AMD’s Ryzen 9 7900X3D and 7950X3D processors are finally out in the market. The gaming crown is back in the Red Camp as the 7950X3D beats both the Core i9-13900K as well as the 13900KS at a fraction of the power. Of course, there are a few caveats. Contrary to what we would have liked, these CPUs feature a single V-Cache die, leaving the other with the standard 32MB LLC buffer.
Furthermore, as most games like the additional L3 cache, you’d want the processor to allocate the resources to the CCD with the stacked die. This would keep the required data on the faster V-Cache die, preventing unnecessary stalls due to cache misses on the other CCD. To ensure this, AMD has suggested the following steps.
Update Motherboard BIOS and Windows
As with most new hardware, it is highly recommended that you update to the latest version of Windows 11 and flash the latest AGESA firmware on your motherboard. This will ensure that the scheduler is aware of the CCD with the V-Cache die and the large cache pool. In fact, AMD recommends a clean install with Windows 11 21H2 2000.1455.
Update the Chipset Driver
AMD has rolled out the latest chipset driver (v5.02.16.347) for the Ryzen 9 7900X3D and 7950X3D with several optimizations on board. Along with the firmware and OS update, this is crucial for attaining the marketed gaming performance.
Xbox Game Bar
The last one is a little unexpected. Although the Xbox Game Bar has come a long way from its early days of doom and gloom, many PC gamers still dislike it. AMD recommends the Game Bar be enabled and updated to the latest version, ideally v5.823.1271.0.
The Xbox Game Bar ensures that the Windows kernel assigns the processes to the right cores (most games to the V-Cache die and compute-intensive to the standard CCD). By parking the unneeded cores, both power and resources can be better utilized.
Via: ElChapuzas
