how important is to update the bios?

[WatEagle]

Hi all, my B450 Tomahawk max runs on 7C02v35 since I bought it. now on msi support page I see that we are on version 7C02v39 (the lates stable one). The changelog says " Updated AMD AGESA ComboAm4v2PI 1.1.0.0 ".
Is it necessary to update or I can skip?
I know that you shouldn't update your bios of everything works and many things can go wrong.
But can this help me with bios time before loading windows and maybe memory oc?

 

[birdie]

A general rule of thumb is that you do NOT update BIOS if everything works fine.

If you can downgrade, you can certainly try flashing a new one.

Newer AGESA releases are meant solely for Ryzen 5000 CPUs.

 

[kayjay010101]

Unless there's a critical security/performance flaw it's never necessary to update your BIOS. You can if you want, but it's not necessary. As you mention and @birdie says, no need to update if everything works OK. BIOS is one of those things that should be left alone if possible. Don't treat it like any regular update.

 

[NoJuan999]

Looking at the BIOS notes, I don't see anything that will specifically benefit you.
7C02v35 looks like the best BIOS for your CPU/GPU.

So, I agree with the last 2 posts.

 

[WatEagle]

That's what I also thought, I would be happy to see some boot time improvement but I don't wanna risk (I know I can flashback but it's annoying)
any suggestion on how to reduce them? I tried switching from CSM to UEFI mode only but it f***** up a bit of things and it was a pain to get back to the normal state, and it didn't help at all

 

[oobymach]

I update my mobo bios maybe once a year depending on what's been changed usually for stability, and it takes some time even with these new motherboards. The risk is that if you lose power during an update you can brick your mobo.

The only real downside is that you lose custom oc profiles and have to muck around in bios again to set everything back up. The upside is improved boot times, compatibility upgrades, bug fixes, etc. and you don't need to do it but it might help depending on how old your bios is, like if you're using the original bios and have never updated you will see performance increases, decreased boot times, etc.

The link below shows the latest bios for your mobo was earlier this year, like others have said for 5000 series cpu's. If you plan on upgrading you need it, otherwise if yours is fairly new you don't need it.

MSI Global - The Leading Brand in High-end Gaming & Professional Creation

As a world leading gaming brand, MSI is the most trusted name in gaming and eSports. We stand by our principles of breakthroughs in design, and roll out the amazing gaming gear like motherboards, graphics cards, laptops and desktops.

www.msi.com

 

[TheLostSwede]

It all depends on the shipping UEFI of your board. You clearly didn't start with an early release, so you're most likely fine based on your hardware.
I haven't had a bad BIOS/UEFI update in, oh, 20+ years, so as long as there isn't a power outage while you're flashing, there isn't much to worry about.

In the case of Ryzen and the AGESA updates, it has made a lot of sense updating the UEFI, as there have been platform stability and performance updates in almost every new release and this is somewhat unheard of in the past. This is partially due to AMD releasing half baked AGESA's at launch, but it also seems like AMD has found new way of eking out extra performance of their CPUs over time. I'd say the biggest "fix" has been memory compatibility and performance as AMD has released new updates.
Early UEFI's for both my older X370 and my current X570 boards were terrible, but improved a lot over time. My current system went from being quite disappointing compared to what it says on the tin so to speak, to exceeding expectations six months later, all because of changes to the AGESA and UEFI.

 

[yotano211]

A general rule of thumb is that you do NOT update BIOS if everything works fine.

If you can downgrade, you can certainly try flashing a new one.

Newer AGESA releases are meant solely for Ryzen 5000 CPUs.

I thought those bios dont come out until sometime in January.

 

[cornemuse]

I have never tampered (haha!) with bios in any computer I have ever owned.

"If it aint broke, dont fix it"

 

[EarthDog]

Is it necessary to update or I can skip?

It is not necessary, however, it is a good idea to update to the latest one as they are, GENERALLY, more stable, can be better performing (correcting boost issues, for example), and offer more features (SAM to name one). It can also help with memory stability and overclocking.

Contrary to what the peanut gallery has said I already, I'd update to the latest for sure. Maybe in a few months check again and see if there is something new and upgrade again. It doesn't need to be an every version thing unless the notes resolve a specific issue you are having.

Yours is for 11/2019...I'd update to the latest BIOS, absolutely.

This below..................

It all depends on the shipping UEFI of your board. You clearly didn't start with an early release, so you're most likely fine based on your hardware.
I haven't had a bad BIOS/UEFI update in, oh, 20+ years, so as long as there isn't a power outage while you're flashing, there isn't much to worry about.

In the case of Ryzen and the AGESA updates, it has made a lot of sense updating the UEFI, as there have been platform stability and performance updates in almost every new release and this is somewhat unheard of in the past. This is partially due to AMD releasing half baked AGESA's at launch, but it also seems like AMD has found new way of eking out extra performance of their CPUs over time. I'd say the biggest "fix" has been memory compatibility and performance as AMD has released new updates.
Early UEFI's for both my older X370 and my current X570 boards were terrible, but improved a lot over time. My current system went from being quite disappointing compared to what it says on the tin so to speak, to exceeding expectations six months later, all because of changes to the AGESA and UEFI.

 

[TheLostSwede]

I have never tampered (haha!) with bios in any computer I have ever owned.

"If it aint broke, dont fix it"

Sorry to say, but that is a very flawed assumption today.
Too many pieces of hardware ships with a beta firmware/UEFI/BIOS these days (if not even alpha) and most likely require regular updates to become feature complete.
This is true for everything from motherboards to routers and sadly even kitchen gadgets and lightbulbs these days.
Also, "any" computer? So you've never updated Android or iOS on your handheld computer, also known as a smartphone?

 

[Glaceon]

I always keep it updated on Ryzen systems solely due to AGESA.

I also always keep Windows 10 updated, and AMD chipset drivers, etc.

 

[Komshija]

All has been said. Unless it's really necessary due to problems with stability and unless you plan to upgrade to a new compatible CPU while keeping the "old" motherboard (if current BIOS version does not support the new generation of CPU), there's really no need to update BIOS.

 

[WatEagle]

At this point i think as soon I'm on holiday I'll try to update to an intermediate version to see what changes and if I gain any benefit in performance (I doubt) and we'll see... After all if anything goes wrong I can flashback to the one I'm using rn that I know it's fully working

 

[EarthDog]

Just flash it to the latest non-beta BIOS and save your self some time and effort.

 

[WatEagle]

So I flashed today the latest stable version and it went all good, It even reduced the bios time of about 6 seconds.... the only downside is that I had to redo all my custom settings but not a big of a deal
Now let's see if there's a preformance imprevement

finger crossed

 

[EarthDog]

the only downside is that I had to redo all my custom settings but not a big of a deal

some (most?) motherboards allow you to save your bios profiles to a usb stick.

 

[WatEagle]

some (most?) motherboards allow you to save your bios profiles to a usb stick.

eh I think it's a bit late

 

[TheLostSwede]

some (most?) motherboards allow you to save your bios profiles to a usb stick.

Doesn't help, as you can't load them after you've updated to a new UEFI. This is done on purpose, as sometimes settings change and loading an old profile has the chance of messing things up.

 

[cornemuse]

So you've never updated Android or iOS on your handheld computer, also known as a smartphone?

Dont have a smartphone, , , ,

 

[TheLostSwede]

Dont have a smartphone, , , ,

Lucky you.

 

[WatEagle]

Now it seems to boost more often to 4.2Ghz, not like newer 3600 but also not as rarely as before

 

[cornemuse]

Lucky you.

Not luck, for me, they are unnecessary. I dont do twitter - facebook - etc -, none of that for me, I do not need to be in constant touch with the rest of the world.
I have an LG flip phone which is off 99% (honest!) of the time. I carry it if/in case I want/need to make a call. Off as in battery disconnected.

Keep life simplified, , , , you'll last longer.

 

[WatEagle]

Another quick update
Today I tried to play with PBO to see if anything changes

Now PPT in my testing is always set to 90w, TDC wasn't touched. The only thing I played is EDC

With EDC set to 70A, the one I used for the last year i get about 9226 pt on CB R23, core clock stayed between 3950Mhz and 3975Mhz
With EDC set to 90A, the standard I get 9232pt, core clock between 3950Mhz and 3975Mhz
With EDC set to something stupid low like 7A (I read on another formum that it is a trick to make it boost more often to the advertised max clock speed) i get 9330 pt and the core clock is between 4000 and 4025/50Mhz

Now the question is is it safe to use 7A on the EDC or am I risking to burn my cpu?

 

[TheLostSwede]

Not luck, for me, they are unnecessary. I dont do twitter - facebook - etc -, none of that for me, I do not need to be in constant touch with the rest of the world.
I have an LG flip phone which is off 99% (honest!) of the time. I carry it if/in case I want/need to make a call. Off as in battery disconnected.

Keep life simplified, , , , you'll last longer.

As I said, lucky you.

Some of us have to use these devices for work. I couldn't keep my clients up to date without one, nor could I do my job as efficiently without one.