Question Ryzen 2600 with AGESA 1.0.0.3 ABBA BIOS?

[VforV]

Hello.

I've just ordered an upgrade for my PC which looks like this:
CPU: Ryzen 2600 BOX
MB: MSI B450M MORTAR MAX
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR4 3000 CL15
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC AC Freezer 34 eSports DUO White

I plan to OC as much as I can the CPU and the RAM, I've seen some tutorials for both with the MSI MB, but so far searching the net I could not find an answer to my question: should I update the MB's BIOS to the latest AGESA 1.0.0.3 ABBA version?

I know I don't need it for Ryzen 2600, but I've seen on the MSI BIOS page that it brings "Improved memory compatibility" (well, the 2 versions before the last). Link > https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/B450M-MORTAR-MAX#down-bios

If someone knows or has done this BIOS update to AGESA 1.0.0.3 ABBA version on their Ryzen 2000 CPU and is willing to share his knowledge I'd be grateful.

 

[davide445]

Installed on mine 2600X since end of September, no problems so far.
Not on the same mobo anyway.

 

[VforV]

Installed on mine 2600X since end of September, no problems so far.
Not on the same mobo anyway.

I see, that's good to hear. Thanks for the info.

 

[alexruiz]

If your motherboard already shipped with a UEFI containing an AGESA in the ComboPi branch, then yes, flash to the latest ComboPi 1.0.0.3ABBA.

If your board has an older UEFI, still in the PinnaclePi branch, flash ONLY to PinnaclePi 1.0.0.6. PinnaclePi 1.0.0.6 is the best for Ryzen 2000.

 

[VforV]

If your motherboard already shipped with a UEFI containing an AGESA in the ComboPi branch, then yes, flash to the latest ComboPi 1.0.0.3ABBA.

If your board has an older UEFI, still in the PinnaclePi branch, flash ONLY to PinnaclePi 1.0.0.6. PinnaclePi 1.0.0.6 is the best for Ryzen 2000.

It's ComboPi unfortunately and I heard that the new BIOS is worse for memory OC with 2000 series Ryzen than the older BIOS(es)...
Link > https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/B450M-MORTAR-MAX#down-bios

 

[Hans Gruber]

I have an MSI B350 Gaming Pro Carbon running AMD ComboPI1.0.0.3abba bios. The bios looks like a foreign language compared to the previous bios. I have a R3 1200 running just fine right now. Tomorrow the 3600 arrives. I know I am at a disadvantage having a 1st gen Ryzen board. I guess I can get it up to around 3400mhz. It's running 16-16-16 no issues @ 3200mhz right now.

I think you are good to go with the new bios. It's geared towards the Zen 2 CPU's.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Tomorrow the 3600 arrives

Sweet!

 

[VforV]

I have an MSI B350 Gaming Pro Carbon running AMD ComboPI1.0.0.3abba bios. The bios looks like a foreign language compared to the previous bios. I have a R3 1200 running just fine right now. Tomorrow the 3600 arrives. I know I am at a disadvantage having a 1st gen Ryzen board. I guess I can get it up to around 3400mhz. It's running 16-16-16 no issues @ 3200mhz right now.

I think you are good to go with the new bios. It's geared towards the Zen 2 CPU's.

Yeah, the stock BIOS is already tuned for Zen 2, but mine is a Zen+ one (for now).

Anyway, I received the Ryzen 2600 + MB + SSD from one shop yesterday, now I'm waiting for my 2nd delivery next week with the RAM kit, CPU cooler and a new PC case.

I plan on OC-ing with the stock BIOS and see how far I can get and if I'm not satisfied I'll update to ABBA version, but then again maybe I'll wait for the next BIOS update that should come next month, the AGESA COMBO PI 1.0.0.4 for the Ryzen 3950x.

Also I have a question for MSI MB owners: when updating BIOS can I jump straight to the last version?
I've seen on some other MB's manufacturers pages (like ASRock) that they specify in some cases that you need to update to other lesser newer BIOS versions before updating to the newest one.

I'm also considering doing the CPU OC 1st then OC-ing the RAM, I think it's better than the other way around. If I'm wrong someone please enlighten me.

 

[Hans Gruber]

Yeah, the stock BIOS is already tuned for Zen 2, but mine is a Zen+ one (for now).

Anyway, I received the Ryzen 2600 + MB + SSD from one shop yesterday, now I'm waiting for my 2nd delivery next week with the RAM kit, CPU cooler and a new PC case.

I plan on OC-ing with the stock BIOS and see how far I can get and if I'm not satisfied I'll update to ABBA version, but then again maybe I'll wait for the next BIOS update that should come next month, the AGESA COMBO PI 1.0.0.4 for the Ryzen 3950x.

Also I have a question for MSI MB owners: when updating BIOS can I jump straight to the last version?
I've seen on some other MB's manufacturers pages (like ASRock) that they specify in some cases that you need to update to other lesser newer BIOS versions before updating to the newest one.

I'm also considering doing the CPU OC 1st then OC-ing the RAM, I think it's better than the other way around. If I'm wrong someone please enlighten me.

I can answer your question about MSI motherboard bios. Yes you can download the latest bios. You do not have to download each individual bios based on release date. I have heard motherboard manufacturers will have a new bios only for Zen 2 CPU's in the future. If you are on a legacy bios, the current latest bios Oct 2019 is a major change from previous bios releases. You can also go back to a previous bios if you are using a Zen+ or earlier CPU.

I am having some issues with my new memory. Budget DDR4 3000mhz 16-18-18 from Team Group Vulcan Z 16GB kit. I can get it to run 16-18-18 3000mhz but not any higher. I have Team Dark Zero 8GB kit that is B-die ram. That is great stuff compared to this new ram that I have. This is a test system. But I am getting my Ryzen 3600 Friday. My B350 is the top of the line B350 MSI motherboard which cannot compare to the B450 or X470 motherboards.

I am not complaining, just pointing out some issues that I didn't think would exist on the memory side of the MSI bios because of my previous experience with B-die. I will figure it out and report back.

 

[VforV]

I can answer your question about MSI motherboard bios. Yes you can download the latest bios. You do not have to download each individual bios based on release date. I have heard motherboard manufacturers will have a new bios only for Zen 2 CPU's in the future. If you are on a legacy bios, the current latest bios Oct 2019 is a major change from previous bios releases. You can also go back to a previous bios if you are using a Zen+ or earlier CPU.

I am having some issues with my new memory. Budget DDR4 3000mhz 16-18-18 from Team Group Vulcan Z 16GB kit. I can get it to run 16-18-18 3000mhz but not any higher. I have Team Dark Zero 8GB kit that is B-die ram. That is great stuff compared to this new ram that I have. This is a test system. But I am getting my Ryzen 3600 Friday. My B350 is the top of the line B350 MSI motherboard which cannot compare to the B450 or X470 motherboards.

I am not complaining, just pointing out some issues that I didn't think would exist on the memory side of the MSI bios because of my previous experience with B-die. I will figure it out and report back.

Thanks for the info. I'll update with my findings too, once I get everything and start testing.

Also do you know if I'm allowed to post links to other forums here? I've seen people posting links to online stores, but I'm not sure about forums and stuff like that.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Most of the Team Group ram, in my experience, is some flavor of Hynix, and you're lucky to get XMP settings to work "out of the box" with Ryzen rigs. At least, that was my experience. (I had to wait for quite a few BIOS/UEFI revisions on my ASRock AB350M Pro4, to get my Team Vulcan DDR4-3000 (Hynix) RAM to work @ 3000 on XMP settings successfully. Finally, around AGESA PinnaclePI-1.0.0.6 they started working great. IMHO, that's the best AGESA to stay on if you have an older board, and a Zen1/Zen+ CPU, unless your board is newer and already shipped from the factory with ComboPI.)

 

[Hans Gruber]

The Ryzen 3600 is up and running @ 4200mhz. The bios had the xmp profile for 3200mhz 16-18-18 ready to go. Booted right up no issues. 56-58C for load temps with 240mm AIO

 

[VforV]

The Ryzen 3600 is up and running @ 4200mhz. The bios had the xmp profile for 3200mhz 16-18-18 ready to go. Booted right up no issues. 56-58C for load temps with 240mm AIO

Nice. How's the stock vs OC difference? 4200MHz is stock boost or OC on all cores?

 

[Hans Gruber]

Nice. How's the stock vs OC difference? 4200MHz is stock boost or OC on all cores?

It runs @ 4200mhz 24x7. On user benchmark my 3600 scored in the 99% of Ryzen 3600 CPU's. I know some are not fans of user benchmark but I was looking for an apples to apples comparison of 3600 CPU's. Remember, I have a B350 1st gen motherboard. It's the top of the line MSI B350 motherboard. As I said in a previous post. Whatever ram you use, it just works. Now I have my Team Vulcan Z ram @ 3200mhz 16-18-18. Reviews said the 3000mhz kit was identical to the 3200mhz version of the same kit. MSI really dialed in the ram many bios' version back. I think the limit for the B350/X370 is around 3400mhz for running ram on these 1st generation zen boards.

With this bios, the XMP profiles are dependent upon the Ryzen processor you are using. My test system (this PC) had a R3 1200 for around 2 years. From day 1 it had 240mm AIO watercooling. This current latest MSI bios only had two XMP profiles for the R3 1200, all were below 3000mhz but I could manually dial in 3000mhz with 16-18-18 settings. It didn't always run correctly.

As I said in my previous post. The 7B00v1JO(Beta version) is geared towards Ryzen 3000 CPU's. If someone is running 1st generation Ryzen I would suggest using an earlier bios. It works but the older bios worked better. For the Ryzen 3600, the latest bios is excellent. The XMP profile showed the 3000mhz 16-18-18 settings and changing the DRAM to 3200mhz was all that I needed to do.

It's pretty amazing that I can run BF5 1080p ultra everything low 70's-mid 90's with a GTX 970 using the 3600. No frame drops, just smooth game play. I can run streams and other web pages on my other monitor while gaming and there is no difference in FPS.

I am in early testing and really have not done any tweaks to the bios. I have Ryzen Master but only as a monitoring tool right now. During BF5 the temps on all cores seem the same. Usually between 55-58C. For reasons I do not understand the temps could briefly creep into the low to mid 60's. My Max peak temp was 67C according to CoreTemp app.

Last month I got a Dell 24" 144hz gaming monitor. My other screen is a 43" TCL 4k. I got an articulating mount that I drilled into my desk. It is pretty slick.

I am very impressed that my B350 can put up good numbers considering it's a 1st gen board. I have no doubt that it will be able to run 4.3ghz all cores once I figure things out a bit more.

 

[VirtualLarry]

4200Mhz all-core? On a 3600? Wowzers!

I couldn't even sustain 4.1Ghz all-core, or even really quite 4.0Ghz all-core (would occasionally crash).

I was running 1.35V and 1.3625V at various times.

What voltage are you running? I was also under 240mm AIO WC, but I question my thermal transfers between the CPU die and the heatplate/pump. Seems like it shot up to 95C in no time.

Try running PrimeGrid (BOINC), PPS LLR (AVX2 workload) on all or nearly-all threads. See what happens to your overclock then. I have a feeling, that it won't be pretty.

Then again, my 3600 came from pretty-much the first batch shipped out to retailers, I think. Or possibly the second. I bought it the first or second night that Newegg had them available. So they may have improved the silicon by the time you got yours. (Maybe I should RMA mine? Nah..)

Yeah, mine won't do 4000Mhz @ 1.300V, nor 4200Mhz @ 1.400V. BSOD.

Try PrimeGrid, I think a BSOD is in your future. My suggestion is, don't all-core OC, let it handle it's own OC'ing.

 

[Hans Gruber]

4200Mhz all-core? On a 3600? Wowzers!

I couldn't even sustain 4.1Ghz all-core, or even really quite 4.0Ghz all-core (would occasionally crash).

I was running 1.35V and 1.3625V at various times.

What voltage are you running? I was also under 240mm AIO WC, but I question my thermal transfers between the CPU die and the heatplate/pump. Seems like it shot up to 95C in no time.

Try running PrimeGrid (BOINC), PPS LLR (AVX2 workload) on all or nearly-all threads. See what happens to your overclock then. I have a feeling, that it won't be pretty.

Then again, my 3600 came from pretty-much the first batch shipped out to retailers, I think. Or possibly the second. I bought it the first or second night that Newegg had them available. So they may have improved the silicon by the time you got yours. (Maybe I should RMA mine? Nah..)

Yeah, mine won't do 4000Mhz @ 1.300V, nor 4200Mhz @ 1.400V. BSOD.

Try PrimeGrid, I think a BSOD is in your future. My suggestion is, don't all-core OC, let it handle it's own OC'ing.

I was just reading my AMD Ryzen 3600 box. Intel used to list when the CPU was made. I guess the max boost on the Ryzen 3600 is 4200mhz. So if I get anything else it will be OC'd beyond spec. I thought 4.3ghz was the max boost. CPU-Z says 1.344v. My CPU is locked on 4.2Ghz. Core Temp was showing the load on each CPU being equal and temps being within 1-2C of each other core. I have little doubt that running any of your two suggestions would result in temps over 70C and even higher. I have the cooler dialed in perfectly level on Arctic Silver 5. I know AR5 is not the best anymore but it is satisfying to see the paste looks identical to the day it was applied to the day it was removed several years later.

For you, Virtual Larry. I will test both of those and give you temps. It may not be pretty.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I guess the max boost on the Ryzen 3600 is 4200mhz. So if I get anything else it will be OC'd beyond spec.

No, an all-core boost above around 4.0Ghz, is basically out of spec, as far as I can tell, at least, compared to default boost behavior. You're basically pulling an MCE (multi-core enhancement)-equivalent on Ryzen 3000. Which is out of spec.

 

[Hans Gruber]

No, an all-core boost above around 4.0Ghz, is basically out of spec, as far as I can tell, at least, compared to default boost behavior. You're basically pulling an MCE (multi-core enhancement)-equivalent on Ryzen 3000. Which is out of spec.

I was basing that on what the core temp was showing on each core. All I can see is that my CPU is locked in @ 4.2ghz. I ran Prime 95 for 15 minutes. Top core temp was 67C but mostly high 50's or low 60's. I don't want to push the CPU too hard considering it just arrived today.

 

[VforV]

It's pretty amazing that I can run BF5 1080p ultra everything low 70's-mid 90's with a GTX 970 using the 3600. No frame drops, just smooth game play. I can run streams and other web pages on my other monitor while gaming and there is no difference in FPS.

I'm mostly interested in this part, with the BF5 testing and it should be a nice comparison for me since I'll be running a Ryzen 2600 (OC), RAM is 3000MHz CL15 (I hope I can OC it better than those stock values) and a GTX 1060 6gb. I'm curious to see the offset between your config and mine and if the better CPU or GPU will decided better scores.

 

[Hans Gruber]

I'm mostly interested in this part, with the BF5 testing and it should be a nice comparison for me since I'll be running a Ryzen 2600 (OC), RAM is 3000MHz CL15 (I hope I can OC it better than those stock values) and a GTX 1060 6gb. I'm curious to see the offset between your config and mine and if the better CPU or GPU will decided better scores.

Here is what my system looks like right now. https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/21218077
My Samsung 850 Evo's are failing me. I will be getting a NVMe drive very soon. I thought previous generations prior to the 850's slowed down. As you can see, my base clock on my 3600 is 4.2ghz and my boost is 4.2ghz. My memory timings are 16-18-18-38 1T @ 3200mhz

My next addition will be probably a RX 5700 to replace my GTX 970 that has been kept in service mostly because of the mining craze.

To achieve 4200mhz locked as a base and boost clock. The ancient Chinese secret I have discovered. There is a game mode in the OC menu of the MSI bios. Enable it and you are done. The keep it simple stupid approach to OC'ing. Note it cranks the fans in my 240mm AIO.

 

[DrMrLordX]

@Hans Gruber

Which mode of Prime95 did you run? Blend or SmallFFTs? SmallFFTs will probably bake your CPU. I would not recommend running that @ 1.344v or else it could get ugly. Otherwise it seems like you got a good sample, though.

Wnat kind of temps do you get running CBR20?

 

[Hans Gruber]

I will run Cinebench in the next couple of days. I have had CS:GO and BF5 window out and close a couple of times on me. I guess that is a soft crash and not a hard crash. No blue screens. Windows 10 just kept running as usual. Lowered the ram down to 3000mhz, same result. Set it back at 3200mhz same timings 16-18-18. Removed game mode so it goes down to 3600mhz and boosts to 4200mhz.

This is my test system that has had to answer the call of duty as a temporary main rig system. So my Liquid Master Lite is 240mm of good performace, not great. I am a little shocked to see my load temps for no good reason to go up to 63-65C briefly and drop back down to high 50's while gaming. It idles 33-35C. Overall the cooling is good. I would probably lose an argument with the Noctua fans who like air cooling.

It's performing way beyond what I thought a B350 motherboard would do with a Ryzen 3600. I also thought maybe loading my Mystic Lighting may have screwed things up a bit. With MSI, you have to load the mystic lighting program that has some OCing features to get the color you want. Then you uninstall the app and the color on your motherboard stays. The Gaming Pro Carbon 450x470 boards have the vegas style RGB light show. So I reset my settings to default and it ran well again pinned @ 4.2ghz

In BF5 after a match my Game closed but I was still in the Origin app. I can't figure out why because the computer runs like normal and I just restart the game.

I should point out that I am streaming xfinity TV and running a couple other games at the same time on a different screen as well as web pages while gaming. So I am pushing the CPU and all those threads and cores.

 

[VforV]

I didn't want to start a new topic so I'll ask here: is it commanded to start with OC-ing the CPU or the RAM first?

I would say starting with the CPU first (since it will probably take less time to get to the final OC values), but I'm open to explanations if it's the other way around.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Honestly, for the vast majority of people and cases, attempting to manually OC a Ryzen 3000 series, while avoiding appcrashes and BSODs, is pointless, given how well it's internal clock- and power/voltage-regulation features work. It basically, dynamically through a vast network of sensors on the chip monitoring temperature, power and voltage, etc., overclocks itself. It's a very advanced form of Turbo.

The best that you can do for it, is give it good cooling (a 240mm AIO is decent).

RAM is another issue. Ryzen 3000 series doesn't mind XMP-rated DDR4 up to 3600 or so, it handles it with aplomb in my experience. (I'm running 4x8GB DDR4-3600 GSkill Trident RGB RAM.)

They have a program, "Ryzen DRAM calculator", that can help you tweak your timings, and enhance your performance, at the cost of some manual settings labor in the DRAM configuration pages in your UEFI BIOS.

I think that possibly, given Ryzen 3000-series auto-overclocking, and exceptional DRAM support, that you're basically over-thinking this.

Just get a decent board, with decent VRMs and features that you want/need, and some quality DRAM kits of DDR4-3600 (tighter timings are better, but will cost more), and then just put it together, and be happy.

 

[Hans Gruber]

I am not liking the 3.6ghz to 4.05mhz and change. It never touched 4.2ghz using the base clock stock settings. When I watch CPU on another screen it shows 1.4v and a little more power usage without hitting the advertised max of 4.2ghz. When I run my 3600 in game mode it dials 4.2ghz 24x7. The vcore is only 1.34v. If it was 1.38v it would probably run well. Max CPU temps using standard basic setting was 72C vs. 67C with my 4200mhz game mode setting.

Happy again. Back to 4.2ghz locked and I bumped the voltage up to 1.37v. Once I get it to where there are no soft crashes of apps. I will lower the voltage a tick. Doing it this way I am always at full boost frequency of 4.2ghz. If I kill the chip after a couple of years, so be it. Considering the water cooling keeps it under 70C. I think it will last much longer than a couple of years. I failed to kill my 3570K @ 4.5ghz from the day it arrived. After several years of 120mm air cooling it got 240mm AIO.

I will say this about the silicon. It does degrade over time. It takes years but the CPU's will eventually require either more voltage or a 100mhz or a bit more taken off the top.