AMD is readying an update to its AGESA micro-code. AGESA is an essential component of AMD platform motherboard BIOSes responsible for starting the processor at system start-up. Updates to it improve the motherboards' memory and CPU compatibility. Following its all-important AGESA 1.0.0.6 update that vastly improves memory compatibility of AMD Ryzen processors, the company is readying an even newer version. The new AGESA 1.0.0.7 update prompts significant changes to the structure of motherboard BIOSes, making it easy to implement support for upcoming socket AM4 chips, such as the "Raven Ridge" APUs, and the 2nd generation Ryzen "Pinnacle Ridge" CPUs.

Professional overclocker elmor, who is currently associated with ASUS ROG, responding to an Overclockers.net forums question about the Crosshair VI series motherboard, mentioned that AGESA 1.0.0.7 significantly changes the BIOS structure of AMD motherboards, which will make it easier implement support for future processors. "AGESA 1007 comes with support for Raven Ridge APUs. AMD has also changed the entire BIOS base structure so we have to do a lot of work to port everything to the new version, which may result in further bugs. The advantage is that it makes it easier to support future CPUs (Raven Ridge, Pinnacle Ridge)," he said. Updates to AGESA are distributed by motherboard manufacturers as BIOS updates.

MSI today rolled out the Optix AG32C, a gaming-grade 32-inch (31.5-inch viewing area) monitor, with an 1800R curvature. Despite its colossal panel size, the monitor only puts out Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution. Lending to its gaming-grade credentials are 165 Hz maximum refresh-rate, 1 ms response time, and support for AMD FreeSync technology. Other vital specs include 178°/178° viewing angles, 3000:1 static contrast-ratio, and 250 cd/m² maximum brightness. Display inputs include HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2, and dual-link DVI. Other features include an anti-flicker brightness adjustment, OSD crosshairs, etc. The company didn't reveal pricing.

AMD today released Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.10.1 drivers. Released for Windows 10 and Windows 7, these beta drivers add optimization for "Middle Earth: Shadow of War," and "Evil Within 2." The optimization includes Radeon Chill profiles, which tell the GPU exactly when to downclock, for the best thermals and power-usage, without sacrificing performance. The drivers also fix bezel-compensation application on mixed-mode Eyefinity setups, and rare flickering issues noticed with "DiRT 4" on certain multi-GPU setups. Grab the drivers from the links below.DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Crimson ReLive 17.10.1

AMD is reportedly accelerating launch of its first GPU architecture built on the 7 nanometer process, codenamed "Navi." Graphics cards based on the first implementation of "Navi" could launch as early as by Q3-2018 (between July and September). Besides IPC increments with its core number-crunching machinery, "Navi" will introduce a slew of memory and GPU virtualization technologies.

AMD will take its multi-chip module (MCM) approach of building high-performance GPUs a step further, by placing multiple GPU dies with their HBM stacks on a single package. The company could leverage its InfinityFabric as a high-bandwidth interconnect between the GPU dies (dubbed "GPU module"), with an I/O controller die interfacing the MCM with the host machine. With multi-GPU on the decline for games, it remains to be seen how those multiple GPU modules are visible to the operating system. In the run up to "Navi," AMD could give its current "Vega" architecture a refresh on a refined 14 nm+ process, to increase clock speeds.

MSI, the world leading motherboard manufacturer, is pleased to announce the availability of a new motherboard: X399 SLI PLUS. Perfect for content creators who are looking for a great performer with plenty of connectivity options, MSI's new X399 SLI PLUS is an optimized workstation motherboard, built for designers. Featuring heavy plated heatsinks, Military Class V components and numerous unique and patented performance enhancing features, this motherboard is the best choice for professionals looking for speed and stability.

Using a full black color scheme, the new X399 SLI PLUS enters the next generation PRO Series design concept by adding Mystic Light RGB to personalize any workstation. Lightning USB 3.1 Gen2 extends data transfer bandwidth options to provide the best USB 3.1 performance. M.2 Shield v2 helps stabilize fast SSD data signals and prevents throttling for the best M.2 SSD performance. STEEL ARMOR slots prevent PCI-E slots from sustaining damage by heavy graphics cards. Each feature on SLI PLUS has been designed and tested to achieve the highest quality standards and are geared for longevity and best performance. More performance-related features on the new X399 SLI PLUS are: DDR4 Boost, Turbo M.2 with RAID support, Audio Boost, X-Boost, Network Manager and many more.

ASUS today rolled out the Republic of Gamers (ROG) Strix Radeon RX 560 DirectCU II EVO graphics card (model: ROG-STRIX-RX560-O4G-EVO-GAMING), a variant of its custom-design RX 560 4 GB DirectCU II graphics card, which relies on the PCI-Express slot entirely for its power, and lacks any additional PCIe power inputs. ASUS seems to have made some pretty big hardware-level trade-offs to achieve slot-only power ability for this card.

The card comes with clock speeds that are below AMD-reference clocks, with 1149 MHz core, with a restrained 1187 MHz boost, and a software-enabled OC mode, which runs the GPU at 1197 MHz, against AMD-reference clocks of 1175 MHz core, 1275 MHz boost. The memory ticks at 6.00 GHz (GDDR5-effective), which is below the 7.00 GHz reference clock. What's even more curious about this card is it features just 896 stream processors, and not the 1,024 that are standard to the RX 560. The card features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory across the chip's 128-bit wide memory interface. The company didn't reveal pricing.

After giving users the chance to have an M4-powered M.2 drive in the form of the PT920 Commando PCIe NVMe SSD, Apacer is looking to allow users to put even more figurative firepower inside their rigs. The new COMMANDO DDR4 memory sticks seemingly take a page from the G36c rifle's looks, which Apacer says "brings a real body blow to your opponents." The design "features a distinctive tactical rail which comes with effective heat dissipation. With COMMANDO DDR4 at your disposal, you will enjoy the exciting game play."

Apart from marketing talk, specs are pretty par of the course for DDR memory, with XMP 2.0 support, as well as AMD and Intel platform support. There are a number of configurations available, scaling in both clockspeeds and memory capacity, which you can check in the below table. Speeds for the Apacer COMMANDO DDR4 top out at 3466 MHz at 1.35 V, with timings of 18-18-18-42.

Reports have surfaced around the Web that some users are finding their recently-purchased AMD Ryzen 5 1600 and 1600X CPUs, which normally would have six cores (and 12 threads, with Simultaneous mutlithreading) actually have eight working cores (and 16 threads) out of the box. Unlike AMD's decade-old Phenom series, in which some dual and triple-core processors could be unlocked to fully functioning quad-cores via a BIOS feature offered on some motherboards, these Ryzen CPUs require no special BIOS setting. The processors still run at the stock advertised clock speeds, and retain the 1600's 576kb of L1 cache. But with the extra cores available, the 1600 series processors are basically on par performance-wise with the corresponding Ryzen 7 1800 series CPUs. This is an incredible value for lucky AMD users, as the 1800X retails for nearly twice the price of the 1600X.

And lucky these users are, as reports so far indicate that most, if not all of the unlocked CPUs come from the same batch of silicon, manufactured between September 4th and September 10th in Malaysia. This may indicate a quality control issue at this specific AMD factory. Alternatively, AMD could be bolstering its stock of Ryzen 5 1600 and 1600X CPUs to meet the higher demand of the mid-range chip, by labeling 1700 and 1700X CPUs as 1600 and 1600X respectively. Whatever the reason, it is definitely a welcome surprise to fortunate AMD users. If you have already purchased a Ryzen 5 1600 or 1600X recently, simply checking CPU-Z or looking at your windows task manager will reveal whether you are one of the recipients of an unlocked chip. If you are looking to buy such a CPU however, perhaps second-hand, a Reddit user known as "Rigred" claims he has deciphered the serial numbers corresponding to this batch of processors, allowing prospective buyers to verify that the chip is actually one of the unlocked few.

Be Quiet!, the market leader in PC power supplies in Germany for eleven consecutive years, introduces new Silent Loop All-in-One water cooler mounting kits designed for AMD's high-end TR4 desktop socket and Ryzen Threadripper processors.

With radiator sizes including 120 mm, 240 mm, 280 mm and 360 mm, be quiet!'s Silent Loop offers a premium choice for high-end system builders focusing on whisper-quiet systems and power-users who want to squeeze every bit of performance out of their overclocked CPU. All metal parts from Silent Loop's cooling block to radiator and fittings are made out of copper, guaranteeing durability and preventing electrochemical corrosion when exposed to liquids. Furthermore the cooling block's large, square cooling area is a great fit for Ryzen Threadripper.

Intel's 8th generation Core "Coffee Lake" 6-core processors aim to restore the company's competitiveness in the mainstream-desktop (MSDT) platform, which eroded to AMD's unexpectedly successful Ryzen. The chips will hit the stores a little later this month, at price-points very close to the outgoing 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" processors; although a report by SweClockers predicts that the chips will be scarcely available until early-2018.

Intel is launching "Coffee Lake" desktop processor family with a rather trimmed down lineup of six SKUs, two each under the Core i7, Core i5, and Core i3 brands, with the former two being 6-core, and the Core i3 being quad-core, marking an increase in core-counts across the board. While these chips will very much be available on launch-date in the retail channel, there could be an inventory shortage running all the way till Q1-2018.

AMD today announced the AMD Embedded Radeon E9170 Series graphics processing unit (GPU). The new processor is the first "Polaris" architecture-based AMD Embedded discrete GPU available in multi-chip module (MCM) format with integrated memory for smaller, power-efficient custom designs, as well as PCI Express and MXM formats for standard form factor systems. The E9170 Series GPU is ideal for devices that require premium graphics and expanded display capabilities while meeting exacting power and thermal efficiency demands. AMD is extending its core graphics technology, delivering crystal clear resolution and a stunning and seamless 4K experience across multiple displays to a growing number of markets, including digital casino games, thin clients, medical displays, retail and digital signage, and industrial systems.

The AMD Embedded Radeon E9173 GPU, based on the "Polaris" architecture, leverages an optimized 14nm FinFET manufacturing process to provide up to 3X the performance-per-watt over previous generations of AMD Embedded GPUsi. By offering sub-40W TDP in a small package, AMD enables a broader range of products, adding a new level of scalability to the AMD Radeon Power-Efficient Embedded GPU portfolio. With support for up to five simultaneous 4K displaysii, the E9170 Series GPU virtually eliminates the need for additional processors and duplicate hardware to create an immersive multimedia environment. Additionally, the option to select from MCM, MXM and PCI Express modules increases design flexibility while minimizing complexity.

AMD has delivered on its teased promise, and today introduced a software-driven NVMe RAID driver that enables users to, you guessed it, create bootable NVMe arrays on their X399, Threadripper platform. The new solution demands that users download the appropriate drivers from AMD (follow the source links), and that you backup and dismantle your puny SATA RAID - note that you won't be able to use dual SATA and NVMe RAID on your platform. Any X399 motherboard will support this, there are no restrictions on the models of the NVMe drives, but your OS will have to be Windows 10 (build 1703).

The installation can be done via BIOS (which depends on manufacturer's BIOS releases and QA schedules - or via software with AMD's own RAIDXpert2 software. You can also opt for either of three RAID modes: RAID0 (striping), RAID1 (mirroring), and RAID10 (striping with mirroring). RAID10, by design, requires four or six NVMe devices. AMD is quoting scaling values that are close to 100% for RAID read scaling, and somewhere around 90% write scaling with up to 6 NVMe drives (1-6x Samsung 960 Pro NVMe SSD with 512 GB each). That amounts to almost 21.2 GB/s read, and 11.53 GB/s writes for a 6x NVMe SSD RAID. If you want the ultimate storage system performance for us mortal consumers, now you know where you can get it.

MSI's next outing for the X399 platform seems to be the X399 SLI Plus. A downgrade from the company's X399 Gaming Pro Carbon, the X399 SLI Plus keeps all of the required features, and does away with some of the unneeded extras that are ever more creeping towards motherboards.

Specifically, the SLI Plus does away with the metallic RAM reinforcements and lowers the number of reinforced PCIe x16 slots to just two - by a wide margin, the most common configuration for the dwindling SLI or CrossFire crowds. It also sheds one extra PCIe x16 port - the Gaming Pro Carbon features 5 such ports, but the SLI Plus makes do with "only" 4, adding an extra PCIe x1 to the mix. It still features the same 3x M.2 ports, although MSI's M.2 Shield only makes its appearance on one of them, again, contrary to the Gaming Pro Carbon, which uses MSI's M.2 Shield in all three of them. All in all, it seems MSI's X399 SLI Plus motherboard does away with the extra frills, making clever cuts while keeping most of the functionality. Expect this motherboard to come in at a lower price bracket than the Gaming Pro Carbon.

GIGABYTE formally launched its flagship socket TR4 motherboard for AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors, the X399 Designare EX. Positioned slightly above the company's current (and only) offering for this platform, the Aorus X399 Gaming 7, the new Designare EX is based on the same PCB, and a nearly-identical feature-set, except for cosmetic changes, such as its silver-metallic color-scheme dominating the VRM and chipset heatsinks, the M.2 SSD heatspreaders, the I/O shroud and integrated shield, and a back-plate covering most of the reverse side.

Built in the ATX form-factor, the X399 Designare EX draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, and 4-pin ATX, conditioning it for the CPU using an 8-phase VRM with "server-grade" chokes, and a VRM heatsink that offloads its heat onto a second heatsink via a heat-pipe. Expansion slots include five PCI-Express 3.0 x16, all of which are wired to the CPU. Storage connectivity includes three 32 Gb/s M.2 slots, and eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports, from which four are directly wired to the CPU.

Remember previous reports that Gigabyte wouldn't be launching a custom version for AMD's RX Vega graphics cards? Always remember that facts can change, and what is true today could see itself being rendered a myth by lunchtime tomorrow. Case in point: previous reports pegged Gigabyte as skipping custom versions of AMD's RX Vega GPUs, due to both availability and manufacturing issues. However, as Videocardz reports (with pictures!), that may no longer be the case.

Apparently, Gigabyte has received a new batch of AMD RX Vega GPUs just in time for the mid-October expected release window of RX Vega custom cards, and are already at work on a Gaming OC custom version of the graphics card with a dual fan configuration (likely a revised WindForce 2X cooler). The card is expected to feature an output configuration of 3x HDMI + 3x DisplayPort, and in Videocardz image comparison, occupies slightly more space in our usual three dimensions than the AMD reference design (as expected).

NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce GTX 1070 Ti performance-segment graphics card, which could be launched toward the end of this month, with market-availability following in early-November; could feature 9 Gbps GDDR5 memory, and not the previously-thought 8 Gbps GDDR5. This "almost-GTX 1080" answer of NVIDIA to AMD's RX Vega 56 features 2,432 CUDA cores, 152 TMUs, 64 ROPs, and a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, holding 8 GB of memory. It will be available at a price-point competitive with AMD's RX Vega series, and could come in custom-designs by NVIDIA's add-in card partners.

The GTX 1070 Ti will be NVIDIA's second SKU to max-out the GDDR5 clock band. The company had, in late-2016, refreshed the mid-range GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB to feature 9 Gbps memory in an effort to compensate for its narrower 192-bit wide memory interface, improving its competitiveness against the Radeon RX 480 8 GB. The company had also, at the time, refreshed the GTX 1080 with faster 11 Gbps GDDR5X memory, which means the GTX 1080 cards with the SKU's original 10 Gbps GDDR5X memory clock could be phased out of the market. NVIDIA will ride into the crucial Holiday 2017 season with its existing GeForce "Pascal" family, bolstered by the new GTX 1070 Ti.

In an interesting turn of events, AMD's latest flagship videocard, RX Vega 64, has seen a gaming performance analysis from fellow publication computerbase.de, which brought about some interesting - and somewhat inspiring findings. In their test system, which was comprised of a 4.3 GHz Intel Core i7-6850K (6 cores), paired with 16 GB of DDR4-3000 memory in quad-channel mode, and Crimson Relive 17.9.3 / GeForce 385.69 drivers, the publication found that the Vega 64 was outperforming the GTX 1080 Ti by upwards of 23%, and that percentage increases to 32% when compared to NVIDIA's GTX 1080. The test wasn't based on the in-game benchmark, so as to avoid specifically-optimized scenarios.

AMD just released their latest Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.9.3 drivers to the public. The new drivers include support for new titles like Total War: WARHAMMER II and Forza Motorsport 7, while also bringing several bug fixes for Radeon RX Vega and RX 580 graphics cards. There are also several known issues for Radeon WattMan, games profiles, Overwatch, GPU scaling, and many more. Grab the drivers from the download link below, and read on for the full change log.DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Crimson ReLive Edition 17.9.3 Drivers

When AMD launched its Ryzen Threadripper HEDT platform, they forgot one crucial feature - NVMe RAID support. They realized their fault and promised a BIOS and driver update on September 25 that would allow users to boot from a NVMe RAID. Der8auer, overclocker extraordinaire, got first dibs on the BIOS update and uploaded a Youtube video to show us the performance numbers from a RAID array of eight NVMe SSDs. Unfortunately, he took down the video, but not before HardOCP could grab some screenshots of his feat.

As we can see from the screenshots, Der8auer created his RAID array on an ASUS X399 motherboard. Since the UEFI interface has ROG markings all over it, he probably used a ROG Zenith Extreme. With the help of two ASUS Hyper M.2 X16 cards, Der8auer was able to install his eight Samsung 960 PRO/EVO SSDs. Although we cannot distinguish the model clearly, the performance is simply spectacular. IOmeter measured a transfer speed of 28375.84 MB/s.

In what might be shocking news to AMD fans, GIGABYTE has stated that there are no current plans to make a custom Radeon RX Vega 64. This might change in the future. But for now, early Vega 64 adopters have no choice but to settle for the reference design or or custom design cards coming out from other vendors. There is still a light hope for the Vega 56 though, since GIGABYTE didn't discard the possibility of releasing a RX Vega 56 Gaming G1. However, the actual number of units is still unclear considering that GIGABYTE is unable to start production immediately due to various technical difficulties surrounding Vega.

Due to the inconsistency in quality of chips that AMD are providing, AIB partners are having a difficult time establishing a standard GPU frequency for their factory-overclocked cards. Furthermore, temperature reporting is broken. The actual GPU temperature is different from the temperature reported by the GPU which can become a big problem for stability in the long run. And to top it all off, there are three different Vega 10 GPU packages floating around. The molded package consists of the GPU and HBM dies sharing the same height, while there's a 40 μm height difference between them in the unmolded package. Although it seems insignificant, this small difference prevents manufacturers from standardizing a single heatsink design to accommodate all three GPU packages.

A recent AMD roadmap leak showed the company's "tick", process-improved plans for 2018's Zen+, as well as its painter-imbued aspirations with Zen 2 in 2019. Now, there's some new info posted by DigiTimes that's being sourced straight from motherboard makers that points to the company's Pinnacle Ridge launch being set sometime in February 2018.

This information seems to have been delivered to the motherboard makers straight from AMD itself, as a heads-up for when they should be expecting to ramp up production of next-generation chipsets. Sources report that AMD will follow their Summit Ridge, Ryzen launch, with the initial release of Pinnacle 7 in February, followed by the mid-range Pinnacle 5 and entry-level Pinnacle 3 processors in March 2018. DigiTimes also reports that AMD is expecting to see its share of the desktop CPU market return to at least 30% in the first half of 2018 which, coeteris paribus, is more of a simple mathematical progression than clarvoyance.

AMD's Zen-based Ryzen and Threadripper have been said by the company as representing the "worst case scenario" of performance for their architecture. This is based on the fact that there are clear areas for improvement that AMD's engineers were keenly aware of even at the moment of Zen's tapping-out; inadvertently, some features or improvements were left on the chopping block due to time and budget constraints. As unfortunate as this is - who wouldn't love to have even more performance on their AMD processors - this also means AMD has a clear starting point in terms of improving performance of their Zen micro-architecture.

Spanish website Informatica Cero have gotten their hands on what they say is an exclusive, real piece of information from inside AMD, which shows the company's CPU roadmap until 2019, bringing some new details with it. On the desktop side, there's mention of AMD's "Pinacle Ridge" as succeeding the current Zen-based "Summit Ridge" Ryzen CPUs in 2018. These leverage the same Summit Ridge architecture, but with a performance uplift; this plays well into those reports of 12 nm being used to manufacture the second-generation Ryzen: it's an AMD tick, so to say. As such, the performance uplift likely comes from increased frequencies at the same power envelope, due to 12 nm's denser manufacturing design.

An AMD representative recently answered PC World's query regarding the absence of "CrossFire" branding on their latest Radeon Software release, which introduced multi-GPU support for AMD's Vega line of graphics cards. According to the AMD representative, it goes down to a technicality, in that "CrossFire isn't mentioned because it technically refers to DX11 applications. In DirectX 12, we reference multi-GPU as applications must support mGPU, whereas AMD has to create the profiles for DX11. We've accordingly moved away from using the CrossFire tag for multi-GPU gaming."

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, announces a new lineup of Trident Z RGB DDR4 memory kits with enhanced compatibility on the latest AMD platforms. Specifically designed for AMD Ryzen and Ryzen Threadripper platforms, now there are vibrant options up to the popular DDR4-3200MHz CL14 or the massive 128GB (8x16GB) kits at up to 2933MHz. For a full range of memory kit capacity options, the new Trident Z RGB memory kit models are available at DDR4-2400MHz in 2-, 4-, and 8-module kit configurations with 8GB and 16GB modules, which allows for 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB memory kits for your AMD system.

AMD currently has two platform offerings, where Ryzen supports dual-channel with 2 or 4 memory modules and Threadripper supports quad-channel memory with 4 or 8 memory modules. To give a boost in memory performance to AMD number-crunching workstations and high-end graphic rendering systems, G.SKILL offers several selections for each AMD platform, including memory speeds of up to DDR4-2933MHz or ultra-high capacity at 128GB (8x16GB).

Yes, this is the third post today about AMD introducing multi GPU support for RX Vega with their Crimson ReLive 17.9.2 beta drivers but it had to be made. First up, the caveats- we were only able to test the driver on a CrossFire setup involving one RX Vega 64 and one RX Vega 56 GPU so results with two of the same may differ. Secondly, these are beta drivers so there is a level of lenience here I am willing to afford to AMD. That said, the driver which came with its own announcement and internal results had to show something good and this means showing good scaling across multiple games.

The driver allows CrossFire to be enabled with a mix of the two Vega 10 SKUs, and we set about testing a few games from our GPU benchmark suite using the same testing methodology as always. Tests were done at 4K to minimize a CPU bottleneck of any kind, and the games tested include some of the most popular games today including some that AMD themselves used in the announcement. However, after a few hours of testing, we can simply not recommend using the driver for CrossFire- at least for a mixed setup as we did. More on this after the break.