Zen 5 Archives

Winsage

April 1, 2025

The next-gen ROG Ally looks to be Xbox’s first steps toward handheld gaming

On April 1, 2023, Asus announced the ROG Ally, a handheld gaming PC powered by AMD's Ryzen Z1 APU, which received a four out of five stars rating. In 2024, Asus released the ROG Ally X, rated four-and-a-half stars. A teaser for a redesigned successor to the ROG Ally suggests enhanced performance and the possibility of being the first Xbox-branded handheld. The new device may feature AMD's Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU, which includes significant improvements over its predecessor. There are indications of collaboration between Microsoft and Asus for an Xbox-branded handheld, potentially linked to a new generation of consoles in 2027. Pricing and availability details for the new handheld have not yet been disclosed.

AppWizard

March 10, 2025

Unfinished PC hardware is here to stay, just like broken PC games

The landscape of PC gaming is increasingly concerning due to the trend of AAA titles launching with numerous bugs and hardware manufacturers facing similar issues. Intel's 13th and 14th Gen CPUs, AMD Ryzen 9000 series, Intel Core Ultra CPUs, and Nvidia RTX 50 series have all received criticism for requiring extensive BIOS updates or replacements to fix fundamental problems. Despite these issues, consumer outrage has diminished, with companies like Intel and AMD experiencing minimal financial repercussions from defective products. The competitive nature of the technology market is leading manufacturers to prioritize speed over thorough testing, resulting in a decline in quality assurance. Consumer demand for PC components remains strong, which may encourage companies to launch incomplete products without concern for quality. The outlook for PC hardware is bleak, with unimpressive generational gains and the rise of powerful consoles posing challenges for PC gaming. Significant innovations are needed to change the current trajectory of PC hardware.

Winsage

November 3, 2024

Windows Server 2025 supports CPUs packing two to 192 cores — CPU support list spans Pentium chips to Xeon and EPYC parts

Microsoft has unveiled the CPU support list for Windows Server 2025, which includes a range of processors. The Intel CPU support features second through fifth generation Xeon Scalable Processors (SP) built on the Emerald Rapids, Sapphire Rapids, Ice Lake, and Cascade Lake architectures, as well as the Xeon D series based on Ice Lake, the Xeon E-series utilizing Raptor Lake, and the Xeon 6 series derived from Granite Rapids. Additionally, the list includes the Pentium G7400 and G7400T processors, which are Alder Lake-based dual-core chips. For AMD, Windows Server 2025 supports all modern EPYC-based CPUs from Zen 2 to Zen 5, including the AMD EPYC 7002, 7003, 4004, 8004, 9004, and 9005 series. Microsoft has not included any mainstream consumer Ryzen processors in its support list. The list of supported processors is a prerequisite for system certification, and only systems with the specified CPUs can be certified to operate Windows Server 2025. Microsoft plans to update this list over time to include additional CPUs.

Winsage

October 23, 2024

Copilot+ PCs are about to get another exclusive feature on Windows 11

Copilot+ PCs will soon support super resolution in the Photos app on Windows 11, currently being tested with Windows Insiders. This feature can enhance and enlarge images up to 8x, improving the quality of low-resolution photos and allowing for large-format prints or tight cropping without losing clarity. Additionally, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is being tested in the Photos app, enabling users to detect and copy text from images in over 160 languages. Microsoft is also expanding Copilot+ AI features to select AMD and Intel processors by the end of the year. Enhancements to the Photos app include single-click support in the Gallery, improved zoom functionality, and bug fixes for the Image creator and Restyle image features.

Winsage

October 6, 2024

It’s official — Intel now holds the Windows battery life crown | Digital Trends

Microsoft's Copilot+ PC initiative and new chipsets are driving significant improvements in Windows computing, particularly in performance and battery life. Key chipsets include Qualcomm's Snapdragon X, AMD's Ryzen AI 300, and Intel's Lunar Lake, all featuring NPUs that exceed 40 tera operations per second (TOPS). AMD's Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 leads in CPU performance, especially in multi-core tasks, while Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite follows. Intel's Core Ultra 7 ranks lower but is more efficient. The Ryzen AI 9 has 12 cores and operates up to 5.1GHz, while Intel's Lunar Lake offers various configurations with a base TDP of 17-30 watts. Apple's M3 chipset remains a benchmark for performance and efficiency, particularly in thin-and-light laptops. In battery life tests, the Asus Zenbook S 14 excels, outperforming many competitors, while the Apple M3 continues to lead overall efficiency.

Winsage

September 26, 2024

Zen 5 revisited: Testing what a new BIOS and Windows update does for AMD’s Ryzen 9000 chips

AMD's Zen 5 desktop processors, specifically the Ryzen 9000 series, have received a lukewarm reception despite offering improved speed over the previous generation. The Ryzen 9 9950X is noted for its multi-threaded performance, while the Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 5 9600X are considered solid mainstream options. The Ryzen 7 7700X is priced below 0, while the 9700X is priced at 0 but does not deliver a corresponding performance increase. Testing revealed discrepancies in performance claims, attributed to AMD's use of a 'full admin' account during testing. Following the KB5041587 Windows update and BIOS adjustments, a retest showed negligible performance differences in common CPU benchmarks. The testing setup included a fresh installation of Windows 11 and adherence to AMD's protocols. Core parking was enabled for dual CCD processors, but its necessity for Zen 5 chips remains unclear. The Ryzen 5 9600X and Ryzen 7 9700X showed minimal gains in gaming performance under a 105 W TDP limit, with significant improvements only in heavy multi-threaded applications. Dual CCD processors, such as the Ryzen 9 9900X and 9950X, did not receive a new power limit but benefited from the Windows update, although branch prediction optimizations did not impact gaming performance. Core parking negatively affected performance in some titles, and the Windows update did not yield significant improvements for content creation or multi-threaded benchmarks. Users on the older AM4 platform are awaiting 3D V-Cache variants, while those on AM5 are satisfied with current performance. Future releases, like the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, may show only marginal gains.

Winsage

September 23, 2024

AMD’s BIOS update is great for both Linux and Windows if you want a free performance boost

AMD unveiled the Ryzen 9000 series desktop processors, promising a 16% increase in instructions per clock (IPC). However, third-party reviews indicated that performance gains were not consistent, with AMD acknowledging potential bugs related to Windows Account privileges. Essential branch prediction optimizations were missing in Windows 11, affecting performance compared to Linux. A Microsoft patch improved performance by about 10% in gaming scenarios, but results varied between installations. AMD also released firmware increasing the thermal design power (TDP) from 65 watts to 105 watts, potentially boosting performance by up to 13%. Additionally, AMD addressed latency issues with the Zen 5 architecture through the AGESA PI 1.2.0.1A firmware update. Tests by Phoronix showed improved performance of the Ryzen 9950X with the updated BIOS on Linux, although overall performance remained stable across 385 benchmarks.

Winsage

September 19, 2024

AMD Ryzen 7 – Windows 11 Patch, VBS and Windows 10 – KitGuru

KitGuru tested AMD's Zen 5 CPUs, comparing various generations from Ryzen 7 1800X to Ryzen 7 9700X. They focused on six Ryzen 7 models: 3800XT, 5800X, 5800X3D, 7700, 7800X3D, and 9700X. The testing scenarios included Windows 11 23H2 with and without the KB5041587 patch, with Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) on and off, as well as Windows 10 22H2 with VBS off. Two test systems were used, one with Ryzen 9000 and 7000 series CPUs and another with Ryzen 5000 and 3000 series CPUs. Shared components included a Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4080 graphics card, a Phanteks Glacier One CPU cooler, a 1TB Crucial T700 SSD, and a Seasonic Prime GX-1600 power supply.

Winsage

September 3, 2024

The AMD Zen 5 Gaming postmortem: Larger generational gains than many reported, game-boosting Windows Update tested, Ryzen 5 7600X3D gaming benchmarks, too | Tom’s Hardware

AMD launched the Zen 5-powered Ryzen 9000 processors, facing initial challenges including delayed sample deliveries and disappointing early reviews that reported minimal performance improvements in gaming. However, retesting showed that the Ryzen 5 9600X and Ryzen 7 9700X outperformed their predecessors by approximately 12%. The Ryzen 7 9700X achieved a 9.3% gain and the Ryzen 5 9600X reached a 10% increase under stock configurations, while gains diminished to 6.6% and 7.8% with AMD’s Expo memory overclocking. Built-in benchmarks indicated higher generational performance compared to custom game scenes, with built-in benchmarks showing an 11.00% gain for the Ryzen 7 9700X versus an 8.50% increase in custom scenes. The Windows 11 23H2 update positively impacted AMD’s performance, while Intel's performance gains from the same update were minimal, with the Core i9-14900K and Core i5-14600K showing no substantial improvements.

Winsage

August 31, 2024

Following Windows updates, new AMD AGESA further boosts Ryzen 9000 performance with 105W TDP

AMD's Ryzen 9000 series has received mixed reviews, with a modest performance gain attributed to the new Zen 5 architecture. The company acknowledges optimization issues in Windows and plans to release a performance patch. Early testing suggests that the upcoming Windows 11 24H2 patch could provide an 11% performance boost in gaming. AMD will also release new firmware to increase the thermal design power (TDP) of the Ryzen 9000 X-series from 65 watts to 105 watts, potentially enhancing performance. MSI has released the AGESA firmware update, which allows users to enable the "TPD to 105W" feature, resulting in a 13% performance uplift in multi-core performance for the Ryzen 9700X. A list of compatible MSI motherboard models supporting the new firmware has been provided.