- Firmware runs underneath all the hardware and software of a PC, but it determines the results in a major way.
- Intel’s 13th gen CPU failures were a result of a firmware flaw, which was eventually fixed through a BIOS update.
- BIOS updates also impact memory and other hardware components in a PC.
It’s no secret that gaming PC performance can vary wildly between different builds. However, even identical builds can sometimes offer different performance due to them not running the same firmware.
This is because the code that communicates with the actual hardware can dictate a lot and should not be ignored.
Why it matters: Firmware doesn’t receive anywhere near as much analysis and importance as other parts of a PC in today’s industry.
The Biggest CPU Story In Recent Years
Look back upon the 13th and 14th gen Intel chip disaster, and it’s easy to see why firmware is so important.
After numerous complaints, Intel discovered the main problem occurred due to elevated voltage requests leading to Vmin shifts, which was fixed through microcode. The 0x12B update addressed voltage during idle and light loads, and a second update then arrived for systems with low-activity workloads.
All of this came to users as a motherboard BIOS update. Although this meant that the rollout was slow, the BIOS update was able to protect undamaged CPUs. Similarly, in 2023, AMD Ryzen 7000 chips were damaged by excessive voltage, but this issue was solved through a BIOS release from different vendors.
How Firmware Is Made
To understand why it can take multiple weeks before a motherboard receives a BIOS update, it is important to know that firmware cannot be validated in the abstract. A BIOS build has to be tested against physical hardware, such as the many board revisions, memory kits with different chips, etc.
Yalantis, an engineering firm that does firmware development for connected devices, runs its teams next to an in-house hardware lab where prototyping and testing take place on site. When testing takes place on a large scale, such as a motherboard vendor supporting 40 different models, this can take a long time.
This is also why beta BIOS releases mean that motherboard vendors have yet to test every possible configuration.
What Firmware Quietly Decides
The firmware itself also dictates how features like EXPO/XMP profiles work on a PC. Similarly, Resizable BAR support has been modified through BIOS updates in the past, while the same can be said for fan curves, boost behavior, and power limits.
Graphics cards also offer vBIOS to determine power and thermal behaviors. SSDs run controller firmware, while mice, keyboards, and controllers all do the same for input handling and polling behavior. This is why knowing what firmware one is using is important.
Understanding changelogs can prove useful. A line that names an AGESA or microcode version means platform-level code from AMD or Intel is changing, which can shift stability, boost behavior, or even benchmark results.
References to “Improved memory compatibility” typically refer to updated training algorithms, while security fixes address firmware-level vulnerabilities that exist below the operating system’s defenses.
Of course, there’s more to these things, and those who want to dive deeper can go through the best-practices writeup on embedded firmware from the Yalantis engineering blog, which explains how firmware projects handle architecture, updates, and more.
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[Senior News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than 5 years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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