Haswell owners finally have a way to get Resizable BAR running on Intel 8-series motherboards. As spotted by Haze on X, a developer going by roschank has released reBART, an open-source UEFI driver for Z87, H87, Q87, B85, Q85, and H81 boards. Back in 2020, it was reported that Intel CPUs since Haswell support Resizable BAR, pending firmware updates from motherboard makers that never came for 8-series. The developer went digging after failing to get Above 4G Decoding working on their own B85 board, and found that Intel's 8-series platform code skips mapping memory above 4 GB altogether, something both 7-series and 9-series firmware handle. Apparently, every board maker they checked inherited the same gap, so the 4G toggle some of these BIOSes expose likely does nothing.

reBART lets the board boot normally and only kicks in right before the OS loads. At that point, it shifts the GPU's memory window up past the 4 GB line and points the boot display at the new location too. Unlike ReBarUEFI, it doesn't need module patching, though a DSDT patch is still required. Newer builds added experimental support for Intel Arc cards and multi-GPU setups, which is important since Intel once told Arc buyers without ReBAR to stick with other vendors. One user reports an Arc A750 and an Arc B580 both working with an unlimited BAR size on a Gigabyte GA-Z87M-D3H under Ubuntu. Of course, going this route means flashing a modified BIOS, and at least one ASUS Z87-Plus owner couldn't get the board to boot after the DSDT patch. The developer hasn't shared any performance numbers yet either.

Last week, modders found a way to double the tensor throughput of GeForce RTX 20, RTX 30, and RTX 40 cards, though Zagitta's original tool only ran on Linux. Now, Chinese modder physicsdolphin has released nv-uefi-unlocker, a UEFI tool that lifts the same limit on Windows. NVIDIA runs FP16, BF16, and TF32 tensor math with FP32 accumulation at half rate on GeForce cards, while the same silicon in professional cards runs at full speed. The tool removes that cap before the driver even loads, without any VBIOS flashing. An earlier Windows port from impacifist targeted a single RTX 3090 system, while this one covers all three generations.

The gains look substantial. One user's RTX 4070 Ti Super went from 57.00 to 150.93 TFLOPS in FP16 (2.65x), though board power also climbed from 227 W to nearly 292 W. An RTX 2070 reportedly jumped from 36 to around 60-63 TFLOPS. Not every card has been tested; RTX 20 owners have to enable GSP firmware mode first, and RTX 50 isn't supported at all. The unlock resets on every power-off, so it runs from a USB stick on each cold boot, with Secure Boot disabled or a self-signed certificate enrolled. That could be a problem for games whose anti-cheat requires Secure Boot.

Intel Arc cards have always leaned heavily on Resizable BAR, to the point where Intel once told Alchemist buyers without it to stick with other vendors, and TechPowerUp's B580 review listed it as required for good performance. As spotted by Videocardz, developer Rod Burlamaqui has now released arc-rebar, a Linux tool that turns it on for Arc GPUs on motherboards that never got a ReBAR option. It runs from the initramfs at every boot, before the GPU driver loads, and doesn't touch the BIOS, kernel, or Intel's drivers. That sets it apart from earlier workarounds like ReBarUEFI, which has to be added to the motherboard's firmware.

The fix targets the PCIe switch built into Arc cards, whose small upstream BAR blocks Linux from enlarging the GPU's memory window. arc-rebar writes the card's ReBAR register, then removes and rescans the root port. Intel engineers have proposed a kernel-level fix for this, though it hasn't been merged yet. On a Supermicro X9DRH-7TF with dual Xeon E5-2670 v2 CPUs and a 2015 BIOS, a B580 went from 256 MiB of CPU-visible VRAM to a 16 GiB window covering all 12 GB. Measured VRAM bandwidth jumped from 15 GB/s to 392 GB/s, and a 4K Vulkan blur that used to stall ran at 39 to 50 FPS.

Following report surfaced that Riot's Vanguard anti-cheat was apparently soft-bricking certain hardware often used for cheating, Riot has updated Vanguard with a new on-demand mode that allows users to disable the anti-cheat mode from launching on boot. According to a blog post about the update, on-demand mode will only launch Vanguard when it's needed by a game like League of Legends or Valorant. This should theoretically allow for faster boot times and slightly reduced system resource usage on Windows PCs with Vanguard installed. However, Vanguard on-demand mode is only possible in cases wherein player hardware meets a set of security standards that Riot calls a Vanguard Pre-Check.

The Pre-Check, and thus Vanguard On-Demand mode, requires that players are running Windows 11 version 25H2 or newer and enable Secure Boot, TPM 2.0. IOMMU, VBS, and Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity. All of these security measures basically allow Riot to ensure that no kernel-level cheats have been enabled between when the system booted and when Vanguard was launched. Riot says that around 35% of Vanguard user systems are already in a "secured-core state," meaning they meet all the requirements and will be able to enable On-Demand mode with the next Vanguard update, however, those who have one or more of the aforementioned UEFI settings disabled will have to go through the Pre-Check before being able to enable On-Demand.

AMD backpedaled on its recent decision to remove Transparent Secure Memory Encryption (TSME) feature on its consumer Ryzen processors, which was typically enabled by default. The company had, in April, quietly disabled the feature for Ryzen consumer processors through an AGESA update encapsulated into motherboard firmware updates. The idea probably was to restrict TSME to Ryzen commercial-segment processors, sold under the Ryzen PRO brand, besides Ryzen Threadripper WX workstation processors, and EPYC server processors. For reference, Intel offers a similar feature, TME-MK (Total Memory Encryption-Multi-Key) on even its consumer Core processors, and not just its commercial Core vPro processors.

AMD said that it has decided to restore TSME "based on valuable community feedback," and end-users should expect UEFI firmware updates that restore the feature starting next month (July 2026). TSME is a hardware-based feature that leverages fixed-function hardware on the silicon to encrypt the contents of the memory, providing an additional layer of security. Since AMD shares a common IOD design across its Ryzen consumer and Ryzen PRO commercial product lines, the feature is physically present.

Motherboard vendors ASUS and MSI began releasing UEFI firmware updates to their AMD 600-series chipset motherboards that introduce support for AMD EXPO-ULL memory profiles. EXPO-ULL is an SPD extension that simplifies memory settings. While AMD Ryzen 7000 series and Ryzen 9000 series processors are relatively behind Intel in memory clock speeds, there is room for memory vendors to release memory kits with significantly tighter timings within their memory speed classes. An example of an EXPO-ULL profile would be DDR5-6000 with CL26, as opposed to the CL30-36 usually available for this speed.

ASUS began by releasing Beta BIOS 3803 version for its motherboards based on AMD X670E spanning the ROG Crosshair, ROG Strix, ProArt, and TUF Gaming product lines. These include EXPO-ULL support, and AGESA 1.3.0.1b. Meanwhile, MSI released a similar firmware update for its top MEG X670E GODLIIKE motherboard featuring EXPO-ULL support and AGESA 1.3.0.1b. More vendors are expected to catch on, as AMD hasn't restricted EXPO-ULL to any chipset generation.

Last week, news broke that Lenovo had bought Phoenix Technologies' firmware (BIOS) technology business and now it looks like AMI—also known as American Megatrends Inc—is about to get a new owner, namely Lattice Semiconductor. That leaves Taiwanese Insyde Software as the only independent UEFI/BIOS developer in a market that at least on the desktop side has been largely ruled by AMI and is likely to continue to be so, even with AMI now being a subsidiary to Lattice Semiconductor.

Lattice is offering US$1.65 billion in cash and stock for AMI, which is a privately held company today. For those unfamiliar with Lattice, the company makes a range of FPGA solutions for a wide range of markets and is a competitor with AMD's Xilinx subsidiary and Altera, which is part owned by Intel. It's not entirely clear what the synergy is between Lattice and AMI, but a statement by Lattice CEO Ford Tamer suggests that the company thinks it might help its customers "deploy complex systems faster and with greater confidence" under Lattice's "everywhere companion chip strategy". Time will tell if this will lead to changes to AMI's current customers or not, since as the biggest UEFI/BIOS vendor out there—used by almost all mainstream motherboard makers and many other x86/x64 hardware makers—they have something of a unique position in the market.

It has been a while since one of Microsoft's Windows 11 updates wreaked havoc among PC enthusiasts, and the April update seems to be another in line for IT administrators. In an updated support document on the Windows 11 KB5083769 cumulative update, Microsoft officially confirms that some users are encountering an unexpected BitLocker recovery prompt after applying the update. However, the good news is that this issue requires a specific BitLocker Group Policy configuration that Microsoft refers to as "unrecommended," which is less likely to be found outside of managed IT departments. This includes systems managed through group policy settings, making it less likely to affect PC enthusiasts' builds. For the issue to occur, a few conditions must be met. First, BitLocker must be enabled on the PC. Second, the BitLocker Group Policy setting "Configure TPM platform validation profile for native UEFI firmware configurations" must be configured with PCR7 (a TPM 2.0 module register) included in the validation profile.

Once these conditions are met, running system information, or msinfo32.exe, shows that the Secure Boot State PC47 Binding is "Not Possible." Additionally, the Windows UEFI CA 2023 certificate must be present in the device's Secure Boot Signature Database (DB), making the device eligible for the Windows Boot Manager signed in 2023 to become the default. Finally, the device must not be running this 2023-signed Windows Boot Manager that it supports. Only by fulfilling this unusual set of conditions does the BitLocker Recovery environment trigger, leading to a password prompt. After this, subsequent startups will not trigger it again.

AMD's China store on JD has just started accepting pre-orders for the upcoming Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition desktop processor. Priced at an MSRP of $899, this model is $200 more expensive than the launch MSRP of the Ryzen 9 9950X3D. In China, AMD's store requires pre-orders with a deposit of 100 RMB, which counts as 300 RMB towards the final payment due to the "early bird" pre-order benefit. The final payment will be made on April 22, the planned retail launch date. Additionally, at launch, the processor will be available both as retail PIB (processor in box) packages and as part of pre-built gaming desktops by popular OEMs and system integrators. Currently, no Western stores offer pre-orders for this CPU, either in the United States or Europe. Most likely, these stores will start accepting orders on April 22. Some, like B&H, have a placeholder to notify customers when it becomes available.

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition is a 16-core, 32-thread processor built on the "Zen 5" microarchitecture and features 3D V-Cache technology, with stacked 3D V-Cache on both of its 8-core chiplets. This configuration results in an on-package L3 cache of 192 MB and a total cache (L2+L3) of 208 MB. In comparison, the 9950X3D has 3D V-Cache on only one of its two CCDs and relies on software-based OS scheduler guidance to ensure gaming workloads are directed to the CCD with 3D V-Cache. As a result, this new processor is more suited for productivity and workstation tasks, while the 9950X3D remains focused on gaming. Aside from the cache differences, the 9950X3D2 Dual Edition is mostly similar to the 9950X3D, except its maximum boost frequency is 5.60 GHz, which is 100 MHz lower than the 9950X3D, and it has a higher TDP of 200 W compared to the 170 W of the 9950X3D. While technically compatible with any Socket AM5 motherboard, support requires UEFI firmware updates from motherboard vendors.

On your Windows PC, the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) uses Secure Boot certificates to ensure that only trusted software initiates the startup sequence. The certificates currently in use were originally issued in 2011 and are set to expire in late June 2026. To address this, Microsoft has been quietly rolling out updated certificates through Windows Update. Starting in April 2026, users can check their device's status via a new indicator in the Windows Security app. By navigating to Device security and then Secure Boot, a color-coded badge will show whether your device is fully updated, awaiting an update, or requires immediate attention.

The badge system is simple yet significant. A green checkmark indicates that the new certificates are installed and no further action is needed. A yellow caution badge, which will start appearing in May 2026, means the update is either pending or has been blocked by a hardware or firmware limitation. A red stop icon is the most serious state and could appear as early as June 2026, once older certificates start expiring. When this occurs, the device will no longer be able to receive critical boot-level security updates. The same status is reflected in the Windows Security system tray icon, so warnings are visible even when the app is closed.

Intel Core 200 "Bartlett Lake" is probably the most interesting processor gamers can't buy—built on the Intel 7 node and designed for Socket LGA1700, "Bartlett Lake" is a non-Hybrid, pure P-core chip, a monolithic silicon, with 12 "Raptor Cove" P-cores, and no E-core clusters. The 12-core/24-thread chip was launched earlier this month as an exclusive for the commercial and industrial PC OEM markets, as an edge AI PC processor, it is not drop-in compatible with consumer Intel Z790 chipset motherboards, or at least that was the plan.

A motherboard UEFI firmware mod by "kryptonfly" got a consumer ASUS Z790-AYW OC motherboard to POST with an Intel Core 9 273QPE "Bartlett Lake" processor. The modder used Claude AI to mod the UEFI firmware of the board without tripping safeguards that prevent the motherboard from booting with modded firmware. The 273QPE is a 12-core/24-thread pure P-core processor with 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. Its uncore components and iGPU are carried over from "Raptor Lake-S." The 273QPE has a base frequency of 3.30 GHz, an all-core boost frequency of 5.30 GHz, and a single-core TVB frequency of 5.90 GHz. The chip has 125 W processor base power, and 250 W maximum turbo power. You can watch kryptonfly's firmware mod video from the source link below.

GIGABYTE Technology, one of the top global manufacturers of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, today announced the release of its new AMD AGESA 1.3.0.0a BIOS, bringing full support and performance optimization for the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition processor across GIGABYTE's entire AM5 800 Series and 600 Series motherboard lineup.

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition processor doubles the L3 cache stacked below the processor cores, delivering a massive leap in data-intensive and latency-sensitive workloads. GIGABYTE's latest BIOS is specifically tuned to unlock the full potential of this expanded cache architecture.

ASRock, a global leader in motherboards, graphics cards, gaming monitors, small form factor PCs, and power supply units, today announced that its AM5 motherboards fully support the newly launched AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition Processor. The newly introduced AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition processor offers more cache than ever, making it the ideal processor for creators and developers.

ASRock's AM5 motherboard is able to support the newly launched processors by simply downloading and installing the latest BIOS from the ASRock official website. In addition to downloading BIOS updates from the official site, users can also take advantage of BIOS Flashback and Instant Flash for quick and convenient upgrades. ASRock strongly recommends updating to the latest BIOS version to ensure optimal compatibility and performance.

Intel today announced the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus and Core Ultra 7 270K Plus desktop processors in the Socket LGA1851 package. These chips are drop-in compatible with existing Intel 800-series chipset motherboards, with some boards needing UEFI firmware updates. Both chips are based on the current "Arrow Lake" microarchitecture, and are carved out of the "Arrow Lake-S" disaggregated silicon that uses TSMC N3B (3 nm) foundry node for its Compute tile containing the CPU cores, TSMC N5 (5 nm) for its Graphics tile, and TSMC N6 (6 nm) node for its SoC and I/O tiles.

Both the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus ($199) and Core Ultra 7 270K Plus ($299) processor models are designed to push the current Core Ultra 5 245K and Core Ultra 7 265K, respectively, down from their current price-points. The two come with increased E-core counts, larger L3 caches, slightly increased P-core maximum boost frequency, and a 900 MHz faster die-to-die I/O frequency among the Compute and SoC tiles, which essentially makes these chips have "200S Boost Mode" out of the box. The new Core Ultra 5 250K Plus comes with a 6P+12E core configuration compared to the 6P+8E of the Core Ultra 5 245K. Its shared L3 cache has been enlarged to 30 MB, up from the 24 MB on the 245K. The P-core maximum boost frequency is up to 5.30 GHz from 5.20 GHz.

On your Windows PC, the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) firmware has a Secure Boot Certificate that mandates only verified software starts the boot-up sequence. Microsoft is preparing to refresh these certificates, and the company announced that millions of Windows PCs in circulation will receive new Secure Boot Certificates in an industry-wide gradual rollout to replace aging certificates that are expiring soon. According to the latest Windows Blog, the original Secure Boot Certificates introduced way back in 2011 are reaching the end of their planned lifecycle, with the expiration date set for late June 2026. This not only mandates updating but also requires a massive staged rollout from OEMs and Microsoft's partners to ensure that all Windows devices stay secure.

According to Microsoft, this is one of the largest industry collaborations that spans the Windows ecosystem, including servicing, firmware updates, and countless device configurations from OEMs and other hardware makers. Firmware makers are at the center with their UEFI BIOS patches, which will now have to replace their aging Secure Boot Certificates. The blog also states that OEMs have been provisioning updated certificates on their new devices, with some devices from 2024 and almost all PCs from 2025 updated to support the new certificate. Interestingly, older PCs and devices that were shipped prior to these years will also be taken care of, with major OEMs providing their own guidance on updating the certificate. If you don't see your OEM offering an update, be patient as the rollout is gradual.

Earlier today, an intriguing 30-second-long video was uploaded to the Chinese Bilibili platform. A brief sequence seems to demonstrate a refreshed Gigabyte AORUS BIOS user interface, with familiar AMD technologies visible across multiple windows. The leaker is an amusingly named individual: "Coward Yin Zhiping." Their blog/channel shows a history of BIOS tweaking and overclocking across several brands. Fittingly, humor is injected into video descriptions—the latest upload is titled with deflection in mind: "ASUS hired aliens as designers; their new BIOS design is simply deadly." Hours later, Uniko's Hardware published their interpretation of Zhiping's leak. Screenshots show a completely new style of presentation, different from current iterations and Gigabyte's September previews—according to VideoCardz.

Diagnostic data indicates a platform based on Team Red's 800 chipset series. Specifically, an X870E AORUS MASTER X3D ICE board paired with a Ryzen 9 9900X processor, and 48 GB (2 x 24 GB) DDR5 (Hynix) memory. The supposed revised UEFI has "X3D 2.0" and "PBO" tuning features categorized under "Black technology." A new "Cookie score" seems to be a completely new addition—Uniko's Hardware believes that it is an: "(AI-powered) CPU quality assessment design by HiCookie, a legendary overclocker and engineer at GIGABYTE." Several discrepancies were highlighted by initial investigators, perhaps pointing to unfinished elements. The video and screengrabs show a months old session date: September 23, 2025.

The popular RAM testing utility, the memtest86+, has been updated to the new 8.0 version, adding support for latest AMD and Intel CPUs as well as plenty of other improvements and fixes, like temperature reporting for DDR5 DIMMs, faster detection of CPUs with high core count, optional Dark Mode, fixed DDR5 XMP 3.0 issue, improved Loongson architecture support and more.

The newest memtest86+ 8.0 version also adds CLang/LLD support, and now ships as a single binary for both UEFI and legacy boot. It also brings better BadRAM support and reporting as well as better SPD detection for early ICHs, and better support for VTxxx serial console. The complete changelog can be found below.

A new set of patches has hit the "coreboot" project, an open-source UEFI/BIOS alternative, adding another Intel "Panther Lake" stepping to our portfolio of leaks. This time, it is the PTL_B0_3 C06C3 stepping, a new version Intel could be preparing for shipment to clients. Silicon revisions typically begin at A0 and increment as the design evolves. It is rare to see any silicon shipping with the A0 stepping, as later modifications and refinements are made to meet the original specification. Hence, this B0 stepping indicates that this is likely the final revision Intel has prepared for Panther Lake, which is expected to start shipping by the end of 2025, with more SKUs in 2026.

As a reminder, the low-power PTL-U models are designed for a 15 W TDP and are expected to come in 6-core and 8-core versions. Some SKUs will feature four high-performance P-cores paired with four LPE-cores, while others will have only two LPE-cores complementing four P-cores. Both families will utilize Xe3-based integrated graphics, with entry models featuring four GPU cores. The more powerful PTL-H line will scale up to around 16 CPU cores, comprising four P-Cores, eight E-cores, and four LPE-cores. Some H-series parts might include up to 12 GPU Xe3 cores for integrated graphics, but the final configurations will be revealed when Intel officially launches the Panther Lake product family.

Firmware security firm Binarly disclosed that four serious vulnerabilities in GIGABYTE's UEFI firmware put more than 240 different motherboard models at risk of undetectable, reinstall-proof bootkits. Each of the flaws, tracked as CVE-2025-7029 through CVE-2025-7026, carries a high severity score of 8.2 on the CVSS scale and resides in System Management Mode, which activates before any operating system starts. An attacker with administrator privileges, whether local or remote, could exploit these issues to hijack System Management Interrupt handlers and inject arbitrary code into System Management RAM. Because memory controls every step of the boot process, any malicious implant remains hidden beneath the operating system and survives disk wipes and Secure Boot checks, allowing the attacker to maintain persistent control of the machine.

All four bugs originate in American Megatrends reference code that was quietly shared with OEM partners under non-disclosure agreements earlier this year. Although Gigabyte customizes that base firmware, it did not pass along the necessary fixes to end users. Binarly alerted CERT/CC on April 15, and GIGABYTE confirmed receipt on June 12, but no public advisory appeared until Bleeping Computer reporters inquired on Monday. Users should visit GIGABYTE's support page to find and install the updated BIOS versions using the Q-Flash utility, and then re-enable Secure Boot. Devices that GIGABYTE has declared end of life may never see a patch. The company also claims only Intel-based boards are affected, leaving AMD boards untouched. Users can also run Binarly's free risk Hunt scanner to check for exposure. According to Binarly CEO Alex Matrosov, these vulnerabilities highlight how inherited reference-code flaws can quietly spread through the hardware supply chain.

GIGABYTE Technology, a global leader in high-performance motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, today announces the groundbreaking Ultra Turbo Mode feature for its Intel Z890 series motherboards. This innovative BIOS level enhancement unlocks significant gaming performance boosts of up to 35% without requiring any additional hardware investment. With a simple BIOS update, users can access dramatically enhanced system performance, further solidifying GIGABYTE's commitment to delivering innovative, reliable, and performance-driven solutions.

Maximize Performance without Extra Expense
The Ultra Turbo Mode extracts maximum performance from systems without the need for expensive hardware upgrades. By intelligently optimizing BIOS settings, this revolutionary feature unlocks hidden potential in the latest Intel Core Ultra 2 9/7/5 K-SKU processors. The results are impressive: memory performance achieves a remarkable boost of up to 68% in AIDA64 testing across various high-performance memory configurations. Gaming performance also sees significant gains, with up to 35% higher frame rates in demanding AAA titles like Hitman 3: Dartmoor.

AMD today formally launched a slew of new hardware for workstations. These include the new Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9000 "Shimada Peak" line of high core-count processors, and the Radeon AI PRO 9000 line of graphics cards that cover a range of use-cases spanning from edge AI acceleration to professional visualization. The Threadripper 9000 series is based on the "Zen 5" microarchitecture, and "Shimada Peak" is a variant of the "Turin" MCM powering 5th Gen EPYC processors, which comes with workstation-relevant I/O. Meanwhile, the Radeon AI Pro 9000 series is based on the same RDNA 4 graphics architecture powering the Radeon RX 9000 series gaming graphics cards.

The Ryzen Threadripper 9000 series comes with CPU core counts of up to 96-core/192-thread, with an IPC uplift from the "Zen 5" microarchitecture over the previous Threadripper 7000 series "Storm Peak" processors powered by "Zen 4." More than IPC, workstation users should benefit greatly from the architecture's full 512-bit FPU data-path, offering significant increases in performance of applications that leverage the AVX-512 instruction set. AMD also fine-tuned the IOD (I/O die) to support increased memory speeds of DDR5-6400 (native), AMD EXPO profiles, and CKD. With these changes, and minor increases in clock speeds for certain SKUs, AMD is promising a 16% uplift in performance over the Threadripper 7000 series predecessors in workstation benchmarks, and a significant 25% increase in SPEC Workstation AI and ML benchmarks (comparing identical core-counts and frequency).

NVIDIA has quietly released a firmware patch for its GeForce RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti graphics cards to fix a frustrating blank-screen issue that appears when users restart their systems. Interestingly, this reboot glitch affects only the RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti models built on NVIDIA's GB206 silicon. Other RTX 50-series cards and the older RTX 20, RTX 30, and RTX 40 generations do not show this behavior. While NVIDIA has not revealed exactly what went wrong, providing a vBIOS patch suggests the issue lies in its own firmware code. This update is delivered as a vBIOS upgrade rather than a traditional driver, and it must be applied manually using NVIDIA's new GPU UEFI Firmware Update Tool v2.0. The problem seems to come from the way the RTX 5060 series vBIOS communicates with certain motherboard BIOS or UEFI implementations.

On systems booting in Legacy (CSM) mode or those lacking full UEFI support, users sometimes encounter a black screen on reboot even if the operating system and drivers are correctly installed. NVIDIA's utility first checks if you need the update, then walks you through the flashing process step by step. Because flashing firmware always carries some risk, especially if your power goes out mid-update, NVIDIA recommends that only those experiencing blank screens should proceed. Before you start, power down your PC completely, make sure you have the latest BIOS from your motherboard maker and switch to UEFI boot mode. If you still cannot get any display, try plugging it into your integrated graphics or a second GPU so you can run the update tool. After closing all your applications and pausing any pending OS updates, follow the on-screen prompts to apply the vBIOS fix. If your motherboard does not support UEFI mode, contact your graphics card vendor for a legacy firmware version.

Large language models (LLMs) love large quantities of memory—so much so, in fact, that AI enthusiasts are turning to multi-GPU setups to make even more VRAM available for their AI apps. But since many current LLMs are extremely large, even this approach has its limits. At times, the GPU will decide to make use of CPU processing power for this data, and when it does, the performance of your CPU cache and DRAM comes into play. All this means that when it comes to the performance of AI applications, it's not just the GPU that matters, but the entire pathway that connects the GPU to the CPU to the I/O die to the DRAM modules. It stands to reason, then, that there are opportunities to boost AI performance by optimizing these elements.

That's exactly what we've found as we've spent time in our R&D labs with the latest AMD Ryzen CPUs. AMD just launched two new Ryzen CPUs with AMD 3D V-Cache Technology, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 9 9900X3D, pushing the series into new performance territory. After testing a wide range of optimizations in a variety of workloads, we uncovered a range of settings that offer tangible benefits for AI enthusiasts. Now, we're ready to share these optimizations with you through a new BIOS feature: AI Cache Boost. Available through an ASUS AMD 800 Series motherboard and our most recent firmware update, AI Cache Boost can accelerate performance up to 12.75% when you're working with massive LLMs.

AMD has announced that beginning with its RDNA 4 architecture, only Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Mode will be officially supported for the Radeon RX 9000 Series graphics cards and later models. This decision is intended to harness the full capabilities of the advanced UEFI, ensuring improved performance, enhanced security, and a smoother user experience. UEFI, a modern replacement for the traditional BIOS, functions as a compact operating system residing on the motherboard. It plays a vital role in initializing processors, configuring memory, and managing essential hardware components. Its features include faster boot times, support for storage devices larger than 2.2 TB, and robust protection mechanisms such as Windows Secure Boot. These capabilities represent a significant leap forward compared to legacy BIOS systems.

To accommodate modern hardware innovations like AMD's next-generation graphics, motherboards typically offer UEFI Mode and Compatibility Support Module (CSM) Mode. CSM emulates older BIOS functions but restricts access to many of UEFI's advanced features, such as AMD Smart Access Memory. By mandating UEFI Mode, AMD ensures that users of its latest graphics cards enjoy optimal compatibility, performance, and security benefits. This requirement is a natural evolution in PC technology, encouraging users to upgrade their system configurations to meet modern standards. As consumers prepare for the next wave of AMD GPUs, verifying that both hardware and operating systems are properly set up for UEFI Mode is a necessary step to fully leverage the advantages offered by the RDNA 4 graphics cards.

Intel today launched "locked" 65 W variants of its Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors in the Socket LGA1851 package. The company also announced more affordable motherboard chipset models, namely the Intel B860 mid-range chipset, and the Intel H810 value-ended chipset. The processor lineup is led by the Intel Core Ultra 9 285 (8P+16E, up to 5.60 GHz P-core boost), followed by the Core Ultra 7 265 (8P+12E, up to 5.30 GHz P-core boost); and the Core Ultra 5 245 (6P+8E, up to 5.10 GHz P-core boost). All three come with suitable boxed cooling solutions in the retail channel.

The Intel B860 chipset comes with a 4-lane DMI 4.0 chipset bus (half the bandwidth of the 8-lane chipset bus of the Intel Z890). The PCH puts out 14 PCI-Express 4.0 general purpose lanes, exactly half the number put out by the Z890. Storage connectivity, besides the configurability of the PCIe GPP lanes, include four SATA 6 Gbps ports. Networking includes a 1 GbE MAC, and Wi-Fi 6E integrated MAC, with Bluetooth 5.3. You can have up to 16 USB 3.2 lanes (each worth 5 Gbps), which can be configured as 5 Gbps, 10 Gbps, or 20 Gbps ports. The B860 lacks CPU overclocking support, but retains memory overclocking, including the ability to apply XMP 3.0 profiles.