MSI says BIOS updates will bring more than 100 improvements to Ryzen CPUs in November

During the latest episode of MSI Insider, the motherboard maker let it be known that new microcode from AMD will deliver more than 100 "fixes" to socket AM4 motherboards running Ryzen processors.

This kind of microcode is known as AGESA (AMD Generic Encapsulated Software Architecture), and it is the code AMD provides to its hardware partners to build BIOS updates from. It's sort of like a blueprint.

The most recent AGESA update (1.0.0.3 ABBA) released at the end of September. It brought about a change to the Ryzen boost algorithm, following complaints that some Ryzen CPUs were not hitting their advertised boost frequency.

"Our analysis indicates that the processor boost algorithm was affected by an issue that could cause target frequencies to be lower than expected. This has been resolved," AMD said at the time.

BIOSes based on that AGESA 1.0.0.3 ABBA code have started rolling out. Looking ahead, however, MSI pointed to a new round of updates due out in November. According to Eric van Beurden, marketing director at MSI and one of the MSI Insider hosts, AMD will begin rolling out the code next week, first to BIOS vendors then on to motherboard makers. 

It will take a bit of time for MSI and other motherboard makers to formulate updated BIOSes around the new AGESA 1.0.0.4 code. MSI's slide notes over 100 fixes, though that is likely to also include general improvements and feature enhancements. Unfortunately, MSI did not get into the specifics.

In any event, if you own an AM4 motherboard, be on the lookout for new BIOS releases. Beta versions could show up before the end of the month, with finalized releases not far behind.

Paul Lilly

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).

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