The steps for a fresh installation are as follows:
The steps for a fresh installation are as follows:
MOBO is Dark Hero with a 5950x form factor. It uses 2.4-inch drives and comes with 4 RAM sticks. Some guides suggest updating the BIOS before installing on the 5950x. During startup, having just one 2.4-inch drive should be enough to recognize the system for OS installation, and you might only need two RAM sticks. The exact steps can vary, so checking your specific model’s manual would help.
The motherboard might not require a BIOS update if it was bought recently, though it could still have an older revision like mine when I got my Dark Hero a few weeks prior. I installed all four RAM sticks with my 6900XT and 5950X, using just one M.2 drive. After the system started up, I updated the BIOS.
Dark hero serves as an input board for gaming rigs, making it a costly investment due to its price. If your project is still in the design phase, consider replacing it with a B550 Tomahawk to cut expenses, especially if you're not overclocking. For those needing more than one Gen4 NVMe drive, an X570 Tomahawk is better. If you plan to overclock, adjust the CPU using PBO and a curve optimizer to get the best performance. Relying on PBO alone isn't enough—don’t skip fine-tuning for optimal results.
The BIOS version my board received was around March 2021. The latest update (possibly late May) is working fine, but I’m facing audio driver problems with Sonic Studio 3 and the Microsoft Store trying to refresh it, which has broken the current setup and forced a reinstall. It might be linked to using this SSD from another build, though it seems unlikely.
Use DDU, turn off the Ethernet cable or ensure Wi-Fi is disabled so it doesn’t auto-connect. I install the drivers first, then run the installation for the 6900XT, restart once done, and reconnect the network or power cycle again. Windows may sometimes locate graphics drivers that fit the system, though they can be incorrect or outdated.
I would perform the previous steps and update the newest motherboard drivers or releases, followed by installing the latest Windows updates. If you're using the most recent Windows ISO file for installation on the M.2 drive, there should be minimal updates needed (though you'll mainly install the newest version of Windows).