Gamers can literally download more FPS

HardwareUnboxed and KitGuru tested the 24H2 update for Windows 11, which reportedly boosts performance for several CPU architectures.

This update is also referenced by AMD in a recent statement , which explains the disparity between official benchmarks and what reviewers have presented. It appears there is indeed something to look forward to.

The AMD Ryzen 9000 series can benefit from elevated privileges enabled through special hidden administrator accounts. These optimizations for branch predictions will be included in the upcoming Windows 24H2 patch, which is currently available through the Insider Preview program but has not yet been officially released to the public. Unfortunately, these branch prediction changes are absent in the official Windows 11 version that reviewers have been using (and probably should’ve).

AMD Ryzen/Intel Core Windows 11 24H2 vs. 23H3 update, Source: Hardware Unboxed & KitGuru

HardwareUnboxed, who were the first to notice these discrepancies, have already tested the new Windows update using the Ryzen 9 9700X (Zen 5) and Ryzen 7 7700X (Zen 4) for comparison. Later in the video, they also included the Intel Core i5-14600K, and as they mentioned, there are some ‘mind-blowing numbers’ to show.

Ryzen 7 9700X & 7700X Windows 11 24H2 vs. 23H3 update, Source: Hardware Unboxed

Overall, the 24H2 release shows an average 10% uplift across 40 games at 1080p resolution for the 7700X. This is even higher than what Zen 5 to Zen 4 has shown in reviews, meaning that the OS update alone provides a bigger improvement. For the Ryzen 9 9700X, that average goes up to 11%, so the generation-to-generation uplift will be mostly the same. HWU measured that with the 23H2 update, the difference between the 9700X and 7700X was just 1% in favor of the Zen 5 SKU, which increased to 2% with the 24H2 update. Still not the 5-8% that AMD mentioned in the statement.

For the Intel Core i5-14600K, which HWU also tested, the gains were less visible at first, but titles like Gears 5 (which showed the largest gains for Zen) also showed improvements on Intel’s part. It’s definitely worth updating the system for Intel as well, but more testing is required.

Leo Waldock from KitGuru raises an open question: Why was the Windows update delayed and not released immediately with the Granite Ridge launch? Perhaps Microsoft is waiting for Intel to launch the upcoming Arrow Lake-S, which will also benefit from the update? After all, AMD has mandated that all laptops shipping with Strix Point (also featuring Zen 5) include this Windows update.

However, it is entirely AMD’s fault that these details were not explained to reviewers and even after the discussed update goes live, the architectural upgrade is still not as high as AMD’s promised.

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