Ryzen 5 7600X Owners Should Watch Out For BIOS Updates Based On This AGESA Firmware

by Zak Killian — Monday, January 09, 2023, 04:53 PM EDT

Normally, on Ryzen platforms, we recommend applying new BIOS updates as soon as they're available. AMD puts continuous work into the AGESA firmware for its CPUs, and this sometimes results in major stability improvements or performance gains thanks to improved memory performance or feature support. Folks on a Ryzen 5 7600X may want to hold off, though, as the latest 1.0.0.4 AGESA supposedly has a bug that leaves certain Ryzen 5 7600X processors unable to boot.

This information originates with hardware enthusiast and sometimes-leaker chi11eddog (@g01d3nm4ng0 on Twitter), who reports that MSI and ASRock have pulled BIOS updates featuring AGESA 1.0.0.4. While chi11eddog seems uncertain as to the veracity of the report, they nevertheless remark that the reason is because Ryzen 5 7600X processors that are made from harvested processors with two CCDs become unbootable with the new firmware.

delidded 7600x confusion — *Der8auer was surprised to find two CCDs under the lid of a Ryzen 5 7600X.*

If you obsessively follow hardware news and reviews (or just regularly read HotHardware), then you probably recall when Der8auer chopped the top on a Ryzen 5 7600X and found that it actually contained three chiplets inside instead of the expected two. As it happens, some 7600X processors are in fact harvested from faulty dual-CCD models. Those chips are believed to be the ones that fail with the 1.0.0.4 update.

65w Ryzen processors 2 — *The new 65W Ryzen processors are pretty great. Did you read our review?*

Upon its debut, we found AMD's Ryzen 5 7600X to be a bit of a hard sell on its own merits due to the high platform costs, but it made a great choice if you were planning to upgrade to a faster Socket AM5 CPU in the future, with fast-enough performance for now and the lowest price available at launch. Now we'd probably recommend a non-X 7600 for the same role, as it's cheaper and offers nearly the same performance. Besides, it also includes a stock cooler.

Tags: AMD, Firmware, (nasdaq:amd), zen 4

Zak Killian

A 30-year PC building veteran, Zak is a modern-day Renaissance man who may not be an expert on anything, but knows just a little about nearly everything.