Does the new BIOS actually result in improved scores in benchmarks, not just AIDA64? The AGESA 1.2.0.1 update from AMD improved L3 bandwidth reporting in AIDA64 but doesn't do anything else. Do we know that it's not the case here?
Sure looks that way, but Intel made it difficult to interpret even for reviewers, since the official supported speed is up to 3200Mhz.So, going by that slide, anything below i9 11900k must be tested at DDR4 2933, otherwise you lose performance by having the IMC drop into 1/2 mode.
We don't know yet, but we do know Anandtech had a "slightly newer" BIOS than the one in the Hardwareluxx review (but different board, hence different BIOS implementation). Now Andreas Schilling might have something equal or newer.Does the new BIOS actually result in improved scores in benchmarks, not just AIDA64?
Sure looks that way, but Intel made it difficult to interpret even for reviewers, since the official supported speed is up to 3200Mhz.
Hardwareluxx showed a minimal change to a major change, depending on the application. The average gain seems to be about 2.5% on Hardwareluxx's benchmarks. Games seemed to have the smallest gain, around 0.5%. This one had the biggest change at about 25% faster with the new BIOS:Does the new BIOS actually result in improved scores in benchmarks, not just AIDA64? The AGESA 1.2.0.1 update from AMD improved L3 bandwidth reporting in AIDA64 but doesn't do anything else. Do we know that it's not the case here?
Some motherboard manufacturers have told us that there will be at least one BIOS update for the LGA1200 motherboards with 400 and 500 series chipsets before the market launch on March 30th. Of course, they cannot or will not reveal how substantial the potential improvements in performance will be. But even if they exist and they affect the Core i7-11700K, don't expect it to jump 10% or more.
Unless Intel is sandbagging with these BIOS, looks like it is pretty clear Rocket Lake is going to enter the pantheon with the Pentium 4 and Bulldozer.
I think Alder Lake will be substantially lower power, but maybe not substantially better performing in many common benchmarks (does depend on your definition of substantial though). Alder Lake is more about the first step towards opening new doors to things that just weren't feasible before.Alder Lake launching so soon after Rocket Lake was the first hint, although I also hope it is an indication that Alder Lake will be a substantial bump.
| Application | BIOS ver. 0603 vs BIOS ver. 0402 |
|---|---|
| Cinebench R20 ST | 98.52% |
| Cinebench R20 MT | 100.46% |
| y-cruncher | 126.27% |
| DigiCortex | 108.99% |
| Blender bmw27 | 100.94% |
| Blender classroom | 101.67% |
| V-Ray | 101.72% |
| Corona | 105.15% |
| Handbrake | 103.06% |
| VeraCrypt | 103.60% |
| 7-Zip Decompression | 103.76% |
| 7-Zip Compression | 107.79% |
| Compiling | 103.44% |
| Geomean | 104.83% |
Don't hold your breath on that.Unless Intel is sandbagging with these BIOS, looks like it is pretty clear Rocket Lake is going to enter the pantheon with the Pentium 4 and Bulldozer.
Not too shabby. Plus, there should be a bit more to be had running in gear mode 1, especially at DDR4 3600MHz. We haven't seen the best RKL-S can offer yet. There's a lot of thermal headroom at stock, too.I compiled all the application benchmarks and did a geomean - this is what I got.
Application BIOS ver. 0603
vs BIOS ver. 0402Cinebench R20 ST 98.52% Cinebench R20 MT 100.46% y-cruncher 126.27% DigiCortex 108.99% Blender bmw27 100.94% Blender classroom 101.67% V-Ray 101.72% Corona 105.15% Handbrake 103.06% VeraCrypt 103.60% 7-Zip Decompression 103.76% 7-Zip Compression 107.79% Compiling 103.44% Geomean 104.83%
I compiled all the application benchmarks and did a geomean - this is what I got.
Application BIOS ver. 0603
vs BIOS ver. 0402Cinebench R20 ST 98.52% Cinebench R20 MT 100.46% y-cruncher 126.27% DigiCortex 108.99% Blender bmw27 100.94% Blender classroom 101.67% V-Ray 101.72% Corona 105.15% Handbrake 103.06% VeraCrypt 103.60% 7-Zip Decompression 103.76% 7-Zip Compression 107.79% Compiling 103.44% Geomean 104.83%
I compiled all the application benchmarks and did a geomean - this is what I got.
Application BIOS ver. 0603
vs BIOS ver. 0402Cinebench R20 ST 98.52% Cinebench R20 MT 100.46% y-cruncher 126.27% DigiCortex 108.99% Blender bmw27 100.94% Blender classroom 101.67% V-Ray 101.72% Corona 105.15% Handbrake 103.06% VeraCrypt 103.60% 7-Zip Decompression 103.76% 7-Zip Compression 107.79% Compiling 103.44% Geomean 104.83%
Yeah the gaming benchmarks are disappointing. Though a positive thing to note is that Hardwareluxx used the Intel recommended values for PL2 and Tau, and in terms of power consumption and temperatures it does as you'd expect it to, which is a good sign IMO. Overclocking is going to be a big NO, especially on AIO and air coolers.If you remove y-cruncher, DigiCortex and Corona where the old BIOS had an issue with AVX 512 then the Geomean is 102.47%
In gaming the delta is like +0.5%
Yeah the gaming benchmarks are disappointing.
I mean gaming results are disappointing in the sense that the BIOS update did nothing to improve it, even if the benchmarks were GPU-bound. Anandtech most likely tested DDR4-3200 in Gear 2 mode, so those results are expected.The gaming results are fine actually. Intel's gaming strengths does not show @ DDR4 3200 and https://www.hardwareluxx.de setup is probably GPU bound already in those tests. even at 1080P.
Anandtech "results" were way more dissapointing to start with and regression strongly hinted at something wrong happening with their test system.
So this is
Raise your hand if you're ready for Raptor Lake.
Are you sure? It says "Improved CPU Cache for Gaming" on the box.You 1st. I don't want to lose any fingers.
I built a rig with an ASRock B560M-HDV (cheapest B560 board on the market right now, at $74.99 @ Newegg), and it does indeed run DDR4-3200 / CAS16 16GB kit of Silicon Power RAM @ 3200 (1600Mhz) according to CPU-Z, once "XMP Profile 1" is selecting in BIOS, with a Pentium Gold G6400 CPU (4.0Ghz 2C/4T, 10th-Gen).Apparently the memory unlock on B560 isn't restricted to K or even 11th Gen. Newegg reviews say they got it to work on the 10400F.