AMD posted a chipset software update Friday morning that fixes problems with Windows 11 not recognizing the best Ryzen CPU core to run on. It’s not the only fix you’ll need to get Ryzen chips operating correctly on Windows 11, but it’s an important one.
The chipset driver applies to AMD chipsets WRX80, TRX40, X570, B550, A520, X399, X470, B450, X370, B350, and A320, and “Restores intended function and behavior of UEFI CPPC2 (“preferred core”) in Windows 11 build 22000.189 (or newer) on AMD processors.”
AMD has said the UEFI CPPC2 might be more noticeable on 8-core chips that operate over the 65 watt TDP range—high-end Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 chips, basically. After downloading driver 3.10.08.506 and installing it, an AMD system with a Ryzen 5000-series chip should report version 7.0.3.5 in the Windows 11 Provisioning Packages interface.
For Ryzen 2000- and 3000-series chips with the 3.10.08.506 driver installed, Windows 11 should have the AMD Ryzen Balanced power plan selected and active in the Power Options interface.
The fix should help address early performance issues with Ryzen-based systems on Windows 11. Like Intel, AMD marks certain cores in its CPUs that are capable of hitting slightly higher clock speeds than neighboring cores. Windows 11’s inability to see those cores could create a slight performance regression by running on a core that runs 100MHz slower.
You can download the driver from AMD and also read the support note.
This is one of two issues with Ryzen CPUs on Windows 11, with the other one being far more serious. In that bug, the L3 cache performance of Ryzen 5000 chips is greatly reduced. Microsoft and AMD have since found a solution that is being tested by Windows Insiders, but it has yet to be pushed into general release.
Author: Gordon Mah Ung, Executive Editor
One of founding fathers of hardcore tech reporting, Gordon has been covering PCs and components since 1998.