Microsoft backports AMD branch prediction improvement to Windows 11 23H2, update available now — more users will see Ryzen performance improvements
You won't need to wait for 24H2 for the performance bump.
If you're patiently waiting for Windows 11's 24H2 update to see a performance bump for your Zen 3, Zen 4, or Zen 5 CPU, you no longer need to twiddle your thumbs. In a statement to Tom's Hardware, AMD said that the branch prediction optimizations allowing for those improvements have been backported to Windows 11 23H2.
The update, KB5041587, can be found under Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates.
"We expect the performance uplift to be very similar between 24H2 and 23H2 with KB5041587 installed," an AMD spokesperson said.
Windows 11 24H2 is currently in Release Preview as part of Windows Insider. A handful of reviewers have found multiple games showing performance uplifts, though at least one has seen regressions in some titles as well.
While the improved performance should go back to Zen 3, it's really AMD's new Ryzen 9000 series processors that need a bit of a shine. Some of the new chips, like the Ryzen 9 9950X, saw negative reviews when critics couldn't replicate AMD's performance uplift claims. AMD claimed that numerous factors led to this occurrence, from Intel's 13th and 14th Gen Core instability issues to using a Windows "admin" profile rather than a standard user account.
"[The Ryzen 9 9950X] lags behind competing chips in gaming, and the generational gains are small enough in some productivity workloads that the previous-gen Ryzen 9 7950X is an attractive alternative," Tom's Hardware managing editor Paul Alcorn wrote in his review at launch.
But if the branch prediction in Windows 11 24H2 — and now Windows 11 23H2 via this optional update — increases performance as dramatically as preview builds have shown, it could potentially breathe more life into AMD's latest processors when it comes to gaming and certain productivity workloads. We'll have to do some testing of our own to see the difference.
AMD referred to this branch prediction as "AMD-specific," so we'll have to do some digging to see if there's an Intel version of this code or if Ryzen owners will have something to brag about with this update.
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Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and Mastodon @FreedmanAE.mastodon.social.
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stuff and nonesense
Thats an unexpected bonus…Admin said:Microsoft is backporting branch prediction optimizations in Windows 11 24H2 to Windows 11 23H2. With an update, you can get bumps to Zen 3, 4, and 5. -
hotaru251
but is it noticeable enough to actually use WIN11?stuff and nonesense said:Thats an unexpected bonus… -
Alvar "Miles" Udell Any bets on when this performance enhancer turns into a performance detriment because it allows for an exploit?Reply -
waltc3 No need to wait. Join Win11 Insiders and load up 26100.1591 (24H2, Release Preview--my favorite) right now. Today. And It's free. And the performance gains are there, already.Reply -
bikemanI7 Happily installed the Cumulative Update Preview on my Windows 11 Pro 23H2 PC, already did my backup early Tuesday morning as i sorta predicted in my mind a Cumulative Preview update would be released today.Reply
Will try out Forza Horizon 5 tomorrow, and other games
Running an AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and Radeon 7800XT OC 16GB -
Amdlova Microsoft will need support windows 10 2030 or more... windows 11 it's a nightmare. Every time I try to use I got upset with something.Reply -
acadia11 Did this build fail for anyone else? Couldn't download and install or stuck at 0% download? Cumulative update preview KB5041487?Reply -
USAFRet
DL and installed just fine for me.acadia11 said:Did this build fail for anyone else? Couldn't download and install or stuck at 0% download? Cumulative update preview KB5041487?
(waiting on the restart due to being 2/3 the way through a 6 hour 3D print)
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acadia11 USAFRet said:DL and installed just fine for me.
(waiting on the restart due to being 2/3 the way through a 6 hour 3D print)
Well that's odd ... it stalls on 2 of my machines? -
Reality_checker Can anyone provide a link to Microsoft's website where they mention AMD and/or branch prediction in relation to this patch? I can't find any mention of it here https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/august-27-2024-kb5041587-os-builds-22621-4112-and-22631-4112-preview-9706ea0e-6f72-430e-b08a-878963dafe08Reply