New optional Windows 11 update boosts gaming performance on AMD Ryzen CPUs, backported to 23H2
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Earlier this month, AMD released the Zen 5 lineup, which includes four desktop processors – Ryzen 9 9950X, Ryzen 9 9900X, Ryzen 7 9700X, and Ryzen 5 9600X. Following the release, the reviews for the CPUs were slightly underwhelming, and there was a slight difference between AMD's performance benchmarks and the reviewer's benchmarks.
In an earlier report, we mentioned that a YouTuber who reviewed the Zen 5 CPUs said that a Windows ‘bug' was preventing the processors from reaching peak performance. After AMD's suggestions, the YouTuber retested the Ryzen 7 9700X using an admin account on Windows and saw improved results. Further, Hardware Unboxed also tested Zen 4 CPUs and saw a boost in performance.
The new update is available for Windows 11 23H2
After this, AMD announced that the company would soon release a new branch prediction optimization patch for Windows 11 24H2, which was rolled out recently. This patch was supposed to improve gaming performance compared to what was seen in the early reviews – and it did deliver results. However, Windows 11 24H2 is not a stable release just yet.
Luckily, the same patch has now been released for stable Windows 11 23H2 via backporting. The new update can be installed from the Windows Update menu in the “Optional Updates” section as “KB5041587.”
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AMD clarified that this update would have similar results as the Windows 11 24H2 update. “We expect the performance uplift to be very similar between 24H2 and 23H2 with KB5041587 installed,” an AMD spokesperson said to Tom's Hardware.
However, the company did not specify how much of an improvement the new update would make. AMD did mention that this update would help Zen 5, Zen 4, and Zen 3 processors, with Zen 5 getting the biggest boost.
The update has already been rolled out and is available for installation. Users can head over to the update menu and install it.
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