Windows is getting an update to boost AMD Ryzen Zen 5 gaming performance

AMD has released an official statement addressing the discrepancies between its internal test data and reviewer test data for the Ryzen 9000 series — and announced an upcoming Windows 11 update that should provide a gaming performance boost to not only Zen 5 but also Zen 4 and Zen 3-based processors. Last week, reviewers had uncovered that using AMD’s processors in normal conditions on Windows would hinder their performance, and that users needed to sign in with a special Admin account to get the full benefits of the new hardware.

The update could boost some games by up to 13%

Along with the usual disclaimers about how testing different games can yield different results, AMD also explains the mysterious “Admin” mode it used during its tests on Windows. It seems the difference between normal user accounts and this Admin account is “branch prediction code optimizations,” which are helpful for the wider branch prediction capacity of the Zen 5 architecture. It’s not just the latest generation that benefits from these optimizations, however. While Zen 5 sees the biggest difference, Zen 4 and even Zen 3-based processors also enjoy a performance boost when used in Admin mode.

We don’t know why this difference between the Admin account and user accounts exists, but it seems Microsoft has no problem with changing it — according to AMD, optimized AMD-specific branch prediction code will become available in Windows 11, version 24H2 for Windows Insiders. The company has also said that it’s collaborating with Microsoft to bring this optional update to all users soon.

AMD also included a table detailing some of the performance gains it expects, which includes a massive 13% performance improvement for Far Cry 6 and a 7% boost for Cyberpunk 2077. While AMD only provides numbers for the 9000 series, YouTuber Hardware Unboxed has already tested a 7700X processor in Admin mode and found that it was, over a 13-game average, just 1% slower than its 9000 series counterpart. So, even with the Windows update, buyers will still find themselves wondering whether they should just take the slight performance cut and save money with a 7000 series upgrade.

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Because we’ve already seen some reviewer tests using Windows Admin mode, we expect the performance boost to match AMD’s predictions as long as the Windows update does its job properly, but we’ll have to wait for it to roll out to know for sure.