The TRX40 chipset is designed to support all the current generation AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors including the 3990X which has 64-cores and 128-threads of processing power. On the test bench today is the MSI Creator TRX40 which is its current top-tier offering with a high-end feature set including four full-length PCIe 4.0 slots and supports up to three PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 drives. With a feature set led by an Aquantia AQC107 10 gigabit Ethernet controller, and an Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 wireless adapter, MSI opts for a more content creator and professional theme for its flagship.

 

 

Threadripper 3 Motherboards

At present, there are a total of 13 TRX40 motherboards to choose from, with some designed for enthusiasts, some for gaming, and some for professionals looking to make use of the core and thread laden AMD Ryzen Threadripper third generation range. The onus on intensive and multi-threaded applications is something HEDT is designed for, and AMD's offerings have performed very solidly, as seen from our 3990X, 3970X, and 3960X processor reviews. At the time of writing, MSI has three sTRX40 socket motherboards: the MSI TRX40 Pro 10G and TRX40 Pro WIFI, in addition to its flagship Creator TRX40 model.

The AMD TRX40 Motherboard Overview: 12 New Motherboards Analyzed

I should point out that both MSI and ASRock has a TRX40 model named the 'Creator', with the only distinguishing difference in the naming structure being MSI puts the TRX40 after the Creator name; the MSI Creator TRX40, compared to the ASRock TRX40 Creator. 

MSI Creator TRX40: 'For The Creators'

With the release of AMD's latest 64-core Ryzen Threadripper 3990X processor, more focus has been put onto the TRX40 platform in order to offer a good product that can supply 64 cores with enough juice and features - users spending $3990 on a processor want the best motherboard features as well. Each of MSI's three TRX40 models is all designed with the 3990X in mind, but the flagship MSI Creator TRX40 looks to target itself towards content creators. The MSI Creator TRX40 is E-ATX in size and has a uniformed look with black heatsinks on a black and light grey contrasting PCB. On the rear panel cover is the Creator branding with an ARGB panel which allows users to customize the look via the MSI Mystic Light RGB utility. 

At the bottom of the board is four full-length PCIe 4.0 slots which run at x16/x8/x16/x8, with two PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots complimented with a long M.2 heatshield which sits between the bottom two PCIe 4.0 slots. A third M.2 slot is located vertically along the right-hand side of the board just above the actively cooled chipset heatsink. For users requiring more PCIe 4.0 M.2 real estate, an MSI Xpander-Aero Gen4 addon card is included in the accessories bundle which allows for four additional PCIe 4.0 M.2 drives to be installed into one of the full-length PCIe 4.0 x16 slots. 

Some of the main features come from its high-end feature set which includes a triple header of network connectivity. There is an Aquantia AQC107 10 gigabit Ethernet, and Intel I211-AT Gigabit pair of Ethernet controllers, which is supplemented by an Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface which also provides users with BT 5.0 connectivity. Also on the rear panel is a single USB 3.2 G2 20 Gbps Type-C port, with three USB 3.1 G2 Type-A, and six USB 3.1 G1 Type-A ports, with one of these doubling up as a Flash BIOS port. A complimenting Flash BIOS button and Clear CMOS button are also present on the rear panel.

As the TRX40 doesn't include a native audio controller by default, MSI is using a Realtek ALC4050H USB 2.0 audio codec to bridge the gap between the Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec and the chipset. This offers five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output on the rear panel, as well as a front panel header for chassis with relative connectors. 

MSI Creator TRX40 Block Diagram

Underneath the large aluminium heatsink is a 16-phase power delivery which consists of sixteen Infineon TDA21472 70 A power stages which are controlled by an Infineon true 16-phase XDPE132G5C PWM controller. Providing power to the CPU is two 8-pin 12 V ATX power inputs, with a 24-pin motherboard 12 V ATX power input powering the rest of the board's components. For the memory, the MSI Creator TRX40 supports up to DDR4-4666 in quad-channel mode across eight memory slots and allows users to install up to 256 GB with current 32 GB modules. 

Looking to the performance and the MSI Creator TRX40 motherboard performs competitively against the other TRX40 models on test. In our system tests, the MSI Creator TRX40 has the lowest long idle power consumption and also has the lowest full-load power consumption performance by a good 10-20 W over the ASRock TRX40 Taichi and ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme models we've tested. In our POST time test, the MSI Creator TRX40 boots in around 30 seconds, which we managed to get down to 27.3 seconds by disabling non-essential controllers in the BIOS. This is an acceptable POST time for a HEDT platform, which are usually slower than the desktop-focused counterparts.

Although the MSI Creator TRX40 is more geared towards content creators, it does have plenty of overclocking options available to users within the firmware. Running our usual overclocking tests shows that it's more than capable of overclocking the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3000 series of processors, but due to the high core and thread count of the current trio of processors available, the biggest stumbling block to overclocking is in the cooling. With our Thermaltake 360 mm Riing AIO, we managed to hit 4.3 GHz all-core on our 3970X 32-core testbed processor which seems to be the limit of our silicon with our chosen cooling method. There is plenty of VDroop compensation by default and this was consistent at each of the frequencies tested from 3.7 to 4.3 GHz. The MSI Creator TRX40 also has seven Game Boost profiles to select which range from 4.1 to 4.4 GHz. MSI actually uses a reasonable amount of CPU VCore for each profile for every 0.5 GHz multiplier it offers, and performance in all of our overclocking performance is incrementally better.

The MSI Creator TRX40 has an MSRP of $700 which is very competitive for a flagship when compared against the GIGABYTE TRX40 Aorus Xtreme ($850) and the ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme ($850). The other two align themselves with overclocking as the focus, whereas the Creator is firmly at content creators. It doesn't quite dazzle in the RGB stakes, because it doesn't need to - it has a subtle aesthetic which looks good. MSI's Creator TRX40 offers a high-end feature set for a reasonable price when compared to similar models from other vendors.

Read on for our extended analysis.

Visual Inspection

The MSI Creator TRX40 is an E-ATX motherboard that comes with a price tag of $700 and aligns itself among a small handful of flagship models designed for AMD's Threadripper 3000 processors. The primary design consists of a black and light grey two-tone PCB, with black and grey polished heatsinks. Focusing on the heatsink array, all of the rear panel cover, power delivery heatsink, and the actively cooled chipset heatsink are interconnected with a single nickel-plated copper heat pipe. This is to transfer heat to where it is needed, along with providing additional extended cooling to the M.2 devices.

The MSI Creator TRX40 has one area of integrated ARGB LEDs, which is underneath a Creator inspired panel built into the rear panel cover and can be customized via the MSI Mystic Light RGB utility. For expansion, the board also includes one 5050 4-pin RGB, two 3-pin ARGB, and one 3-pin Corsair RGB header.

With plenty of native PCIe 4.0 support from the AMD Threadripper 3000 series processors, the MSI Creator TRX40 has four full-length PCIe 4.0 slots that run at x16/x8/x16/x8. For the storage, there are three PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots with two of these located between the bottom two full-length PCIe 4.0 slots, with a third vertically mounted alongside the right-side hand side of the memory slots. Included in the accessories bundle is MSI's Xpander-Aero Gen4 add-on card which allows users to install up to four PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 drives into one of the full-length PCIe 4.0 slots. This brings the board's 'out of the box' capability up to a total of seven PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots. For SATA devices and storage, there are six SATA ports. In the bottom right-hand corner of the board is separate power and reset buttons.

The MSI Creator TRX40 has eight memory slots with support for DDR4-4666 and allows users to install up to 256 GB of system memory. While the Creator TRX40 supports both ECC and non-ECC memory, it will operate in unbuffered mode. Dependent on the processor installed, users can use both dual-channel and quad-channel memory.

Located around the board is plenty of internal IO, with six 4-pin fan headers which are divided into one for a CPU fan, one for a water pump, and four for chassis fans. There are also three 4-pin fans for extended headers. Also present are one USB 3.1 G2 Type-C header, two USB 3.1 G1 Type-A headers giving four ports, and two USB 2.0 headers which also provides four additional ports. For overclockers, there is a set of headers consisting of an OC retry pin, an OC force enter pin, and two JBLCK pin headers. Also featured is a two-digit LED debugger which is located just above the switches. 

Located along the top of the board is the power delivery of the MSI Creator TRX40. It's controlled by a true 16-phase Infineon XDPE132G5C PWM controller in a 16+0 configuration, with sixteen Infineon TDA21472 70 A power stages. This configuration is similar to other TRX40 models with 16-phases and is more than capable of delivering stable and consistent power to even the 64-core 3990X. It's one of the most solid and premium power deliveries we have seen from MSI over the years and is a similar design to that of other TRX40 flagships on the market. Providing power to the CPU is two 8-pin 12 V ATX CPU power inputs.

The power delivery heatsink is also connected to the large aluminium rear panel cover and down to the actively cooled chipset heatsink via a single heat pipe. This should allow more heat dissipation in a chassis with adequate passive cooling. The rear panel cover heatsink includes insert styled fins, while the heatsink covering the power stages has more fins designed to channel the airflow for better dissipation of heat.

As the TRX40 chipset doesn't include any form of audio controller or bridge, the MSI Creator TRX40 bypasses the issue. By integrating a Realtek ALC4050H audio codec which bridges the gap between the Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec by using USB 2.0, the Creator TRX40 uses the ALC4050H for the front panel audio. The Realtek ALC1220 powers the majority of the rear panel audio which consists of five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output; the ALC4050H also powers the microphone input. Flanking the pair of audio codecs are gold Japanese audio capacitors, and the audio PCB is separated from the rest of the board's componentry.

On the rear panel of the MSI Creator TRX40 is three USB 3.1 G2 Type-A, five USB 3.1 G1 Type-A, and one USB 3.2 G2 20 G Type-C port; the 20 Gbps Type-C port is controlled by an ASMedia ASM3242 USB controller. Looking at the networking and MSI has included an Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface with BT 5.0 support, as well as an Aquantia AQC107 10 GbE controller. The rear panel also includes an additional port powered by an Intel I211-AT Ethernet controller. At the left-hand side is a Flash CMOS button and Clear CMOS button, while the right-hand side has five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output powered by a Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec. The microphone 3.5 mm input and front panel audio are controlled by the new Realtek ALC4050H audio codec.

What's in The Box

The accessories bundle of the MSI Creator TRX40 motherboard contains everything needed to get a system up and running out of the box. Included are four SATA cables, three thermistor cables, the MSI Xpander-Aero Gen4 4-way PCIe 4.0 M.2 add-in card, and all the relevant manuals. Also present is an Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface antenna which connects to the rear panel connectors.

• User manual
• Quick start guide
• Xpander-Aero Gen4 PCIe 4.0 M.2 add-in card
• Four SATA cables (two straight and two right-angled)
• Three thermistor cables
• Three RGB extension cables
• MSI USB driver and software installation drive
• MSI case badge
• Thank you card
• Cable label sticker set
• Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 antenna

BIOS 

The MSI Creator TRX40 motherboard is using its Click BIOS 5 firmware which it regularly uses throughout its current range of motherboards. It follows a simple black and white contrasting design with a black background, with white text and grey highlights. Included are two primary modes including an EZ mode designed for novice users, and an advanced mode which allows users to access the core settings including overclocking and TRX40 chipset options.

Pressing the F7 key allows users to switch between the EZ and Advanced firmware modes. On the EZ mode, a basic list of information is available about the installed components including the processor and memory, with an easy to navigate menu on the left-hand side. Users can also enable XMP 2.0 profiles on supported memory kits, with access in the top left-hand corner to the boards MSI Game Boost overclocking profiles. MSI omits a hardware-based dial on the PCB and users will need to use the firmware to activate these.

Moving onto the advanced section and the OC section includes all of the overclocking and power-related settings. This includes CPU overclocking settings including core frequency, CPU VCore voltage, and BCLK options, with the advanced DRAM configuration menu offering a plethora of tweakable memory latency settings. Users can alter the Infinity Fabric/FCLK setting to further enhance memory performance by overclocking the interconnect, with options for AMD's Precision Boost Overdrive and plenty of power settings including Load Line Calibration and voltage options. 

Below is a list of limitations when using the current firmware for settings such as CPU VCore, CPU frequency, DRAM frequency, and the Infinity Fabric/FCLK frequency. It should be noted that most of these maximum values won't even be able to be reached, even with extreme cooling methods:

• Maximum CPU Frequency = 6.375 GHz
• Maximum CPU VCore = 1.5 V
• Maximum DRAM Frequency = DDR4-6000
• Maximum Infinity Fabric/FCLK Frequency = 3000 MHz

One of the interesting elements to the MSI Click BIOS 5 firmware is it includes a visually impressive and intuitive hardware explorer feature. Within the Board Explorer, users can hover over each shaded area to see which component is installed to which socket and slot. This is also similar on the rear panel and users can see which inputs and outputs are being used, which can be useful in detecting defective USB devices which are plugged in, but aren't showing as installed.

Within the hardware monitor which can be accessed from both the EZ and Advanced firmware modes, users can monitor and customize fan profiles across the nine 4-pin fan headers, as well as the fan integrated within the chipset heatsink. Each of the board's internal thermal sensors can be monitored, and each fan header can be set via a custom curve profile or set to default or to operate at full speed. Users can also set each header to operate in PWM, DC, or allow the firmware to determine via the automatic setting. MSI's hardware monitor is one of the better firmware implementations with a user-friendly GUI and useful array of options.

MSI is very consistent in its firmware across multiple platforms and the MSI Click BIOS 5 is no exception to this. It uses a familiar GUI to what we have seen from MSI over the last couple of years and includes all of the settings needed for users to customize AMD Threadripper 3000 series specific functions. This includes individual CCD overclocking, as well as intense memory latency tweaking. The MSI Click BIOS 5 firmware is responsive, easy to navigate, and caters for both novice and the more advanced enthusiasts with its EZ mode and Advanced modes.

Software

MSI has started moving away from disk media and has opted for a USB flash drive in the accessories bundle which includes the relevant drivers and software for the Creator TRX40. The main software utility included is MSI's Creator center which amalgamates many different software utilities into one main software package.

With the MSI Creator TRX40 motherboard aimed firmly at content creators and professionals, the MSI Creator Center has plenty of credence to bolster the hardware onboard. The True Color function allows users to change the dynamic of the visual experience through a couple of included presets including EyeRest, Game, and Movie. Users can also customize the visual experience through a set of parameters including brightness, contrast, and works independently from monitors with similar integrated controls. 

For users looking to customize the integrated and expandable RGB headers found on the board, MSI's Mystic Light RGB utility is located within the Creator Center. The software allows users to individually select each area and customize, or sync everything up together for a more uniformed look. On the right, users can customize the lighting effect which includes the usual modes including static, rainbow, wave, cycle, with light speed and brightness which can both be customized to a user's specific requirements.

By the time users purchase motherboards from retailers, the included drivers and utilities are out of date, and to make the most of them, these will need updating with an internet connection. Live Update allows users to automatically search for the latest drivers and utilities directly from MSI's servers and install them all with one-click. 

Also included within the software bundle is a custom MSI Dragon skinned version of CPU-Z. CPU-Z is a real-time monitoring tool which displays information on the installed processor, motherboard, and includes a benchmark tool. At present, the latest version with the MSI skin at the time of writing is version 1.90.1, whereas the latest version of CPU-Z is at 1.91.

For users looking to control and customize the onboard audio settings, the Realtek Audio Control Center needs to be downloaded directly from the Microsoft Store. The drivers are however included on the USB flash drive included with the accessories bundle, and can also be downloaded from the Live Update element of the MSI Creator Center.

Board Features

At present, the MSI Creator TRX40 motherboard is the top model in its current line-up for AMD's Threadripper 3rd generation processors. Included in the controller set is an Aquantia AQC107 10 gigabit Ethernet controller and an Intel I211-AT gigabit Ethernet controller pairing, with an Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface for Wi-Fi and BT 5.0 connectivity. For users looking to use PCIe 4.0 storage, the Creator TRX40 has three PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots which also support SATA drives, and each slot includes its own M.2 heatsink. There is also six SATA ports which are controlled by the chipset, and support RAID 0, 1, and 10 arrays. With TRX40 being a HEDT platform, the board has four full-length PCIe 4.0 slots which operate at x16/x8/x16/x8, and there are eight memory slots supporting up to DDR4-4666 with a maximum capacity of 256 GB in quad-channel memory mode.

MSI Creator TRX40 EATX Motherboard
Warranty Period	3 Years
Product Page	Link
Price	$700
Size	EATX
CPU Interface	sTRX4
Chipset	AMD TRX40
Memory Slots (DDR4)	Eight DDR4 Supporting 256 GB Quad Channel Up to DDR4-4666
Video Outputs	N/A
Network Connectivity	Aquantia AQC107 10 GbE Intel I211-AT 1 GbE Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax
Onboard Audio	Realtek ALC1220 Realtek ALC4050H
PCIe Slots for Graphics (from CPU)	4 x PCIe 4.0 x16 (x16/x8/x16/x8)
PCIe Slots for Other (from PCH)	N/A
Onboard SATA	Six, RAID 0/1/10 (TRX40)
Onboard M.2	3 x PCIe 4.0 x4/SATA
USB 3.2 (20 Gbps)	1 x Type-C Rear Panel
USB 3.1 (10 Gbps)	5 x Type-A Rear Panel 1 x Type-C Front Panel
USB 3.0 (5 Gbps)	4 x Type-A Rear Panel 4 x Type-A Front Panel
USB 2.0	4 x Type-A Front Panel
Power Connectors	1 x 24-pin ATX 2 x 8pin CPU
Fan Headers	1 x CPU (4-pin) 1 x Water Pump (4-pin) 4 x System (4-pin) 3 x Extend (4-pin)
IO Panel	4 x USB 3.1 G2 Type-A 5 x USB 3.1 G1 Type-A 1 x USB 3.2 G2 20 G Type-C (ASMedia) 1 x Network RJ45 10 G (Aquantia) 1 x Network RJ45 1 G (Intel) 5 x 3.5mm Audio Jacks (Realtek) 1 x S/PDIF Output (Realtek) 2 x Intel AX200 Antenna Ports 1 x Flash BIOS Button 1 x Reset CMOS Button

In terms of USB support, the MSI Creator TRX40 rear panel includes a single USB 3.2 G2 20 G Type-C port provided via an ASMedia ASM2342 USB controller, with four USB 3.1 G2 Type-A, and five USB 3.1 G1 Type-A ports. For expansion, the MSI Creator TRX40 has a front-panel USB 3.1 G2 Type-C header, as well as two USB 3.1 G1 Type-A headers, and two USB 2.0 headers. Also on the rear panel is five 3.5 mm audio jacks and an S/PDIF optical output powered by a Realtek pairing of an ALC1220 and ALC4050 HD audio codec. 

Test Bed

As per our testing policy, we take a high-end CPU suitable for the motherboard that was released during the socket’s initial launch and equip the system with a suitable amount of memory running at the processor maximum supported frequency. This is also typically run at JEDEC subtimings where possible. It is noted that some users are not keen on this policy, stating that sometimes the maximum supported frequency is quite low, or faster memory is available at a similar price, or that the JEDEC speeds can be prohibitive for performance. While these comments make sense, ultimately very few users apply memory profiles (either XMP or other) as they require interaction with the BIOS, and most users will fall back on JEDEC supported speeds - this includes home users as well as industry who might want to shave off a cent or two from the cost or stay within the margins set by the manufacturer. Where possible, we will extend out testing to include faster memory modules either at the same time as the review or a later date.

Test Setup
Processor	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X, 280W, $1999  32 Cores, 64 Threads, 3.7 GHz (4.5 GHz Turbo)
Motherboard	MSI Creator TRX40 (BIOS v11 - PI1.0.0.2)
Cooling	Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB 360
Power Supply	Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1200W Gold PSU
Memory	Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 4x8 GB DDR4-3200
Video Card	MSI GTX 1080 Gaming 8G
Hard Drive	Crucial MX300 1TB
Case	Open Benchtable BC1.1 (Silver)
Operating System	Windows 10 1909

Readers of our motherboard review section will have noted the trend in modern motherboards to implement a form of MultiCore Enhancement / Acceleration / Turbo (read our report here) on their motherboards. This does several things, including better benchmark results at stock settings (not entirely needed if overclocking is an end-user goal) at the expense of heat and temperature. It also gives, in essence, an automatic overclock which may be against what the user wants. Our testing methodology is ‘out-of-the-box’, with the latest public BIOS installed and XMP enabled, and thus subject to the whims of this feature. It is ultimately up to the motherboard manufacturer to take this risk – and manufacturers taking risks in the setup is something they do on every product (think C-state settings, USB priority, DPC Latency / monitoring priority, overriding memory sub-timings at JEDEC). Processor speed change is part of that risk, and ultimately if no overclocking is planned, some motherboards will affect how fast that shiny new processor goes and can be an important factor in the system build.

Hardware Providers for CPU and Motherboard Reviews
Sapphire RX 460 Nitro	MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X OC	Crucial MX200 + MX500 SSDs	Corsair AX860i + AX1200i PSUs
G.Skill RipjawsV, SniperX, FlareX	Crucial Ballistix DDR4	Silverstone Coolers	Silverstone Fans

System Performance

Not all motherboards are created equal. On the face of it, they should all perform the same and differ only in the functionality they provide - however, this is not the case. The obvious pointers are power consumption, but also the ability for the manufacturer to optimize USB speed, audio quality (based on audio codec), POST time and latency. This can come down to the manufacturing process and prowess, so these are tested.

For TRX40 we are running using Windows 10 64-bit with the 1909 update as per our Ryzen Threadripper 3960X and 3970X CPU review.

Power Consumption

Power consumption was tested on the system while in a single ASUS GTX 980 GPU configuration with a wall meter connected to the Thermaltake 1200W power supply. This power supply has ~75% efficiency > 50W, and 90%+ efficiency at 250W, suitable for both idle and multi-GPU loading. This method of power reading allows us to compare the power management of the UEFI and the board to supply components with power under load, and includes typical PSU losses due to efficiency. These are the real-world values that consumers may expect from a typical system (minus the monitor) using this motherboard.

While this method for power measurement may not be ideal, and you feel these numbers are not representative due to the high wattage power supply being used (we use the same PSU to remain consistent over a series of reviews, and the fact that some boards on our testbed get tested with three or four high powered GPUs), the important point to take away is the relationship between the numbers. These boards are all under the same conditions, and thus the differences between them should be easy to spot.

The MSI Creator TRX40 not only delivers solid figures in both long idle and idle power states, but it also performs efficiently in our load testing with a reading which peaked at the wall of 344 W.

Non-UEFI POST Time

Different motherboards have different POST sequences before an operating system is initialized. A lot of this is dependent on the board itself, and POST boot time is determined by the controllers on board (and the sequence of how those extras are organized). As part of our testing, we look at the POST Boot Time using a stopwatch. This is the time from pressing the ON button on the computer to when Windows starts loading. (We discount Windows loading as it is highly variable given Windows specific features.)

In our non-UEFI POST time test, the MSI Creator TRX40 performed with will a POST of 30.1 seconds at default settings, and 27.3 seconds with all the non-vital controllers disabled. This puts it quicker than ASRock's TRX40 Taichi by just under a second, but ASUS's ROG Zenith II Extreme is the current leader in our testing so far.

DPC Latency

Deferred Procedure Call latency is a way in which Windows handles interrupt servicing. In order to wait for a processor to acknowledge the request, the system will queue all interrupt requests by priority. Critical interrupts will be handled as soon as possible, whereas lesser priority requests such as audio will be further down the line. If the audio device requires data, it will have to wait until the request is processed before the buffer is filled.

If the device drivers of higher priority components in a system are poorly implemented, this can cause delays in request scheduling and process time. This can lead to an empty audio buffer and characteristic audible pauses, pops and clicks. The DPC latency checker measures how much time is taken processing DPCs from driver invocation. The lower the value will result in better audio transfer at smaller buffer sizes. Results are measured in microseconds.

We test the DPC at the default settings straight from the box, and the MSI Creator TRX40 did well with a latency time of 180.3 us. This isn't as good as the ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme, but both models are streets ahead of the ASRock TRX40 Taichi in terms of DPC Latency.

CPU Performance, Short Form

For our motherboard reviews, we use our short form testing method. These tests usually focus on if a motherboard is using MultiCore Turbo (the feature used to have maximum turbo on at all times, giving a frequency advantage), or if there are slight gains to be had from tweaking the firmware. We put the memory settings at the CPU manufacturers suggested frequency, making it very easy to see which motherboards have MCT enabled by default.

For TRX40 we are running using Windows 10 64-bit with the 1909 update as per our Ryzen Threadripper 3960X and 3970X CPU review.

Rendering - Blender 2.7b: 3D Creation Suite - link

A high profile rendering tool, Blender is open-source allowing for massive amounts of configurability, and is used by a number of high-profile animation studios worldwide. The organization recently released a Blender benchmark package, a couple of weeks after we had narrowed our Blender test for our new suite, however their test can take over an hour. For our results, we run one of the sub-tests in that suite through the command line - a standard ‘bmw27’ scene in CPU only mode, and measure the time to complete the render.

Streaming and Archival Video Transcoding - Handbrake 1.1.0

A popular open source tool, Handbrake is the anything-to-anything video conversion software that a number of people use as a reference point. The danger is always on version numbers and optimization, for example the latest versions of the software can take advantage of AVX-512 and OpenCL to accelerate certain types of transcoding and algorithms. The version we use here is a pure CPU play, with common transcoding variations.

We have split Handbrake up into several tests, using a Logitech C920 1080p60 native webcam recording (essentially a streamer recording), and convert them into two types of streaming formats and one for archival. The output settings used are:

• 720p60 at 6000 kbps constant bit rate, fast setting, high profile
• 1080p60 at 3500 kbps constant bit rate, faster setting, main profile
• 1080p60 HEVC at 3500 kbps variable bit rate, fast setting, main profile

Rendering – POV-Ray 3.7.1: Ray Tracing - link

The Persistence of Vision Ray Tracer, or POV-Ray, is a freeware package for as the name suggests, ray tracing. It is a pure renderer, rather than modeling software, but the latest beta version contains a handy benchmark for stressing all processing threads on a platform. We have been using this test in motherboard reviews to test memory stability at various CPU speeds to good effect – if it passes the test, the IMC in the CPU is stable for a given CPU speed. As a CPU test, it runs for approximately 1-2 minutes on high-end platforms.

Compression – WinRAR 5.60b3: link

Our WinRAR test from 2013 is updated to the latest version of WinRAR at the start of 2014. We compress a set of 2867 files across 320 folders totaling 1.52 GB in size – 95% of these files are small typical website files, and the rest (90% of the size) are small 30-second 720p videos.

Synthetic – 7-Zip v1805: link

Out of our compression/decompression tool tests, 7-zip is the most requested and comes with a built-in benchmark. For our test suite, we’ve pulled the latest version of the software and we run the benchmark from the command line, reporting the compression, decompression, and a combined score.

It is noted in this benchmark that the latest multi-die processors have very bi-modal performance between compression and decompression, performing well in one and badly in the other. There are also discussions around how the Windows Scheduler is implementing every thread. As we get more results, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Point Calculations – 3D Movement Algorithm Test: link

3DPM is a self-penned benchmark, taking basic 3D movement algorithms used in Brownian Motion simulations and testing them for speed. High floating point performance, MHz, and IPC win in the single thread version, whereas the multithread version has to handle the threads and loves more cores. For a brief explanation of the platform agnostic coding behind this benchmark, see my forum post here.

Neuron Simulation - DigiCortex v1.20: link

The newest benchmark in our suite is DigiCortex, a simulation of biologically plausible neural network circuits, and simulates activity of neurons and synapses. DigiCortex relies heavily on a mix of DRAM speed and computational throughput, indicating that systems which apply memory profiles properly should benefit and those that play fast and loose with overclocking settings might get some extra speed up. Results are taken during the steady-state period in a 32k neuron simulation and represented as a function of the ability to simulate in real time (1.000x equals real-time).

Gaming Performance

For TRX40 we are running using Windows 10 64-bit with the 1909 update as per our Ryzen Threadripper 3960X and 3970X CPU review. (Ed - we also use a GTX 1080 for our gaming tests because that's all we have to hand on location; our motherboard editor is ca.5000 miles away from our GPU editor.)

World of Tanks enCore

Albeit different to most of the other commonly played MMO or massively multiplayer online games, World of Tanks is set in the mid-20th century and allows players to take control of a range of military based armored vehicles. World of Tanks (WoT) is developed and published by Wargaming who are based in Belarus, with the game’s soundtrack being primarily composed by Belarusian composer Sergey Khmelevsky. The game offers multiple entry points including a free-to-play element as well as allowing players to pay a fee to open up more features. One of the most interesting things about this tank based MMO is that it achieved eSports status when it debuted at the World Cyber Games back in 2012.

World of Tanks enCore is a demo application for a new and unreleased graphics engine penned by the Wargaming development team. Over time the new core engine will implemented into the full game upgrading the games visuals with key elements such as improved water, flora, shadows, lighting as well as other objects such as buildings. The World of Tanks enCore demo app not only offers up insight into the impending game engine changes, but allows users to check system performance to see if the new engine run optimally on their system.

Grand Theft Auto V

The highly anticipated iteration of the Grand Theft Auto franchise hit the shelves on April 14th 2015, with both AMD and NVIDIA in tow to help optimize the title. GTA doesn’t provide graphical presets, but opens up the options to users and extends the boundaries by pushing even the hardest systems to the limit using Rockstar’s Advanced Game Engine under DirectX 11. Whether the user is flying high in the mountains with long draw distances or dealing with assorted trash in the city, when cranked up to maximum it creates stunning visuals but hard work for both the CPU and the GPU.

For our test we have scripted a version of the in-game benchmark. The in-game benchmark consists of five scenarios: four short panning shots with varying lighting and weather effects, and a fifth action sequence that lasts around 90 seconds. We use only the final part of the benchmark, which combines a flight scene in a jet followed by an inner city drive-by through several intersections followed by ramming a tanker that explodes, causing other cars to explode as well. This is a mix of distance rendering followed by a detailed near-rendering action sequence, and the title thankfully spits out frame time data.

F1 2018

Aside from keeping up-to-date on the Formula One world, F1 2017 added HDR support, which F1 2018 has maintained; otherwise, we should see any newer versions of Codemasters' EGO engine find its way into F1. Graphically demanding in its own right, F1 2018 keeps a useful racing-type graphics workload in our benchmarks.

Aside from keeping up-to-date on the Formula One world, F1 2017 added HDR support, which F1 2018 has maintained. We use the in-game benchmark, set to run on the Montreal track in the wet, driving as Lewis Hamilton from last place on the grid. Data is taken over a one-lap race.

Overclocking Ryzen 3000

Experience with the MSI Creator TRX40

One of the biggest requirements to overclocking Threadripper is the need for a capable and competent cooler. Due to the high core count of each of the three available models, they run very warmly as standard, and once all the cores are loaded up, keeping the beast under control can be a little difficult.

All of the settings for overclocking the processor and memory are within the OC section of the Advanced Mode. This includes CPU ratio and BLCK settings, as well as a multitude of voltage settings including CPU VCore, CPU SoC voltage, and more advanced power settings including LLC profiles. In the top left-hand corner is the OC Genie 4 selector which is identical to MSI's Game Boost overclocking profile switcher. OC Genie 4 is seven preset overclocking profiles for users to select from, with each profile stepping up in 50 MHz increments ranging from 4.1 to 4.4 GHz.

In addition to the processor settings, the Advanced DRAM Configuration menu can be found within the OC section. This is where all the memory latency settings are found including primary and sub timing latencies, as well as on-die termination settings. All the memory voltages can be set in the main area of the OC tweaker along with all the CPU related voltages.

Overclocking Methodology

Our standard overclocking methodology is as follows. We select the automatic overclock options and test for stability with POV-Ray and OCCT to simulate high-end workloads. These stability tests aim to catch any immediate causes for memory or CPU errors.

For manual overclocks, based on the information gathered from the previous testing, starts off at a nominal voltage and CPU multiplier, and the multiplier is increased until the stability tests are failed. The CPU voltage is increased gradually until the stability tests are passed, and the process repeated until the motherboard reduces the multiplier automatically (due to safety protocol) or the CPU temperature reaches a stupidly high level (105ºC+). Our testbed is not in a case, which should push overclocks higher with fresher (cooler) air.

Overclocking Results

In our overclocking testing with our AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X, we learned that our chip is capable of 4.3 GHz with our chosen cooling method. This is consistent throughout all the TRX40 boards we have tested so far, and is quite impressive as it equates to 32-cores running at 4.3 GHz. Starting from 3.7 GHz up to 4.3 GHz, we found that the MSI Creator TRX40 did experience some VDroop with some slight under volting at each of the frequencies we tested. As we went up in each 100 MHz, performance in POV-Ray also increased incrementally to complement this. 

The MSI Creator TRX40 does include seven predefined overclocking presets which range from 4.1 to 4.4 GHz, each with its own set of parameters. Each profile except the highest two (GB10, GB11) all remained stable with sensible levels of CPU VCore voltage. Enabling AMD's Precision Boost Overdrive setting did yield some benefits to performance and is useful for novice users looking to squeeze more performance out at the extra cost of heat and power consumption. For better control over temps and to better exploit applications that use multiple cores and threads, manually overclocking is the way to go. That being said, MSI's included presets are actually useful and stack up well in terms of CPU Vcore used and power consumption when compared to each other.

Power Delivery Thermal Analysis

One of the most requested elements of our motherboard reviews revolves around the power delivery and its componentry. Aside from the quality of the components and its capability for overclocking to push out higher clock speeds which in turn improves performance, is the thermal capability of the cooling solutions implemented by manufacturers. While almost always fine for users running processors at default settings, the cooling capability of the VRMs isn't something that users should worry too much about, but for those looking to squeeze out extra performance from the CPU via overclocking, this puts extra pressure on the power delivery and in turn, generates extra heat. This is why more premium models often include heatsinks on its models with better cooling designs, heftier chunks of metal, and in some cases, even with water blocks such as the ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Formula.

The 16-phase power delivery on the MSI Creator TRX40

Testing Methodology

Out method of testing out if the power delivery and its heatsink are effective at dissipating heat, is by running an intensely heavy CPU workload for a prolonged method of time. We apply an overclock which is deemed safe and at the maximum that the silicon on our AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X processor allows. We then run the Prime95 with AVX2 enabled under a torture test for an hour at the maximum stable overclock we can which puts insane pressure on the processor. We collect our data via three different methods which include the following:

• Taking a thermal image from a birds-eye view after an hour with a Flir Pro thermal imaging camera
• Securing two probes on to the rear of the PCB, right underneath CPU VCore section of the power delivery for better parity in case a probe reports a faulty reading
• Taking a reading of the VRM temperature from the sensor reading within the HWInfo monitoring application

The reason for using three different methods is that some sensors can read inaccurate temperatures, which can give very erratic results for users looking to gauge whether an overclock is too much pressure for the power delivery handle. With using a probe on the rear, it can also show the efficiency of the power stages and heatsinks as a wide margin between the probe and sensor temperature can show that the heatsink is dissipating heat and that the design is working, or that the internal sensor is massively wrong. To ensure our probe was accurate before testing, I binned 10 and selected the most accurate (within 1c of the actual temperature) for better parity in our testing.

For thermal image, we use a Flir One camera as it gives a good indication of where the heat is generated around the socket area, as some designs use different configurations and an evenly spread power delivery with good components will usually generate less heat. Manufacturers who use inefficient heatsinks and cheap out on power delivery components should run hotter than those who have invested. Of course, a $700 flagship motherboard is likely to outperform a cheaper $100 model under the same testing conditions, but it is still worth testing to see which vendors are doing things correctly.

Thermal Analysis Results

We measured 57.5 °C on the hottest part of the board during our testing;
the top left-hand corner of the sTR40 socket.

The MSI Creator TRX40 opts for a true 16-phase power delivery for the CPU with sixteen TDA21472 70 A power stages controlled by an Infineon XDPE132G5C PWM controller. Cooling this is a large finned aluminium heatsink which is connected to a large dense rear panel cover and the actively cooled chipset heatsink. This is designed to spread the heat load with other components with the aim of dissipating as much heat as physically possible. 

In our testing, the MSI Creator TRX40 performs well with a maximum temperature of 53°C which is around 8°C warmer than the ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme, but the latter does include actively cooled heatsinks on the power delivery. MSI is using an efficient design for the power delivery, and our VRM probe temperature reading of 54°C is consistent with the integrated thermal sensor. 

MSI Creator TRX40 Conclusion

The MSI Creator TRX40 is an interesting motherboard for a number of reasons. Firstly it's the cheapest flagship model from the major brands, with an MSRP of just $700. Secondly, it keeps high-end feature set with an Aquantia AQC107 10 gigabit Ethernet controller and has the ability to install up to seven PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 drives out of the box with a bundled Xpander Aero Gen4 PCIe M.2 add-in card in the accessories bundle. It's also one of a trio of TRX40 models in MSI's line-up, with the Creator aimed squarely at content creators and professionals alike with its subtle black and grey aesthetic.

For storage are three hardwired PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots, while an MSI Xpander Aero Gen4 allows users to add four PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots into one of the full-length PCIe 4.0 x16 slots. Also featured are six SATA ports with support for RAID 0, 1, and 10 arrays. Touching more on the PCIe, MSI has included four full-length PCIe 4.0 slots which run at x16/x8/x16/x8 and is a good example of Threadripper's HEDT and TRX40 capabilities in terms of PCIe real estate. On the rear panel is plenty of USB with nine Type-A (5 x USB 3.1 G1, 4 x USB 3.1 G2), and a single USB 3.2 G2 20 Gbps Type-C port, which is impressive. The eight memory slots support up to DDR4-4666, with a maximum capacity of up to 256 GB.

The performance of the MSI Creator TRX40 motherboard is on par with other models and remains competitive in our CPU and gaming-focused tests. It performs middle of the road in our system tests with a decent POST time of 30 seconds. Power consumption in our testing shows the MSI Creator TRX40 to be one of the more efficient TRX40 models so far with consistently lower load values than the ASRock TRX40 Taichi and ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme. The Creator TRX40 also performs well in our overclock testing and the five of the seven OC Genie 4 profiles come with better than anticipated load CPU VCore voltage than we've seen from the company in previous years. Thermal performance in our VRM testing also shows the efficiency of the true 16-phase power delivery for the CPU with very reasonable temperatures which peaked at 53°C when paired with our testbed AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X 32-core processor.

With an MSRP of $700, the MSI Creator TRX40 looks great value for money when compared to its competing models, the ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme ($850), and the GIGABYTE TRX40 Aorus Xtreme ($850) which both have their own merits and reasons for the extra cost. The MSI Creator TRX40 is a no-frills option which ticks a lot of boxes in terms of specifications, features, and performance, but in a modest black and grey aesthetic with everything but the kitchen sink included.

With its highly efficient and powerful 16-phase power delivery, it's one of the best from MSI in a long time, and for the unlocked nature of AMD's Threadripper 3000 series including the 3990X 64-core model, users looking to overclock extra performance at the expense of insane power consumption and heat output, the MSI Creator TRX40 is a good foundation for it.