AMD CPUs get a substantial FPS boost with upcoming Windows update, tests show
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We all know the meme of being able to download more RAM, but it seems Microsoft is in fact making it possible to download more performance with a Windows 11 update. This is something that the Ryzen 9000 release could have definitely done with, considering the lack of a great performance increase from the previous generation. It even caused AMD to address Zen 5 performance in regards to why reviewers’ results were so different from its own promises ahead of its best CPUs coming out.
Well, it seems there might be quite a bit of benefit coming to your performance with Windows updates. As Hardware Unboxed tested, comparing the current 23H2 version to the Windows Insider 24H2, we see a significant double-digit percentage improvement for both the 9700X and 7700X it had tested.
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On average, the 9700X is 11% faster at 1080p in the over 40 games it has tested. That spans a massive 35% improvement in Gears 5, but in more GPU-limited games there isn’t much improvement, and the bottom with Starfield, Skull and Bones, and Hunt: Showdown 1896 seeing 0%. Whilst the 7700X gets an average of 10% faster, with Gears 5 at the top again with over 32% and down to 0% both see a majority improvement.
Ryzen 7 9700X percentage difference 24H2 vs 23H2, Source Hardware Unboxed
Ryzen 7 7700X percentage difference 24H2 vs 23H2, Source Hardware Unboxed
Reasons for the vast difference and Intel benefitting too
AMD mentioned their CPUs benefit from elevated privileges enabled through special administrator accounts. It brings an optimization for branch predictions, speeding up its performance in Windows and so its own tests utilized these. Which it seemed to have forgotten to mention to reviewers and in its own graphs, as everyday users will use what’s available and not special insider programs.
Even then, the difference between Zen 4 and 5 is not that much different even with the new versions, Hardware Unboxed’s testing showed just 1-2% in favor of the new processors, not as much as AMD promised. It also mentioned that its new laptops with Strix Point will include this Windows update, which does surprise us the 9000 series didn’t release with this update.
There is speculation Windows will wait for Intel’s Arrow Lake-S release to bring it out as it will also benefit from this, which HWU also checked. Testing the Intel Core i5-14600K it doesn’t have as great of a boost but in some games like Gears 5 it also gets tens more FPS. But whichever CPU you have, be sure to get the new Windows patch for a free performance boost.
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