Update bios advice needed....

[Achilleslastand]

Just updated my cpu with a FX8350 and have been told to update the bios on my ASUS M5A97 to get the best perf benefits.
Ive also been told that if everythings running fine to leave it be.
I also have no clue and have never updated a bios before.

 

[gpse]

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M5A97/#support_Download_29

select BIOS, then download that zip file, unzlip the file and you will have a .ROM file, put that on a USB stick then reboot and enter the bios setup screen.
Once inside there should be an option to update the bios from a USB file, select the .ROM file and update!

 

[Compman55]

The risk is way over exagerated. I have only bricked one motherboard, it was an Aopen AX4B, and it was a fault with the flash program.

Anyways, put the computer on a battery backup, and flash away with confidence. BIOS updates can fix many things and make or break your compatiblity with Windows 7 or 8.

I had a windows XP laptop and when installing Win7, under administrative events there were literlly thousands of ACPI firmware events. Upon reflashing, there was a speed increase, and no more ACPI events. So the risk was well worth it.

 

[MrWizzard]

If nothing is broke don't fix it. No reason to update bios if it does not address a problem you are having. They can fix problems but you need to have a problem first. Otherwise you are just wasting your time.

 

[Binky]

If it works, leave it alone. Most bios changes are compatibility related, so if your parts work well together, there generally won't be any performance change.

Of course, if you get lucky enough to have that rare occurrence of a failed bios update, you get the joy of removing the motherboard, paying to send it back, waiting for the new one to arrive, installing the whole damned thing, and possibly breaking something during this whole process.

Best bet = don't update unless you know why you are updating.

 

[cantholdanymore]

BS
Go for it, just two suggestions:
Do the upgrade from bios not from OS, it is a lot safer.
Reset the bios to "clean" or factory default before the flash. (may need to pull the battery off)
I've done this several times in my asus board with no issues.

 

[jkauff]

Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've used Asus AI Suite update utility to download the zip (online update never worked) and update from the .rom file with no problems. I like to keep current, because Asus includes things like USB 3.0 driver improvements with "Increased compatibility" updates, and I've never had a problem with Asus BIOS updates in the 10+ years I've been using Asus boards. Never had to revert to an earlier version (which I do keep, just in case).

 

[Binky]

For zero gain, ANY risk of failure is unacceptable. If there's a reason to update the bios, definitely do it. Just don't try to solve a problem that doesn't exist. If the bios notes say crap like "improved compatibility" and you aren't experience any incompatibility, the bios update most likely won't help you.

 

[Achilleslastand]

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M5A97/#support_Download_29

select BIOS, then download that zip file, unzlip the file and you will have a .ROM file, put that on a USB stick then reboot and enter the bios setup screen.
Once inside there should be an option to update the bios from a USB file, select the .ROM file and update!

Did this today and it went on w/o a hitch. Thanks!

Ran another WEI and under view detailed information it says....

Processor AMD FX 8350 Eight core processor 7.3
Then under the system tab it says....

Number of processor cores 2

Wha?
Is this a limitation of WEI or am i missing something?

 

[Compman55]

goto device manager and expand the processor. You will see 8 cores hopefully.

Or press ctrl shift ec at the same time and look at the performance tab. You will see 8 graphs. Or at least lets hope.

The way windows detects the processor name and info can be bugged sometimes.

 

[tcsenter]

Possibly relevant KB articles:

KB930861 - Device Manager does not show updated processor information

KB2645594 - An update is available for computers that have an AMD FX, AMD Opteron 4200, AMD Opteron 6200, or AMD Bulldozer series processor installed and that are running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2

KB2646060 - An update that selectively disables the Core Parking feature in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2 is available (Note: If you apply this update, you cannot revert the settings by uninstalling this update. This update should only be installed on computers that have KB2645594 installed.)


Also its worth checking your system boot configuration (msconfig --> boot tab --> advanced options), look for the setting for # processors and make sure its not set or checked.

 

[Achilleslastand]

Possibly relevant KB articles:

KB930861 - Device Manager does not show updated processor information

KB2645594 - An update is available for computers that have an AMD FX, AMD Opteron 4200, AMD Opteron 6200, or AMD Bulldozer series processor installed and that are running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2


Also its worth checking your system boot configuration (msconfig --> boot tab --> advanced options), look for the setting for # processors and make sure its not set or checked.

Yes thank you...
The msconfig setting was checked so i unchecked it.
Also noted 8 graphs on the task manager and noticed that cores 1,3,5 and 7 were parked?

Also re ran the WEI and it went from a 7.3 to a 7.8.....also says 4 cores now instead of 2.

 

[tcsenter]

Well here's another for you:

KB2646060 - Selectively disable the Core Parking feature in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2 (Note: If you apply this update, you cannot revert the settings by uninstalling it. This update should only be installed on computers that have KB2645594 installed.)

 

[Achilleslastand]

Well here's another for you:

KB2646060 - Selectively disable the Core Parking feature in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2 (Note: If you apply this update, you cannot revert the settings by uninstalling it. This update should only be installed on computers that have KB2645594 installed.)

So in a nutshell how will that work if i apply that fix?
Will the power consumption be more?

 

[tcsenter]

So in a nutshell how will that work if i apply that fix? Will the power consumption be more?

Possibly but its almost impossible to guess. As load is distributed over more cores, it would tend to reduce loading on cores that previously were carrying a higher load. But even so, it shouldn't be a lot. i.e. does one core @ 100% consume more or less power than 2 cores @ 50%?? Shouldn't be a big difference, either way. Statistically significant, yes. Enough to bother yourself about, no.