Bulldozer and Piledriver-based AMD processors are receiving firmware updates in 2025. They are being done by third-party open source firmware developers.
Specifically, these updates are provided by an independent software project called 15h.org, which supports some server and desktop motherboards.
Mike Rothfuss, one of the developers, wrote to Phoronix about several important updates the project has already published. Among them, bug fixes and performance improvements such as error-free RAM initialization, increased memory support to 512 GB.
With the project, the platform now consistently boots within 15 seconds on systems with 256 GB of RAM. Also added error-free IOMMU support, full support for AMD speculative execution patches, support for up to four PCIe devices. And much more.
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As UEFI
The project develops firmware updates for these processors because they represent the latest generation of high-performance x86 CPUs that are not limited by newer UEFI security features such as firmware signing.
In other words, these chips are among the latest CPUs that can be leveraged to build a completely open source system, from the operating system to the firmware level.
Phoronix reports that 15h.org uses AMD’s existing open-source firmware code to implement these updates. Back when Bulldozer was new, AMD would have promoted Coreboot and made its AGESA code available as open source.
Use in multithreading
Bulldozer and Piledriver became known for their poor single-core performance and gained a reputation for being among AMD’s worst CPU designs. Despite this, both architectures still offered competitive multi-core performance for the time, making them ideal for multithreading-intensive applications.
O 15h.org officially supports several server and desktop motherboards that use FX or Operon Bulldozer/Piledriver processors. This includes the Asus KGPE-D16, SuperMicro H8SCM, and SuperMicro H8SGL boards.
There is also beta support for the Asus F2A85-M, 2A85-M Pro, F2A85-M Le, SuperMicro H8DGi, H8DG6, H8QGi+-F, and H8QG6+-F motherboards.
Bulldozer and Piledriver processors may not be the fastest on the market, even by 2011-2015 standards. Although, are the fastest chips capable of running fully open source firmware from the ground up.
And that’s certainly appealing to Linux enthusiasts who want to build their own desktops and servers from scratch while retaining full control over the system’s BIOS. And interest in Linux has increased, especially after the end of support for Windows 10.
A recent report even revealed that around 90% of Windows games already run on Linux. Which means that many of the barriers that users put in place to migrate to free software are gradually being broken down.
Fonte: Phoronix.
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Source: https://www.adrenaline.com.br/amd/plataformas-bulldozer-e-piledriver-recebem-novo-folego-com-atualizacoes-independentes-do-firmware-open-source-em-2025/
