How AMD Boosted the Performance of Ryzen 9000 Processors by 17% Overnight.
AMD's Ryzen 9000 CPUs did not start off on the best note, but a series of updates have provided a significant improvement, almost at a generational level, in a short time.
The new AMD Zen 5 processors, known as Ryzen 9000, were launched with some expectations but have not managed to stand out in the rankings of the best processors. This is not because they are deficient, but rather because they do not offer the best performance option compared to their predecessors. During the launch, they were perceived more as a price increase than as a performance improvement, except for some specific tasks. However, this situation seems to be changing.
In recent months, AMD has made several updates that culminated in a new BIOS for the brand's motherboards, promising to increase performance across the product range. After the market stabilized, a reevaluation of the Zen 5 processors in gaming and productivity applications was conducted to clarify their current status.
In retrospect, the initial criticism of the Zen 5 began with communication issues from AMD, leading to misunderstandings about the appropriate testing methods. AMD had used a Windows version with elevated privileges for its own tests, which was not replicated in the consumer versions. This affected reviewers' ability to obtain accurate results.
Upon retesting, it was observed that while there were performance improvements, they were similar to those seen with previous generations of Ryzen processors, making the differences not significant. In light of this situation, AMD addressed the issue in two ways. For the Ryzen 9 9950X and 9900X models, efforts were made to reduce latency between the CCDs (Core Complex Dies), while for the Ryzen 5 9600X and 7 9700X, a new power consumption limit of 105 watts was introduced, instead of the previous 65 watts, which fell within warranty limits.
By updating BIOS and operating systems, users of Ryzen 9000 can experience significant performance improvements. Enhanced latency and more efficient branch prediction were found to contribute to a performance increase of between 9% and 12% in titles like Tiny Tina's Wonderlands and F1 2022, although some games, like Red Dead Redemption 2, did not show significant improvements.
This has altered the initial perception of these processors, which now show considerably better performance compared to their launch. However, there is still fierce competition in the processor arena, and some models from previous generations still maintain superior performance.
Finally, the increase in power has proven beneficial for non-gaming workloads, especially in high-demand applications like Y-Cruncher, Blender, and Handbrake, where the Ryzen 7 9700X experienced a 17% performance jump. Although the first impression of the Ryzen 9000 processors was disappointing, after corrections and improvements, it seems they are finally reaching their true potential.
