AMD Readies B2 Stepping of the Ryzen "Summit Ridge" Silicon

[btarunr]

AMD is readying a new stepping of its 14 nm "Summit Ridge" eight-core CPU silicon, which powers its socket AM4 Ryzen processors, according to Canard PC. The new B2 stepping reportedly addresses a lot of hardware-level errata which cannot be fixed merely by AGESA updates. According to Canard PC, the changes seem to be focused on the uncore components of "Summit Ridge." Typically, uncore refers to the integrated northbridge, which includes components such as the memory controllers, PCI-Express root complex, etc.

If the B2 stepping is mostly focused on uncore-level errata, it could mean improved PCI-Express device support, and perhaps even memory support improvements beyond even what AGESA 1.0.0.6 brings to the table. Canard PC reports that it hasn't come across any CPU core-specific errata being addressed with the B2 stepping. The glaring FMA3-related bug has been patched through BIOS updates, and most newer batches of socket AM4 motherboards come with the patch pre-installed.



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[Luke51087]

Hmmm, wonder what else they are fixing in this that us beta testers are dealing with.

 

[P4-630]

That may be for the people who just upgraded to the first batch of Ryzen CPU's....

 

[R0H1T]

Hmmm, wonder what else they are fixing in this that us beta testers are dealing with.

You do know that early adopters are always virtual beta testers, lots of sites atm are having trouble running games on SKLx, that with a R&D budget that can buy AMD 10x over, according to some.

 

[Luke51087]

You do know that early adopters are always virtual beta testers, lots of sites atm are having trouble running games on SKLx, that with a R&D budget that can buy AMD 10x over, according to some.

Ha I know, I guess I was surprised the next stepping was already being talked about that soon. I just want my cold start issues and NVMe drive issues to go away and I will be happy

 

[R0H1T]

Ha I know, I guess I was surprised the next stepping was already being talked about that soon. I just want my cold start issues and NVMe drive issues to go away and I will be happy

That's sad to hear, did you contact the mobo &/or the SSD manufacturer?

 

[Steevo]

I bet the respin is just as much to use Samsung or other fabs as it is to fix minor issues.

 

[the54thvoid]

I bet the respin is just as much to use Samsung or other fabs as it is to fix minor issues.

Could those fabs allow better clocks???

 

[bencrutz]

Ha I know, I guess I was surprised the next stepping was already being talked about that soon. I just want my cold start issues and NVMe drive issues to go away and I will be happy

care to elaborate the NVMe drive issues?

 

[kruk]

That may be for the people who just upgraded to the first batch of Ryzen CPU's....

I doubt this stepping will fix anything that is not fixable by BIOS updates ...

 

[Steevo]

Could those fabs allow better clocks???

If not better clocks maybe lower power consumption or just more fab space for GPU's and custom chips, I think Ryzen is currently being made on the best process but AMD is busy making custom silicon for MS, Sony, GPU's, CPU's and chipsets. A good trade would be some power for higher clocks on some 4 core modules right now though, Intel is doing a Phenom-anal job of showing up AMD on power use....

 

[trparky]

Could those fabs allow better clocks???

I certainly hope, I want some better/higher clocked chips. I want some 4.5 GHz out-of-the-boxed clocked chips along with some more overclocking headroom.

 

[Luke51087]

care to elaborate the NVMe drive issues?

Well so far I used the x370 killer/ac board and the MSI gaming pro carbon with my 480gb MyDigitalSSD BPX drive, which is a pretty decent drive. On certain reboots it seems to not detect the drive. I just have to power it down and turn it on and its fine. It functions fine other than that.

I also wouldnt expect much in the terms of clock changes with the revision since it is still on the same process and all.

 

[TheLaughingMan]

If not better clocks maybe lower power consumption or just more fab space for GPU's and custom chips, I think Ryzen is currently being made on the best process but AMD is busy making custom silicon for MS, Sony, GPU's, CPU's and chipsets. A good trade would be some power for higher clocks on some 4 core modules right now though, Intel is doing a Phenom-anal job of showing up AMD on power use....

They are not working on the core at this time so it will not improve power or clockspeed. They are also not making room for GPUs because the play there is already 1 CCU + 1 GPU (taking the slot of the second CCU).

Sorry to say its bug fixes only and best we can hope for is better out of the box Memory support without the need for a half dozen BIOS updates.

 

[T4C Fantasy]

Ha I know, I guess I was surprised the next stepping was already being talked about that soon. I just want my cold start issues and NVMe drive issues to go away and I will be happy

Z170 ASRock OC Formula motherboard is so bugged, cant install feature updates in windows after a fresh install, boot lock after bios.... sad.. oh and cant oc my memory past 2133

 

[lightofhonor]

Well so far I used the x370 killer/ac board and the MSI gaming pro carbon with my 480gb MyDigitalSSD BPX drive, which is a pretty decent drive. On certain reboots it seems to not detect the drive. I just have to power it down and turn it on and its fine. It functions fine other than that.

I also wouldnt expect much in the terms of clock changes with the revision since it is still on the same process and all.

Same board (Killer AC), same drive. Only times I have had issues with the drive not being detected is during failed memory OC.

 

[jigar2speed]

That may be for the people who just upgraded to the first batch of Ryzen CPU's....

What kind of logic is that ? You meant to so product improvement shouldn't be done because that's a nut kick to previous owners ??? /

 

[qubit]

So the first Ryzen really is a buggy POS as I thought. No wonder, PC builders and reviewers are reporting so many problems with it. B2 should hopefully fix all of this.

 

[P4-630]

What kind of logic is that ? You meant to so product improvement shouldn't be done because that's a nut kick to previous owners ??? /

Well if you ask a Ryzen owner which chip they would rather have, this new "better improved" one or their first batch chip.....

 

[ZoneDymo]

Well if you ask a Ryzen owner which chip they would rather have, this new "better improved" one or their first batch chip.....

yeah, if you ask anyone who owns the older product (of pretty much anything at all) if they would not rather have the newer product...99.9% would say "yeah, id rather have that improved product"...

I mean sure, if the improved product comes in only a month after its a bit...off, but that is not the case.

 

[Luke51087]

Same board (Killer AC), same drive. Only times I have had issues with the drive not being detected is during failed memory OC.

Yeah I have the same issue on my msi carbon pro as well. but at least i can run my gskill 3200 rgb mem at 3200 and the 14 timings vs 2933 and the 16-18-18 timings just to board. Maybe the future bios updates will help me out on that front.

 

[kruk]

So the first Ryzen really is a buggy POS as I thought. No wonder, PC builders and reviewers are reporting so many problems with it. B2 should hopefully fix all of this.

Uhm, what? All CPUs have bugs. Here, enjoy a list of bugs for your buggy POS Sandy Bridge* arch: https://www.intel.com/content/dam/w...2nd-gen-core-desktop-specification-update.pdf

*I have a SB CPU too

 

[qubit]

Uhm, what? All CPUs have bugs. Here, enjoy a list of bugs for your buggy POS Sandy Bridge* arch: https://www.intel.com/content/dam/w...2nd-gen-core-desktop-specification-update.pdf

*I have a SB CPU too

Not like on Ryzen. You know what I'm talking about so don't try to be cute.

Don't apologize for AMD's screwup.

 

[eidairaman1]

I typically hold off 1-2 years before moving to a new platform.

 

[Frick]

Not like on Ryzen. You know what I'm talking about so don't try to be cute.

Don't apologize for AMD's screwup.

Buggy sure, but it seems on the whole it works well enough, especially if you update the BIOSeses. But then there's the whole debate how "well enough" should be defined, in this context, but that's a black hole.