BIOS Overview

Note: 1.07 BIOS is used for this review

Initial impressions of the first BIOS released (1.04) for media was underwhelming, with missing features and lots of quirky things as well. After using the 1.07 BIOS that was sent over just under 24 hours ago from writing this portion, some of the major issues have been ironed out, but it still does not feel complete. Therefore, there isn't much point in going into detail about what this BIOS is missing because it will change shortly (again). Early adopters of any new platform should be aware that it takes time to iron out all the problems and provide a fully stable featureset.

However, those thinking of buying this motherboard now, will be unhappy with the state the BIOS is in. For the novice users, currently missing is the "EZ Mode" page, meaning you must dig into the BIOS to enable EXPO/XMP. Memory support is all over the place, and if you plan on going over DDR5-6000, or using dual-rank memory, be prepared to spend a lot of time waiting for the motherboard to post. Every time you clear the CMOS or change any timings, it starts the long cycle again.

Something worth noting is that AMD lists the CPU Tj.Max as 95°C. During the overclocking portion, 109°C was recorded in HWInfo. This makes overclocking dangerous if you are not paying attention to the temperatures. It seems this motherboard does not have a thermal limiter in place, yet. This ASROCK BIOS does feature Precision Boost Overdrive or PBO. This sub-menu is used for setting everything related to overclocking and optimizing the CPU, based on algorithms and power targets. Even so, it isn't fully functional yet. Until the next BIOS revision is released, it is highly recommended to download AMD Ryzen Master software for setting general overclocks and PBO related settings instead of trying to set everything up in the BIOS.

Advanced / Main

OC Tweaker

Advanced

Others

AMD PBO Menu