AMD’s Ryzen 9000 series processors faced criticism when released due to relatively high inter-core latency compared to their predecessors. This latency, measured at around 180 nanoseconds, negatively impacted performance in certain workloads. However, a recent firmware update, first introduced by ASUS has brought significant improvements.
The release of AGESA 1.2.0.2 for 600-series motherboards has dramatically reduced the latency to around 75 nanoseconds. Early testing has confirmed this substantial reduction, which is likely to translate into performance gains for users.
Software optimizing and fine-tuning for Ryzen 9000 series
While the exact nature of the issue still remains unclear, it appears that AMD has addressed a measurement issue rather than a fundamental hardware problem. This means that the reported latency reduction is primarily due to software optimizations and tuning.
The impact of this latency reduction on real-world performance is still being evaluated. While benchmarks like Cinebench R23 have shown a slight improvement of around 1%, the full extent of the benefits will become apparent as reviewers conduct more testing.
Interesting timing
The timing of this update is particularly interesting, given that Intel is set to unveil its Core Ultra 200K series processors, otherwise known as 15th Gen or Arrow Lake. The improved inter-core latency of the Ryzen 9000 series could provide a slightly more competitive edge, especially in applications that heavily rely on multi-core performance. As reviewers continue to assess the Ryzen 9000 series with the new AGESA firmware, we can expect to see a clearer picture of its overall performance and capabilities.
