had any USB issues.

 

[John24]

I've been on AMD for over a decade and not had an USB disconnect issues, it's all been non eventful in fact. The last 5 years I've had 4 external USB drives connected and pooled together with stablebit drivepool and it's not reported any dissconnects.

 

[setzer]

thanks for your input guys..... most people have no problems, one guy has problems. Probably an accurate depiction of the problem lol.

I already bought the 9950X3d anyways so.... I'm just gonna buy a motherboard and gamble with it I guess. Likely will get the MSI x870e carbon. wish me luck.

 

[eeii]

Been on AM4 for since 2017 never had a problem my self. However I think there were problems with the B550 chipset which was fixed with bios updates. That’s was AM4.

 

[Tetras]

When choosing my motherboard I am getting extremely nervous about the rampant usb disconnect issues reported.....everywhere. I understand some people don't experience these, but many many many do, and it seems like its across multiple AMD chipsets over many years and seemingly all AIB board vendors can exhibit the problem.

There is always a million different responses and accusations of the problem, and just as many "solutions" with some working sometimes and most not working most of the time. And ultimately It doesn't seem like there is any firm concrete answer on what the problem is or what the solution is, if any. some think its icue software, some think its ram voltage. Some have success with tweaks from either, others can't fix their dropouts no matter what.

For what it is worth, when AM4 was fairly new, this was indeed all over the forums and I recall seeing a lot of posts about it, but I can only remember one or two in the last few years and barely any comments about USB for AM5.

Reddit has a much wider user base than here, so I'm not trying to say they don't exist, just that I think it is far less widespread than it was.

If I can't find any official confirmation of the source and fix of these problems, or any platform that is guaranteed to be exempt from them, I'm simply going to go back to intel. Note that its already such a thin selection of motherboards for me to pick from since I want 3 pci-e slots and have an asus RTX 4080 strix that eats up 4 slots. (I know I can vertically mount it but I still prefer traditional mounting.)

What do you want the 3 PCI-E slots for? I assume you're aware that these CPUs have very limited lanes available compared to the old HEDT systems?

I am considering returning this and getting an intel chip even though I really don't want to.

For productivity the Core Ultra CPUs are fine for the most part, so if that's your priority over gaming it is not a big deal.

 

[zipp0r]

its probably a rare thing to happen else we'd hear about it everywhere non stop, even if it does happen just get a usb pcie card. have a look at asus boards, all chipsets, you might find something with your ideal pcie slot combo like i did.

 

[setzer]

Been on AM4 for since 2017 never had a problem my self. However I think there were problems with the B550 chipset which was fixed with bios updates. That’s was AM4.

I dunno man, I was hoping that was the case, but I'm telling you there is TONS of reports of similar usb dropout problems on x670 and x870 boards.... I've seen loads of posts in the last 6 months even, from asrock x870e nova to msi carbon x870e to many on asus x670 hero to everything. Way too many for me to believe the problem has been "fixed". it may have been drastically reduced though..

For what it is worth, when AM4 was fairly new, this was indeed all over the forums and I recall seeing a lot of posts about it, but I can only remember one or two in the last few years and barely any comments about USB for AM5.

Reddit has a much wider user base than here, so I'm not trying to say they don't exist, just that I think it is far less widespread than it was.


What do you want the 3 PCI-E slots for? I assume you're aware that these CPUs have very limited lanes available compared to the old HEDT systems?


For productivity the Core Ultra CPUs are fine for the most part, so if that's your priority over gaming it is not a big deal.

I still got 7 or 8 days to return the cpu if I decide against it. I am tempted, the productivity side is just the music software "ableton live", but I do do some gaming at times, and might in the future. And also I hear ableton live doesn't utilize the e-cores of intel cpu's very well either so the 9950X3d really seems better suited for my use cases. I just wish I knew of a board that surefire won't exhibit the usb problem so I could get something I know would be safe. but it sounds like we can't even determine what boards or setups are causing the problem. So its hard to rule out.

The PCI-E slots are for soundcards or potentially dual gpu's just for extra video outputs. None of them need to be high bandwidth except for the main gpu slot (which I have accepted will likely have to be run in x8 mode because of the lane limitations). I could potentially use just 2 pci slots but I am honestly really hell bent on having 3 slots.

 

[zipp0r]

I could potentially use just 2 pci slots but I am honestly really hell bent on having 3 slots.

there are a few that have 4 slots that will do 2 gpu and still have 2 usable 1x pcie slots