AMD has released a new firmware update for the AM5 platform, aimed at its upcoming Ryzen 9000 CPUs armed with 3D-VCache technology. Harukaze5719 shared on X that AGESA ComboAM5 1.2.0.2a comes with performance optimizations for Ryzen 9000X3D chips.
What these optimizations are specifically remains a mystery, but they will undoubtedly improve Ryzen 9000X3D's performance over previous firmware revisions. Most of AMD's board partners, including MSI, Gigabyte, and ASRock, have pushed out BIOS updates featuring ComboAM5 1.2.0.2a to at least some AM5 boards.
Asus is the only major board partner that still has yet to push AMD's latest firmware update to its motherboards, at least on its main downloads page (it could be available on the Asus forums in beta format). However, this could change depending on when you read this article.
- AGESA ComboAM5 1.2.0.2a released.- Performance optimized for next-gen Ryzen X3D series CPU. pic.twitter.com/tyLuCHsIjUOctober 25, 2024
MSI is the only one of the three that appears to be implementing 1.2.0.2a without any extra tweaks or updates. Gigabyte is integrating its 1.2.0.2a BIOS update with its all-new X3D Turbo Mode, advertised to improve performance beyond a Ryzen CPU's stock configuration. However, the feature isn't exclusive to Gigabyte as it's part of the AGESA code, so all motherboard vendors will offer it. According to our sources, the turbo mode turns off a setting, but it remains a mystery what that exact setting is. The new turbo mode supports Ryzen 9000X3D, Ryzen 7000X3D, and vanilla Ryzen 9000 parts. ASRock combines its Agesa 1.2.0.2a BIOS updates with "improved PMIC support" for its motherboards.
So far, Gigabyte and MSI are the only board vendors that have published Agesa 1.2.0.2a BIOS updates for their 600 series and 800 series AM5 motherboards. ASRock has pushed AMD's latest firmware update to its 800 series boards but has not yet done so on its 600 series motherboards. Regardless, we can expect all board vendors to have this update on most (if not all) 600 and 800 series boards in the near future, which will expand Ryzen 9000X3D's flexibility in working on older 600 series boards.
Agesa 1.2.0.2a comes just before the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's launch, which will occur in two weeks on November 7. The new chip will purportedly be 8% faster in games than its predecessor, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, and feature 15% greater multi-threaded performance.
