MSI has unveiled a set of tools and optimisations incorporated into its Socket AM5 motherboards, said to improve content creation and gaming performance. Targeting AMD’s new flagship Ryzen 9 9950X3D processor, these tweaks push the already chart-topping chip up by as much as 14.5% when enabled simultaneously.
BIOS & Chipset
Starting with a procedure that every user should follow regardless of their needs, MSI claims that updating the drivers and motherboard AGESA microcode can boost performance by up to 10% compared to older BIOS and driver combinations. The latest chipset driver (v7.01.08.129 or higher) includes AMD’s Application Compatibility Database driver which can boost performance in certain games when paired with AGESA 1.2.0.3 BIOS or newer.
This is especially important for dual-CCD Ryzen chips like 9950X3D due to their design which features the 3D V-Cache layer only on one CCD. These updates aim to optimise the operating system resource management by ensuring each task arrives to the correct CCD. For example, games like cache, thus run better on the 3D V-Cache CCD.
Note however that after updating to AGESA 1.2.0.3 or newer, you might see an ‘Unknown Device’ in Device Manager. To fix this, install the AMD Application Compatibility Database driver from the chipset driver package. Once done, you should instead see ‘AMD Application Compatibility Database’.
BIOS Features
Memory Try It!
Memory Try It! is a memory overclocking feature that has been on MSI motherboards since the Z97 platform. It aims to offer a more granular solution compared to baked-in memory profiles by listing a wide range of potential overclocks compatible with popular memory kits on the market. Each sets different combinations of memory frequencies, timings, and voltages. This allows you to find potentially more optimal settings for your memory, without the hassle of manual tuning.
High-Efficiency Mode
High-Efficiency Mode is another memory parameter optimisation feature, which can increase memory bandwidth and reduce latency. Here, you get access to four latency options, Tightest, Tighter, Balance, and Relax, each providing different levels of improvement. Like Memory Try It, this feature will also depend on the quality and stability of your memory kit.
X3D Gaming Mode
X3D Gaming Mode enhances performance in certain games by disabling the non-X3D CCD in addition to simultaneous multithreading (SMT). In effect it transforms your 16-core/32-thread Ryzen 9 9950X3D into an 8-core/8-thread CPU, i.e. similar to a Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Needless to say, this would have a bad effect on multi-threaded apps and games. Moreover, seeing how Windows has become good at task management on recent Ryzen chips, I wouldn’t advise you to enable this one, unless you know that your task can benefit from it.
MSI’s testing showed that combining all these features boosted Monster Hunter Wilds frame rates by 8% compared to DDR5-7200 and 14.5% compared to the default DDR5-4800. MSI used a 2x16GB DDR5-7200 XMP kit, overclocked to DDR5-8000 CL38 using the Memory Try It! option and enhanced with the ‘Tighter’ High-Efficiency Mode. Likewise, Far Cry 6 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider saw approximately a 6% performance increase.
Nice results overall considering that games are more sensitive to GPU than CPU performance. That said, I would still avoid the X3D Gaming Mode due to the reasons mentioned before. The memory overclocking feature is welcome though.
