Investigating possible firmware/AGESA bug on AM5, help wanted.

R-T-B · Feb 5, 2025

As described elsewhere, I've been trying to get my system in my specs to boot above ddr5-2000 (lol) with 4x32GB sticks DDR5. This seemed impossible to do despite all logic, until I noticed something.

GearDown mode.

Setting GearDown mode to Auto let me boot.

Investigating further, I discovered that if you set GearDown mode to disabled, the entire range of 2200MT/s through 4600MT/s no longer works.

Now my question is: is this an AGESA bug, a GIGABYTE bios bug, or maybe even both? I need to know who to write about this essentially.

How to test if you want to help me gather data:

1.) Enter UEFI.

2.) Set Geardown mode to "Disabled"

3.) Set memory speed to something in that above range, lets all just do DDR5-4000 for consistency.

4.) Profit? Or rather if you have the same bug, get ready to reset your CMOS, because in my case the rig enters an eternal bootloop until you do, never ever recovering. Yes even with one stick.

Thanks in advance for any help you fellow AM5 users can offer.

ir_cow · Feb 5, 2025

Which Motherboard model and BIOS? I can't se the sign on mobile.

R-T-B · Feb 5, 2025

ir_cow said:
Which Motherboard model and BIOS? I can't se the sign on mobile.

Gigabyte Aorus Elite AX rev1.0, like your last review. Tested on all beta bioses since the last stable, including the stable build (anything earlier does not support my 9950x). You can test from any board/cpu you like though, that helps rule out a global AGESA bug.

Fun hint: you can see my system specs on mobile, you just need to go to the users profile page.

ir_cow · Feb 5, 2025

Ohh I still have it

. Can try this weekend and see what happens.

R-T-B · Feb 5, 2025

ir_cow said:
Ohh I still have it . Can try this weekend and see what happens.

I still couldn't get over ddr5-4000 but thats a heck of a lot better than 2000, at least. The weird thing is that I can replicate this odd bug with a single stick. May be granite ridge specific too, dunno.

Caring1 · Feb 5, 2025

I'm not sure but thought I had read where gear down mode 2 works above certain speeds and 1 won't.
Disabling it might leave it set at default gear 1.

R-T-B · Feb 5, 2025

Caring1 said:
I'm not sure but thought I had read where gear down mode 2 works above certain speeds and 1 won't.
Disabling it might leave it set at default gear 1.

It should be able to easily run GDM disabled at these speeds with a single stick, so its clearly a bug somewhere I think.

Zach_01 · Saturday at 4:35 AM

R-T-B said:
Fun hint: you can see my system specs on mobile, you just need to go to the users profile page.

Even more fun hint: You can see the user system specs on mobile if you tilt the device in landscape mode without going to profile.
Same for signature.

R-T-B · Saturday at 4:41 AM

Zach_01 said:
Even more fun hint: You can see the user system specs on mobile if you tilt the device in landscape mode without going to profile.

View attachment 383813

Woah. Ok, mind blown.

eidairaman1 · Saturday at 5:30 AM

Damn 14 bios, that's a lot in a short amount of time.

R-T-B · Saturday at 5:34 AM

eidairaman1 said:
Damn 14 bios, that's a lot in a short amount of time.

9xxx is only supported by like the last 5 but yeah it was fun testing them all, lol.

eidairaman1 · Saturday at 5:51 AM

R-T-B said:
9xxx is only supported by like the last 5 but yeah it was fun testing them all, lol.

You might go on their social media and call them out on it even

ir_cow · Saturday at 5:53 AM

Zach_01 said:
Even more fun hint: You can see the user system specs on mobile if you tilt the device in landscape mode without going to profile.
Same for signature.

View attachment 383813

This is what I see. No ability to see system specs

TumbleGeorge · Saturday at 6:07 AM

ir_cow said:
This is what I see. No ability to see system specs
View attachment 383818

I saw specs. Must click on button first.

Screenshot_2025-02-08-07-06-55-14_40deb401b9ffe8e1df2f1cc5ba480b12.jpg

R-T-B · Saturday at 9:18 AM

Look, guys, I appreciate the tips on seeing system specs on mobile but that should probably go in a separate thread. Just sayin'

R-T-B · Sunday at 6:26 AM

Did some testing myself with another board I had kicking around, a MSI MAG x670e Tomahawk. Same issue. So either global AGESA bug or just an eccentricity of my ram kit. Unsure which.

eidairaman1 · Sunday at 6:28 AM

R-T-B said:
Did some testing myself with another board I had kicking around, a MSI MAG x670e Tomahawk. Same issue. So either global AGESA bug or just an eccentricity of my ram kit. Unsure which.

Maybe try a different set of ram

R-T-B · Sunday at 6:30 AM

eidairaman1 said:
Maybe try a different set of ram

I'm over budget for this lil project already but if anyone else wants to try they are more than welcome. My other machines are all DDR4 forbidding a simple ram swap.

R-T-B · 2025-02-12T18:57:36+0000

Turns out the MSI board actually doesn't have that bug, it just has a 10 minute plus post courtesy my 9950xs wonderful IMC. Anyhow, I think I can conclude now this is a gigabyte bug. Running that board now at DDR5-4000 as we speak.

Believe it or not this is actually worth it for what I work on now. At least I can sync to the FCLK, lol.

rv8000 · 2025-02-12T19:04:32+0000

Further confirmation; no issues with GDM disabled on all 3 of my memory kits (corsair & g.skill) with my ASUS x870

Additional note: GDM off/disabled traditionally required more memory voltage at the same timings and frequency to be stable on x670/b650, unsure if this translates to newer boards (x800/b800) and or newer agesa. 4 dimms is also a complicating factor on your end > more stress on the imc.

R-T-B · 2025-02-12T19:10:19+0000

rv8000 said:
Further confirmation; no issues with GDM disabled on all 3 of my memory kits (corsair & g.skill) with my ASUS x870

Additional note: GDM off/disabled traditionally required more memory voltage at the same timings and frequency to be stable on x670/b650, unsure if this translates to newer boards (x800/b800) and or newer agesa. 4 dimms is also a complicating factor on your end > more stress on the imc.

Thanks. Think I'll write gigabyte then. Doubt they will care much, but who knows?

rv8000 · 2025-02-12T19:29:35+0000

R-T-B said:
Thanks. Think I'll write gigabyte then. Doubt they will care much, but who knows?

I haven’t had a Gigabyte board for awhile now (10+ years), but tech support was always more responsive than other brands I’ve dealt with.

They were very open and helpful when I did a mini bios review of different brands when I compared 970’s a few years back.

R-T-B · 2025-02-12T19:42:27+0000

Yeah that was less a comment on gigabyte support and more a comment on how obscure this issue is, heh.

damric · 2025-02-13T01:05:07+0000

I have that $99 ASRock B650m hdv-m.2 and it doesn't even have the GDM option, that shit is just always on lol. One day I'll try some more BIOSes.

eidairaman1 · 2025-02-13T03:03:41+0000

R-T-B said:
Thanks. Think I'll write gigabyte then. Doubt they will care much, but who knows?

Blow their Aorus and Gigabyte Social Media pages up

System Name	Pioneer
Processor	Ryzen 9 9950X
Motherboard	MSI MAG X670E Tomahawk Wifi
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 + A whole lotta Sunon, Phanteks and Corsair Maglev blower fans...
Memory	128GB (4x 32GB) G.Skill Flare X5 @ DDR5-4000 (Running 1:1:1 to FCLK)
Video Card(s)	XFX RX 7900 XTX Speedster Merc 310
Storage	Intel 5800X Optane 800GB boot, +2x Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs
Display(s)	55" LG 55" B9 OLED 4K Display
Case	Thermaltake Core X31
Audio Device(s)	TOSLINK->Schiit Modi MB->Asgard 2 DAC Amp->AKG Pro K712 Headphones or HDMI->B9 OLED
Power Supply	FSP Hydro Ti Pro 850W
Mouse	Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless
Keyboard	WASD Code v3 with Cherry Green keyswitches + PBT DS keycaps
Software	Windows 11 Enterprise

System Name	Pioneer
Processor	Ryzen 9 9950X
Motherboard	MSI MAG X670E Tomahawk Wifi
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 + A whole lotta Sunon, Phanteks and Corsair Maglev blower fans...
Memory	128GB (4x 32GB) G.Skill Flare X5 @ DDR5-4000 (Running 1:1:1 to FCLK)
Video Card(s)	XFX RX 7900 XTX Speedster Merc 310
Storage	Intel 5800X Optane 800GB boot, +2x Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs
Display(s)	55" LG 55" B9 OLED 4K Display
Case	Thermaltake Core X31
Audio Device(s)	TOSLINK->Schiit Modi MB->Asgard 2 DAC Amp->AKG Pro K712 Headphones or HDMI->B9 OLED
Power Supply	FSP Hydro Ti Pro 850W
Mouse	Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless
Keyboard	WASD Code v3 with Cherry Green keyswitches + PBT DS keycaps
Software	Windows 11 Enterprise

System Name	Pioneer
Processor	Ryzen 9 9950X
Motherboard	MSI MAG X670E Tomahawk Wifi
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 + A whole lotta Sunon, Phanteks and Corsair Maglev blower fans...
Memory	128GB (4x 32GB) G.Skill Flare X5 @ DDR5-4000 (Running 1:1:1 to FCLK)
Video Card(s)	XFX RX 7900 XTX Speedster Merc 310
Storage	Intel 5800X Optane 800GB boot, +2x Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs
Display(s)	55" LG 55" B9 OLED 4K Display
Case	Thermaltake Core X31
Audio Device(s)	TOSLINK->Schiit Modi MB->Asgard 2 DAC Amp->AKG Pro K712 Headphones or HDMI->B9 OLED
Power Supply	FSP Hydro Ti Pro 850W
Mouse	Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless
Keyboard	WASD Code v3 with Cherry Green keyswitches + PBT DS keycaps
Software	Windows 11 Enterprise

System Name	H7 Flow 2024
Processor	AMD 5800X3D
Motherboard	Asus X570 Tough Gaming
Cooling	Custom liquid
Memory	32 GB DDR4
Video Card(s)	Intel ARC A750
Storage	Crucial P5 Plus 2TB.
Display(s)	AOC 24" Freesync 1m.s. 75Hz
Mouse	Lenovo
Keyboard	Eweadn Mechanical
Software	W11 Pro 64 bit

System Name	Pioneer
Processor	Ryzen 9 9950X
Motherboard	MSI MAG X670E Tomahawk Wifi
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 + A whole lotta Sunon, Phanteks and Corsair Maglev blower fans...
Memory	128GB (4x 32GB) G.Skill Flare X5 @ DDR5-4000 (Running 1:1:1 to FCLK)
Video Card(s)	XFX RX 7900 XTX Speedster Merc 310
Storage	Intel 5800X Optane 800GB boot, +2x Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs
Display(s)	55" LG 55" B9 OLED 4K Display
Case	Thermaltake Core X31
Audio Device(s)	TOSLINK->Schiit Modi MB->Asgard 2 DAC Amp->AKG Pro K712 Headphones or HDMI->B9 OLED
Power Supply	FSP Hydro Ti Pro 850W
Mouse	Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless
Keyboard	WASD Code v3 with Cherry Green keyswitches + PBT DS keycaps
Software	Windows 11 Enterprise

Investigating possible firmware/AGESA bug on AM5, help wanted.

R-T-B

ir_cow

R-T-B

ir_cow

R-T-B

Caring1

R-T-B

Zach_01

R-T-B

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

R-T-B

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

ir_cow

TumbleGeorge

R-T-B

R-T-B

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

R-T-B

R-T-B

rv8000

R-T-B

rv8000

R-T-B

damric

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

System Name	PC on since Aug 2019, 1st CPU R5 3600 + ASUS ROG RX580 8GB >> MSI Gaming X RX5700XT (Jan 2020)
Processor	Ryzen 9 5900X (July 2022), 220W PPT limit, 85C temp limit, CO -8~14, +50MHz (up to 5.0GHz)
Motherboard	Gigabyte X570 Aorus Pro (Rev1.0), BIOS F39b, AGESA V2 1.2.0.C
Cooling	Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420mm Rev7 (Jan 2024) with off-center mount for Ryzen, TIM: Kryonaut
Memory	2x16GB G.Skill Trident Z Neo GTZN (July 2022) 3600MT/s 1.38V CL16-16-16-16-32-48 1T, tRFC:280, B-die
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Nitro+ RX 7900XTX (Dec 2023) 314~467W (382W current) PowerLimit, 1060mV, Adrenalin v24.12.1
Storage	Samsung NVMe: 980Pro 1TB(OS 2022), 970Pro 512GB(2019) / SATA-III: 850Pro 1TB(2015) 860Evo 1TB(2020)
Display(s)	Dell Alienware AW3423DW 34" QD-OLED curved (1800R), 3440x1440 144Hz (max 175Hz) HDR400/1000, VRR on
Case	None... naked on desk
Audio Device(s)	Astro A50 headset
Power Supply	Corsair HX750i, ATX v2.4, 80+ Platinum, 93% (250~700W), modular, single/dual rail (switch)
Mouse	Logitech MX Master (Gen1)
Keyboard	Logitech G15 (Gen2) w/ LCDSirReal applet
Software	Windows 11 Home 64bit (v24H2, OSBuild 26100.3037), upgraded from Win10 to Win11 on Jan 2024

System Name	PCGOD
Processor	AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard	Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling	Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory	16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage	Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s)	NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case	AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s)	Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply	Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse	Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard	Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software	Windows 7 Pro 64

System Name	Main
Processor	Ryzen 5950x
Motherboard	B550 PG Velocita
Cooling	Water
Memory	Ballistix
Video Card(s)	RX 6900XT
Storage	T-FORCE CARDEA A440 PRO
Display(s)	MAG401QR
Case	QUBE 500
Audio Device(s)	Logitech Z623
Power Supply	LEADEX V 1KW
Mouse	Cooler Master MM710
Keyboard	Huntsman Elite
Software	11 Pro
Benchmark Scores	https://hwbot.org/user/damric/