[UPDATE #1] AMD readies AGESA microcode update to improve Ryzen DDR4 memory compatibility (finally!)

[Morgan MLGman]

So people considering buying Ryzen CPUs, rejoice!

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AMD will be pushing out a new microcode update for its Ryzen CPU architecture, something that will provide support for 20+ new RAM kits in the wild.

Until now, the recommendation for DDR4 RAM with Ryzen processors were on Samsung's 'B die' memory chips, something that G.Skill and GeIL make. AMD's Technical Marketing Lead, Robert Hallock, confirmed that B die chips from Samsung were the best for out-of-the-box compatibility with Ryzen processors, and allowed for the highest overclocking results as well.

 

It looks like the info was leaked by Gigabyte's rep:

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A representative for Gigabyte has been relaying information back and forth between forum members at Overclockers UK and Gigabyte. In one of his most recent posts, he indicated that Gigabyte's team is hard at work on a beta

BIOS update that will address several issues. They include the following:

• For those looking for IOMMU fixes we are hopefully going to have an option to force boot off a specific PCIe slot. It's not the grouping fix, but a work around for now.
• Disable LAN (per request)
• Disable Audio (per request)
• "ROM Image update" (Being worked on with AMI, no ETA)
• Cold boot / Won't boot. Have to re-flash BIOS. (people have referred to this as "soft brick")
• AGESA 1006 - improve memory (Got high hopes for this one. Going to enable 20+ memory register

For comparison, here are fixes & improvements from their previous Ryzen AGESA code update:

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AMD outlined those fixes and improvements in a blog post in which it noted the following changes::

    We have reduced DRAM latency by approximately 6ns. This can result in higher performance for latency-sensitive applications.
    We resolved a condition where an unusual FMA3 code sequence could cause a system hang.
    We resolved the “overclock sleep bug” where an incorrect CPU frequency could be reported after resuming from S3 sleep.
    AMD Ryzen Master no longer requires the High-Precision Event Timer (HPET).

 

So pretty much TL;DR:

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AMD is giving final touches to the latest update of AGESA micro-code of its Ryzen processors, which will improve DDR4 memory support, enabling higher memory clocks and tighter timings. The new AGESA 1.0.0.6 micro-code will be deployed through motherboard vendors as motherboard BIOS updates. It will add over 20 new registers for the "Summit Ridge" integrated memory controllers, to improve compatibility with "Intel-friendly" DDR4 memory brands.

 

In my opinion it's great that the update came, but it should have been here since Ryzen R7-lineup launched. It's good though that most of the RAM kits out there should be working properly after the microcode update, even the "Intel-friendly" ones.

Sources:

http://www.tweaktown.com/news/57410/amd-ryzen-microcode-update-improved-ddr4-support/index.html

https://www.techpowerup.com/233106/amd-readies-ryzen-agesa-update-to-improve-ddr4-memory-support

http://hothardware.com/news/incoming-amd-ryzen-update-expands-ddr4-memory-support

I will update the post when AMD releases their official community update with the news and release notes, here's a link to the previous one that was released almost exactly one month ago:

https://community.amd.com/community/gaming/blog/2017/04/06/amd-ryzen-community-update-3

 

 

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###[UPDATE 19.05.2017]###

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/antonyleather/2017/05/18/an-interview-with-amd-the-latest-on-ryzen-memory-support-game-performance-and-ryzen-3s-launch/#695a3e555ff4

 

The update is coming "in late May" according to Robert Hallock - AMD's head of global technical marketing:

 

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There is one thing coming down the pipeline – enthusiasts may be aware of the AGESA BIOS updates we’ve mentioned in the Ryzen community updates. There’s another one coming in late May that will focus on the robustness and compatibility of overclocked memory. Being overclocked, it’s easy to forget that you’re not guaranteed anything, but there are some knobs and buttons we can tweak to improve things here. There will be more information on this at the end of the May.

 

More interesting info from James Prior (product manager for Ryzen):

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I think it’s important to point out that Ryzen is not limited to memory kits with Samsung’s B-die. We’ve got Hynix-based memory kits running at 3,200MHz today in the channel – there are plenty of people doing that. It is true that the B-die offers the best compatibility with our memory controller, especially at higher speeds, but that’s not the only die that works.

This is more down to memory vendors and how they set their timings and different aspects of what they call SPD – this impacts on compatibility. This is all part of reverse-engineering a non-standard protocol. JEDEC is very easy to work with and that all works beautifully with Ryzen. When we look at the auto overclocking profiles, that’s where things get a little bit harder as it’s all tuned for a proprietary standard we don’t have full visibility into.

Depending on the manufacturers of the memory and how they decide to program the memory cells themselves, it can change the compatibility with Ryzen. There are some things we can do here but there are things memory vendors can do as well and this is what we’re doing right now. We’re increasing plug and play compatibility but also going to memory vendors and asking what drove a decision here with this module at these timings and seeing if there are ways we can increase compatibility without impacting on any other products in the market.

 

[i_build_nanosuits]

6 more months and Ryzen will finally be consumer ready and i'll be able to order one

 

[Bananasplit_00]

you messed up and put almost the entire thing is a quote and also we knew this was right around the corner anyway

[Morgan MLGman]

2 minutes ago, i_build_nanosuits said:

6 more months and vega will finally be consumer ready and i'll be able to order one

I'd say that they took so long to release it that it should be AT LEAST ready at launch... But looking how long they took to develop Ryzen... Well, nothing we can do, it's either Intel literally taking advantage of us or we can buy unfinished products from AMD...

2 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

you messed up and put almost the entire thing is a quote and also we knew this was right around the corner anyway

Yeah, sorry. I fixed it, the quotes are annoying AF. This post is directed mainly to people who considered buying Ryzen and waited for the RAM compatibility update, as well for those who eagerly wait to push their kits to their advertised speeds (that they paid for) instead of running them without XMP.

[Guest Darth Revan]

So by 2019 this product won't be in beta stages anymore.

Sweet.

[Ordinarily_Greater]

11 minutes ago, i_build_nanosuits said:

6 more months and vega will finally be consumer ready and i'll be able to order one

 

Yeah, like the slowest VEGA is GTX 1070 equivalent

[stealth80]

Jesus do you not remember the issues of x58 and x99? It's brand new architecture and is normally the same. Remember it isn't a tick tick of existing tech like the i5/i7 have been since sandybridge 

[Morgan MLGman]

14 minutes ago, stealth80 said:

Jesus do you not remember the issues of x58 and x99? It's brand new architecture and is normally the same. Remember it isn't a tick tick of existing tech like the i5/i7 have been since sandybridge 

Well, yeah. It goes both sides though, when did R7 lineup launch? 3/2/2017? I mean, for AMD to say that "Samsung's 'B die' memory chips, something that G.Skill and GeIL make" are the only confirmed and recommended memory kits for that long is a bit too much IMO. They should have fixed that earlier...

 

Let's hope the update comes soon and more people can enjoy performance benefits of Ryzen when paired with high-speed RAM

[matrix07012]

I knew waiting would pay off. Now I would love to see some tests.

[stealth80]

11 minutes ago, Morgan MLGman said:

Well, yeah. It goes both sides though, when did R7 lineup launch? 3/2/2017? I mean, for AMD to say that "Samsung's 'B die' memory chips, something that G.Skill and GeIL make" are the only confirmed and recommended memory kits for that long is a bit too much IMO. They should have fixed that earlier...

 

Let's hope the update comes soon and more people can enjoy performance benefits of Ryzen when paired with high-speed RAM

Again it is nothing new, but only because a new platform has launched. Remember all ram works just not at the rated speeds I have non Samsung b die running 293hz right now. 

 

I remember when sticks didn't work full stop if not on the qvl for both Intel and amd 

[Trixanity]

Although no confirmation on it, I did hear rumors that the IMC wasn't designed in-house so that's why they've been scrambling to optimize for it. Of course, no way to find out unless a reliable source confirms it.

 

I'm not sure how much this update will do. It might be a disappointment especially if people expect to run like 4000 MHz RAM.

[Morgan MLGman]

Just now, Trixanity said:

I'm not sure how much this update will do. It might be a disappointment especially if people expect to run like 4000 MHz RAM.

Beyond 3200MHz the performance benefits are not worth the price difference. As long as most kits up to 3200MHz work, that'd be sufficient in my opinion.

[Valentyn]

1 hour ago, Darth Revan said:

So by 2019 this product won't be in beta stages anymore.

Sweet.

Much like the x99 platform,

[Trixanity]

Just now, Morgan MLGman said:

Beyond 3200MHz the performance benefits are not worth the price difference. As long as most kits up to 3200MHz work, that'd be sufficient in my opinion.

That's true but was also thinking of overclocking. Have been hearing a lot of people wanting to overclock but can't.

[captain cactus]

Makes me happy when I get around building my rig with Ryzen early July.

 

Now lets hope DDR4 pricing doesn't skyrocket even further than it already has.

[Simon771]

That was announced few days ago and also others posted it here.

But yeah, it's a good thing, they keep optimising it and trying to deliver better performance and optimisation.

[sof006]

Yay progress. Can't wait to see Ryzen at its full potential.

[JoeCoke]

3 hours ago, Darth Revan said:

So by 2019 this product won't be in beta stages anymore.

Sweet.

 

4 hours ago, i_build_nanosuits said:

6 more months and Ryzen will finally be consumer ready and i'll be able to order one

 

People just love to forget x99.

 

It's a new architecture built from the group up, not just the same thing with a 5-10% improvement like Intel, or in Kabylake's case, 0% improvement.

[i_build_nanosuits]

21 minutes ago, 2Buck said:

 

People just love to forget x99.

 

It's a new architecture built from the group up, not just the same thing with a 5-10% improvement like Intel, or in Kabylake's case, 0% improvement.

someone is salty

[JoeCoke]

1 minute ago, i_build_nanosuits said:

someone is salty

How exactly? Just pointing out facts... :I

[Vode]

2 hours ago, lots of unexplainable lag said:

Makes me happy when I get around building my rig with Ryzen early July.

 

Now lets hope DDR4 pricing doesn't skyrocket even further than it already has.

You can buy the RAM now. DDR4 is going to be around for a long time anyway.

[i_build_nanosuits]

Just now, 2Buck said:

How exactly? Just pointing out facts... :I

so were we...

[XenosTech]

Ahh about time they got this update ready...

 

2 minutes ago, i_build_nanosuits said:

so were we...

Yeah and at the same time neglecting or conveniently forgetting that intel had the same problem on a platform that costed you your first born just for the cpu's alone let alone the motherboards

 

Then again this is LTT forums... What are objective arguments ?

[i_build_nanosuits]

Just now, XenosTech said:

Yeah and at the same time neglecting or conveniently forgetting that intel had the same problem on a platform that costed you your first born just for the cpu's alone let alone the motherboards

 

Then again this is LTT forums... What are objective arguments ?

...and...another one

 

 

[Misanthrope]

What do you mean finally there's been bios updates for mem compatibility already.