After criticism, AMD promises to improve Ryzen 9000 performance on Windows 11

A AMD openly acknowledged that the new Ryzen 9000 processors did not meet expectations in terms of performance, especially when it comes to running games.

The company clarified this issue by stating that, as observed in internal tests, only an average increase of 9% in the performance of the Ryzen 9000 compared to the Ryzen 7000 processors was found, with the benchmarks being carried out in gaming conditions running at 1080p resolution.

AMD tests revealed results that surpass reality

In a series of tests conducted by AMD, covering more than 30 popular and high-demand game titles, Ryzen 9000 series processors demonstrated superior performance compared to competitors.

The results revealed that these chips managed to outperform the “best competition”, which is most likely referring to processors Intel 14th Gen Core. This overtake, however, was by a narrow margin; the Ryzen 9000 had an average advantage of 6% over its rivals.

Faced with the skepticism and criticism that inevitably arise in such a competitive industry, AMD did not hesitate to highlight several important factors that, according to them, contributed to the test results showing superior performance.

Reasons for test results

AMD’s portfolio of games spans a broad and diverse range of categories. This includes competitive esports games, known for their high frame rate requirements for smooth performance, as well as AAA-caliber games, which are widely recognized for their advanced graphics and intensive processing demands.

Additionally, AMD also includes older titles that remain popular in its tests. Since each type of game can place different loads on system components, the specific game selection has a significant impact and can actually change the conclusions drawn about the performance of the graphics processing units (GPUs) or other components being tested.

In Intel’s testing, AMD used equivalent DDR5-6000 memory and Intel’s default settings, which may have a minor impact on gaming performance.

AMD also performed testing with Windows Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) enabled, as recommended by Microsoft for security, although this may reduce gaming performance.

The Zen 5 architecture has improved branch prediction capability compared to previous generations. AMD’s automated tests were run in “Admin” mode, reflecting code optimizations not present in the versions of Windows used by Ryzen 9000 testers.

Update to Windows 11

AMD is preparing to release an update for Windows 11. Specifically, the company is targeting the preview version known as 24H2, which will be made available through the Windows Insider Program. This update promises to bring optimizations to Ryzen 9000 processors, particularly in the gaming field.

It’s important to note that while the benefits of this update will be substantial for the Ryzen 9000 lineup, the Ryzen 7000 and 5000 processors will also receive improvements. However, it’s clear that the next-generation Zen 5 processors will reap the biggest benefits from these improvements.

Performance expectations are high. AMD anticipates that with the update, we could see a performance boost of up to 13% when playing Far Cry 6. Similarly, a 7% gain is expected when immersed in the futuristic universe of Cyberpunk 2077.

AMD is keen to point out that performance concerns are strictly tied to the gaming context. Other areas, such as productivity tasks and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-related operations, are not negatively impacted by these performance issues.

Source: AMD