Hard at work improving the AM5 platform for Ryzen 9000 Series CPUs, AMD’s latest AGESA microcode shows promising performance uplifts in several games, including newcomes like STALKER 2. This is all thanks to a new BIOS option called Core Tuning Configuration for Gaming, which could offer you more frames while asking nothing in return.
Comparing AGESA 1.2.0.2b to its predecessor using the legacy mode, which is thought to return memory latency to pre-AGESA 1.2.0.2a levels, YouTuber Compusemble found you can expect major improvements in average frame rates. Perhaps more notably, 1% lows also see a spike, making for a more stable experience.
STALKER 2 saw its average frame rate climb by 6.52% and its 1% lows jumping up by 4.44%. Likewise, Hitman 3 saw 3.77% and 4.12% uplifts respectively. But the most notable change was in Star Citizen with a 9.52% increase in 1% lows. Since AGESA 1.2.0.2b targets AM5, this likely won’t apply to previous platforms, but it has measurable benefits for those of you rocking the latest chipset.
These are not the only games benefiting from this update however, the YouTuber also recorded improvements in Cyberpunk 2077, Spider-Man, Starfield, and Assetto Corsa Competizione. These tests were run on an Asus ROG Strix B650E-F Gaming WiFi motherboard, paired with an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU and 64GB of G.Skill Flare X5 DDR5-6200 CL30 memory. You can see each one in detail below.
While we have no clue where the magic in this microcode comes from, it likely just fixed what went wrong on the previous iteration, addressing degradation in memory latency. Talking of which, Compusemble has also noted that memory latency in AIDA64 test went down from over 68ns to 64ns. As a reminder, the AGESA 1.2.0.2a update also brought its share of memory improvements as shown here.
Though we haven’t confirmed these results, they seem legit. I for once am eager to see my board getting this update, mainly for the 1% lows. High frame rates are nothing if the game stutters every couple of seconds.