AMD claims better performance from Zen 5 processors following Windows 11 update

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It isn't surprising that the Ryzen 9000 series didn't meet many people’s expectations, and the launch had issues, to say the least. Many reviewers weren't impressed with the performance during their testing, and we encountered the same issues when we tested the Ryzen 5 9600X, Ryzen 7 9700X, and Ryzen 9 9900X.
That said, these results didn't fall on deaf ears, as AMD gave an update in a blog post, explaining its testing process and how the previously presented data was collected. Once again, it wasn't surprising that the test suite used by AMD and various reviewers differed because some underlying aspects made the performance output so vastly different.
AMD update explained; does Windows 11 24H2 make a difference?
In their blog post, AMD reported that they use in-game benchmarking tools to gauge the performance of their chips and those of their competitors. That isn't a trusted method of testing performance and could vary from title to title. In addition, other benchmarking software does a better job of figuring out how well a CPU’s productive and creative performance is.
Furthermore, the Intel CPUs they were comparing against were using DDR5-6000 memory and default ‘Baseline’ settings, which put it at a disadvantage and isn’t representative of all reviewers’ systems. However, it did make sense not to push the Intel chip before the 0x129 microcode went live.
That isn't all; AMD also tests its CPUs in Windows 11 (24H2) Admin Mode, which “incorporates a wider branch prediction capacity” used by Zen 5 processors compared to Zen 4 chips. That said, most users, including the reviewers, don't use Windows in Admin Mode, which is the reason for the performance discrepancy. We previously covered this, with some likening it to a ‘Windows 11 bug‘.
Why AMD-generated gaming data differs from reviewer data: For our Ryzen 9000 launch, AMD internal labs generated data that showed a 9% average generational uplift in 1080P gaming versus Ryzen 7000 Series, and an average of 6% higher performance across more than 30 games when compared against the competition's best. Not all reviews are seeing these results, and this reflects the complexity of high-performance PC testing today given the number of system and software variables. There are several factors specifically creating these differences in some Ryzen 9000 reviews:
AMD
- The AMD gaming test suite includes a broad set of esports, AAA, and popular older games, which are a combination of CPU- and GPU-bound titles. Game performance conclusions can be influenced significantly by the makeup of the test suite.
- AMD tested Intel configurations using comparable DDR5-6000 memory as well as Intel default settings-baseline power profile which can have a small impact on gaming performance.
- AMD also tests with Windows Virtualization-based Security (VBS) enabled. This is the default Windows behavior and Microsoft recommends activating VBS to improve security, however it can affect gaming performance.
- The “Zen 5” architecture incorporates a wider branch prediction capacity than prior “Zen” generations. Our automated test methodology was run in “Admin” mode which produced results that reflect branch prediction code optimizations not present in the version of Windows reviewers used to test Ryzen 9000 Series. We have a further update on accessing this performance for users below.
The company also showcased a chart highlighting the performance difference between Windows 11 24H2 and 23H2. That said, to get the best performance, they recommend waiting for the AMD-specific branch prediction code, which is currently available through the Windows Insider Program (Release Preview Channel – Build 21600).
Ryzen 9 9950X (24H2) | Ryzen 9 9950X (23H2) | Performance Delta | |
---|---|---|---|
Far Cry 6 | 183 | 162 | +13% |
Cyberpunk 2077 | 200 | 188 | +7% |
Hitman 3 | 358 | 347 | +3% |
Watch Dogs: Legion | 165 | 165 | No change |
Cinebench 2024 Single Thread | 140 | 140 | No change |
Procyon Office | 10,288 | 9,829 | +6% |
Lastly, they said that this patch would affect the Zen 5 processors the most but would also boost the performance of the Zen 4 and Zen 3 CPUs, as they are collaborating with Microsoft to roll out this update.