PSA: Performance updates for AMD's Zen 4 and Zen 5 chips are now available
An unexpected but welcome surprise for AMD Ryzen users. #AMD #Ryzen9000 #Zen5
Note: This article was first published on 30 August 2024.
The update, originally meant for Windows 11 24H2, is now available. Image: AMD.
Just a few weeks after the release of its Ryzen 9000 series chips, AMD sent out a community update promising improvements to the Zen 5-based CPUs. This was in response to doubts regarding the chips living up to AMD's benchmarks.
The statement touted improvements in productivity,creator applications, and gaming performance for the next Windows 11 version update (24H2) through optimised branch prediction code.
However, it seems like AMD is pushing these upgrades earlier than expected.
In a statement to Wccftech, AMD confirmed that the improvements meant for (24H2) arrived on Windows 11 (23H2) via an update titled version KB5041587, which is available now.
You can find it on the Windows Updates page on the Settings app, under Advanced Options > Optional Updates.
For context, 23H2 is currently the most recent Windows 11 version available to the public (at the time of writing), as 24H2 is only available as a preview for Copilot+ PCs.
AMD said it expected the “performance uplift to be very similar between 24H2 and 23H2 with KB5041587 installed”. To explain the difference, AMD’s original community update post contained a table comparing performance on a Ryzen 9 9950HX with and without the optimised branch prediction code:
AMD touts gains as high as 13% in Far Cry 6, though this table is far from extensive. Image: AMD Community.
It’s important to note that while the post originally focused on Zen 5-based CPUs, AMD also promised performance upgrades for older Zen 3 and Zen 4-based CPUs. Indeed, performance testing by the YouTuber Hardware Unboxed showed gains across the board, with the Ryzen 7 7700X seeing a 10% uplift in performance on average at 1080p.
Testing will determine whether that performance uplift for AMD CPUs is consistent across all applications and to what extent performance is improved. But given that these promised upgrades arrived before 24H2 even has a release date for non-Copilot+ PCs, it’s surely good news for many Ryzen users.
In the meantime, you can find our review of the Ryzen 5 9600X and Ryzen 7 9700X here, as well as our review of the Ryzen 9 chips here.
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