AMD disables ‘loop buffer’ in Ryzen 7000 CPUs via BIOS update

ByMunyaradzi Mafaro

AMD appears to have released a microcode patch that disables the loop buffer feature on Zen4 processors. No significant performance differences were reported after the patch was implemented. AMD has not yet confirmed the news.

Chips and Cheese discovered the change. The tech website was testing an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D CPU via an ASRock B650 PG Lightning motherboard and installed a new BIOS update with a new microcode patch during the testing process. It is said to be the AGESA update version 1.2.0.2a. The editors noticed that the loop buffer function was suddenly disabled and performed more tests. Those measurements show little to no difference in performance with a disabled loop buffer on the Zen4 processor.

Chips and Cheese concludes that the cache memory on the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D should be sufficient for smooth operation. The website believes that a loop buffer is not an essential function that affects the performance of the Zen4 processors. A loop buffer is an instruction cache in the frontend of the processor, in which small, recurring instructions can be stored. These can then be re-executed more efficiently. For now, the change would only apply to Ryzen 7000 processors and Epyc CPUs.

AMD disables 'loop buffer' in Ryzen 7000 CPUs via BIOS update

Munyaradzi Mafaro is a music enthusiast and he also likes to tackle topics of business, productivity, and the possibilities for growth in the digital world.