AMD Announces Windows 11 Update to Boost Performance for Zen 5 CPUs
AMD has revealed that Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 11 version 24H2 update will significantly enhance the performance of its newly launched Zen 5 CPUs, particularly the Ryzen 9000 series. This update, expected to be released next month, comes after the Ryzen 9000 series failed to meet performance expectations in initial reviews, prompting speculation about a potential Windows bug.
The update will optimize AMD-specific branch prediction code, which should address the performance issues seen in the Ryzen 9000 series. According to AMD, the most significant boost will be seen in the Zen 5 CPUs, with the company predicting a 13 percent performance improvement for its flagship Ryzen 9 9950X CPU in Far Cry 6 when running on Windows 11 version 24H2, compared to the current 23H2 version. A 7 percent performance increase is also expected in Cyberpunk 2077. These are notable gains for a single Windows update, especially given the initial criticism the Ryzen 9950X faced.
In initial reviews, including those by Hardware Unboxed, the Ryzen 9 9950X was found to be only 1 percent faster than its predecessor, the Ryzen 9 7950X, across a 13-game average at 1080p with an RTX 4090. In productivity tasks, the performance gap was just 3 percent. These marginal improvements led some reviewers to question the value of AMD’s latest flagship CPU.
However, AMD insists that the Ryzen 9000 series “delivers leadership performance across content creation, productivity, and AI applications,” and believes the upcoming Windows 11 update will further solidify this claim. In addition to the performance gains for Zen 5, AMD has also indicated that the update will benefit older Zen 4 and Zen 3 CPUs, though the extent of these improvements has not been detailed.
The collaboration between AMD and Microsoft to roll out this optional update is seen as a critical move to address the early performance concerns of the Ryzen 9000 series. With the 24H2 update on the horizon, the tech community is now eagerly awaiting new benchmark tests to verify whether AMD’s predictions hold.
