The Ryzen 9000 Series, a new lineup of desktop processors powered by the Zen 5 architecture that is now available to gamers, creators, and other users at a starting price of $279, may deliver substantially higher performance in Windows under a system administrator account, according to new gaming benchmarks that have surfaced online. News of what’s been described as a “potential bug” arrives on the heels of some advice that AMD has reportedly sent reviewers, one that suggests reviews of Ryzen 9000 Series processors should be performed on clean Windows installations to ensure proper provisioning.
One user has warned:
- “I cannot stress this enough, you don’t want to use the system administrator account as your daily driver.”
- “You become significantly more vulnerable to malware for even having that account enabled, and if you do somehow get infected with malware, it becomes easier for said malware to affect protected system files.”
- “If you do anything important on your PC, it’s not worth the performance gains.”
That said, a look at the potential performance gains in one popular game:
The original word from Hardware Unboxed:
A note from AMD:
- “Unfortunately, sometimes Windows does not apply the correct provisioning after the CPU installed has changed. You can try uninstalling then re-installing the AMD Chipset Driver as a workaround, but a fresh install of Windows is ideal.”
- “Please make sure to restart then wait for the system to idle so that the provisioning installation may complete. For the review purposes we highly recommend performing a clean Windows installation to ensure the provisioning is applied correctly.”
- “It may save time to have a separate SSD/image for the 9950X/9900X, and 9700X/9600X, so you don’t have to reinstall windows every time you switch between a single CCD and dual CCD configuration while benchmarking.”
- “We recommend using Cyberpunk as a sanity check. Using a 4090 you should be getting -210FPS with the 9950X and -200 FPS with the 9900X.”
The original word from @aschilling:
For some testers an incorrect provisioning might have hurt performance of the Ryzen 9 9900X and 9950X. @AMDRyzen gave the following advice to tester: pic.twitter.com/wagUlanW9y
— Andreas Schilling 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@aschilling) August 15, 2024
AMD on its new CPUs:
For avid gamers seeking the ultimate competitive edge, AMD Ryzen 9000 Series desktop processors deliver unrivaled performance, enabling smooth gameplay and high frame rates across a wide range of titles, from AAA blockbusters to esports favorites. Moreover, professional content creators can now harness the full potential of their creative workflows with AMD Ryzen 9000 Series desktop processors. From 3D modeling and design to animation and product visualization, these processors offer exceptional single-threaded and multi-threaded performance, enabling users to design, render, and iterate faster than ever before. Put simply, the flagship Ryzen 9 9950X CPU is the fastest consumer desktop processor.