AMD investigates reports of abnormal Ryzen 7000 performance in some games on Windows 11 PCs

AMD has released a statement about abnormal performance variations in the Ryzen 7000 processors in some games when running Windows 11 compared to running Windows 10.
The company itself noted that it has not yet registered any performance variations in some games depending on the operating system, although complaints do come in.Image source: Resul Kaya/unsplash.com \"We are currently investigating, but based on testing so far have not found a significant difference in gaming performance depending on the OS versions in different work scenarios and with different games,\" AMD reported.
According to experts HotHardware portal, they have not observed any anomalies in reviews of Ryzen 9 7950X and 7900X, instead, experts noted the benefits of the new architecture Zen 4 compared to Zen 3.By the way, an interesting feature of these processors is that the second chiplet off (CCD - Core Chiplet Die) can even improve performance in some games.
This difference is clearly demonstrated by the example of Metro Exodus, running on a PC with Ryzen 9 7950X running Windows 11 22H2.Image source: CapFrameXAccording to AMD, such things happen quite regularly and may indicate, for example, the need for software optimization.
For a fresh platform, which is the Socket AM5, and the new architecture (Zen 4) it is normal to have some problems at first - the main thing is to have them solved later.
\"Many factors affect gaming performance, including game engine, processor architecture, graphics gas pedal and memory choices.
As new architectures come to market, there are often performance anomalies that must be addressed by the component vendor or game publisher.
This is not a new or unexpected phenomenon,\" the company said.Additionally, AMD said that as anomalies are identified, the company will share information about them with ecosystem partners and game developers so that they can properly optimize their products.

Intel Alder Lake system tested with Windows 11 and different Linux - Microsoft OS was slowest in 72% of tests

Phoronix has conducted a performance comparison test of the Intel Alder Lake platform with different operating systems.
It turns out that under different Linux distributions the computer is in most cases faster than under the latest Windows 11.The tests were done with an Intel Core i9-12900K processor, ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi motherboard, 32GB (2x16GB) of DDR5-6000 memory, 500GB WD Black SN850 SSD and an AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT graphics card.
The configuration is one of the best by today's standards, able to handle both high resolution games and working applications, as well as working with content.
For the performance comparison, Windows 11 Pro, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS on the stable Linux 5.18 kernel, and Intel Clear Linux version 36580 were chosen.Image source: phoronix.comTestors ran a total of 103 tests, with Clear Linux being the clear victor, scoring maximum points in 55 cases (53.4%), second with 19 wins (18.4%) to Ubuntu 22.
04 LTS, third place went to Windows 11 with 16 top scores (15.5%) and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS with Linux 5.18 only 13 wins (12.6%).Image source: phoronix.com Image source: phoronix.com Of course, a benchmark is not a benchmark, and for most average users of flagship chips, gaming tests can be decisive.
On the other hand, it would be a mistake to ignore other tasks that determined the scoring in the test series: virtualization, data compression, rendering and video encoding - in all these cases, Linux family systems were faster.
Taking the cumulative result for all tests, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS was 4 percent faster than Windows 11, and in the case of Clear Linux the gap widened to 8 percent.
And Windows 11 was the worst performer in 72% of tests.

Microsoft fixed a performance issue with AMD processors in Windows 11

Microsoft has released another test build of Windows 11 numbered 22000.282 (KB5006746) for Beta Channel preview program participants. In it, the developers have fixed many known bugs, the main of which is related to AMD processors, as it became known earlier this month. The description of the update says that the developers have fixed a problem with the L3 cache, which was affecting the performance of AMD Ryzen devices after the upgrade to Windows 11.

Recall that after the beginning of the distribution of Windows 11 there was a problem which caused the performance in applications on computers with AMD chips to decrease by 3-5% and in games can be observed a drop of up to 15%. It seems that the developers have managed to quickly solve the problem and at the end of the month the fix will be available for devices running the stable version of Windows 11. The developers have also fixed many other bugs. Problem with the incorrect operation of the «Start» menu and failure to see the updated taskbar design in some cases has been resolved. Fixed a bug that could cause BSODs to appear in the early stages of OS startup. Resolved an issue that caused the Windows Management Instrumentation host process to stop working as a result of an unhandled access violation when using Desired State Configuration. Fixed an issue with writing data to WMI storage when there is not enough available memory on the device.

Microsoft has also introduced a lot of less noticeable fixes to make the software platform more stable. You can read them on the developers' blog. It is expected that the broad masses these patches will become available with the optional cumulative update, which will be released at the end of this month. In addition, the fixes will be part of an update to be released as part of the Patch Tuesday program next month.

AMD has taught Windows 11 to detect the fastest cores in Ryzen processors - new chipset driver fixes the problem

AMD has published new versions of drivers for its chipsets, which fixes performance issues in Windows 11. Recall that Microsoft's new system previously didn't identify the highest performing cores of Ryzen processors, which caused the performance of Ryzen systems to drop compared to Windows 10. This is not the only, but very important fix to ensure correct operation of AMD chips in Windows 11.

The fresh driver version 3.10.08.506 has been released for AMD WRX80, TRX40, X570, B550, A520, X399, X470, B450, X370, B350 and A320 chipsets, that is virtually all system logic chips for Ryzen and Ryzen Threadripper chipsets. The new software version restores the functionality of the CPPC2 mechanism, which allocates tasks to preferred cores based on their operating frequencies. Recall that in AMD processors, like Intel, certain cores can run at slightly higher frequencies than neighboring cores. Failure of Windows 11 to identify these cores may result in a noticeable degradation of system performance.

AMD states that UEFI CPPC2 malfunctions are more noticeable on Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 processors with eight or more cores and TDP levels above 65W. After downloading and installing AMD chipset driver 3.10.08.506, a system with a Ryzen 5000 series chip should report version 7.0.3.5 of the Windows 11 preparation package. For Ryzen 2000 and 3000 series chips with driver 3.10.08.506 Windows 11 system will install a balanced power management scheme. The fresh drivers fix one of two issues with Ryzen CPUs in Windows 11. The second is that the L3 cache performance of the Ryzen 5000 chips is significantly reduced in the new OS due to increased latency. Microsoft and AMD have found a solution, which is being tested as part of the Windows Insider program, but no public release of the fix has yet been reported.

Windows 11 patch fixing AMD Ryzen processors' cache is now available to all users

Microsoft has begun a massive rollout of Windows 11 update KB5006746, which fixes the problem of increased L3 cache latency in AMD Ryzen processors when running the new OS. This had a negative effect on  performance, especially in some sensitive applications. Along with this AMD has released new versions of drivers for chipsets, which should help to solve another performance problem.

Hot Hardware has already tested the fixes by installing the Microsoft patch and the new AMD chipset driver simultaneously on its AMD Ryzen 9 5950X processor-based system as soon as they became available for download. Apparently, the developers really managed to solve the L3 cache issue in Windows 11. Before the driver installation and KB5006746 update, the L3 cache latency was about 32.9 ns, whereas after the fixes were downloaded, this value dropped to 11 ns. This was the same lag for the cache when the system was running on Windows 10.

Microsoft started testing the mentioned update a few days ago, making it available to members of the Windows Preview program. Apparently, the testing process did not reveal any serious problems with the package KB5006746, so the developers made it available to a wide range of users. As for AMD chipset drivers, they restore the functionality of CPPC2 mechanism used to distribute tasks to cores based on their operating frequencies.

Support for Android apps in Windows 11 is implemented by Intel, but will also work on AMD and ARM systems

As part of yesterday's online event, Microsoft officially presented Windows 11, which is a new version of the software giant's platform. One of the loudest announcements at the presentation was the announcement of support for running Android apps directly in Windows 11. And this does not require an emulator, because Android applications have received some semblance of native support.

This was achieved thanks to Microsoft's collaboration with Intel. Support for Android applications is based on the new Intel Bridge compiler, which allows mobile applications to function in x86 systems. It is noteworthy that this technology works not only in systems with Intel processors, but also on computers with AMD and Qualcomm chips. "Intel believes it is important to provide this capability on all x86 platforms. Therefore, the company has developed Intel Bridge technology to support all x86 platforms (including those based on AMD chips)," Intel said in a statement. Although the company has confirmed that Intel Bridge technology will be supported by AMD chips and Arm processors, how stable this process is is not known yet. According to available information, Intel Bridge is a post-compiler that translates applications compiled for platforms other than x86 (Android apps) into x86 instructions (which are normally processed by Intel or AMD processors) in real time. As for Windows 11 devices powered by Arm chips, they are expected to be able to run Android apps without having to use the Bridge compiler, although Microsoft has not yet fully explained how this works.

Microsoft will test the performance of Windows 11 with AMD Ryzen 1000 and Intel Kaby Lake processors

Microsoft will consider lowering the system requirements for installing Windows 11. The software maker said in its official blog that it will test 7th generation Intel Core processors and first-generation AMD Ryzen processors for compatibility with the new OS.

Many PC users were discouraged by Microsoft's announcement that the new OS would not work with processors older than second-generation AMD Ryzen or eighth-generation Intel Core. But now the company has decided to reconsider this issue and is going to conduct a series of tests on these platforms, which will result in a final conclusion. "With the launch of the Windows 11 pre-release Windows Insider program, we're starting to test devices based on the 7th generation Intel Core processors and the first AMD Ryzen processors with OEM partners to see if they meet our guidelines. We'll keep you posted on these tests and will share the results in due course," the company's blog stated. Microsoft justifies its requirements for processors by the fact that Windows 11 offers a significantly higher level of security than previous OS versions, which reduces the risk of PC infection by up to 60% of malware, as well as having an improved encryption system and biometric authentication. The company also attributes the "culling" of older processors to the desire to ensure the best compatibility of the system with the Office software package and the Teams messenger. Part of their security features are directly dependent on the company's requirements for the PC to have a TPM 2.0 cryptographic module or support for fTPM emulation software. In addition, the company said it has temporarily removed the PC Health Check app, which lets you check a Windows 10-based system for compatibility with the new Windows 11. "Based on the feedback, we realized that this app could not accurately answer why your system is not ready for Windows 11. We are temporarily removing it so that our development teams can address these shortcomings in a future release," Microsoft said in a blog post. The company has promised to re-release an updated version of the PC Health Check tool before the actual launch of Windows 11, which will take place this fall.