AGESA update 1.0.0.6 incoming

Lots of DRAM improvements

Lately the community updates from AMD are a great source to find out what the folks have been working on regarding their Ryzen processors. A while ago we’ve covered that AMD has been rolling out the AGESA v1.0.0.4 update and in the meantime v1.0.0.6 has become available to the motherboard vendors for implementation.


To provide a basic understanding of what AGESA “AMD Generic Encapsulated System Architecture” actually is we briefly want to add that it’s the underlying foundation on which the motherboard vendors build their BIOSes.

In the case of their v.1.0.0.6 update AMD can present two major updates. First of all new memory dividers have been added, which now allows for setting DDR4-4000 with any adjustments to the refclk. This is give overclockers the opportunity to push memory frequencies further. Also in this context AMD has added no less than 26 new parameters helping to improve memory compatibility as well as reliability. Furhter below you find the full list of parameters which have been added. For some of them we’ve been waiting desperately like for instance the possibility to change the Command rate between 1T and 2T. Apart from that tRFC can now be set independently, which, if the AMD platform is any similar to the current ones from Intel, is going to help a lot with stability and overclocking headroom.

The second important update can come in very handy for professional users working in virtualized environments. Thanks to support for PCI Express Access Control Services (ACS) PCIe graphics cards can now be assigned individually to specific virtual machines. Let’s say you run a Linux host OS and Windows VMs you can now assign dedicated graphics cards to all the operating systems installed, ending up with near-native 3D performance in the virtual environment as well.

Last but not least we’d like to add that it’s great to see that AMD is continuously working on AGESA updates and apart from that we highly appreciate the company’s approach to transparent, fact-based communication.




Quote:
ParameterFunctionValues
Memory clocksAdded dividers for memory clocks up to DDR4-4000 without refclk adjustment.Please note that values greater than DDR4-2667 isoverclocking.Your mileage may vary(as noted by our big overclocking wartning at the end of this blog).133.33MT/s intervals(2667,2933,3067,3200,3333,3466,3600,3733,3866,4000)
Command rate(CR)The amount of time,in cycles,between when a DRAM chip is selected and a command is executed.2T CR can be very beneficial for stability with high memory clocks,or for 4-DIMM configurations.2T,1T
ProcODT(CPU on-die termination)A resistance value,in ohms,that determines how a completed memory signal is terminated.Higher values can help stabilize higher data rates.Values in the range of 60-96 can prove helpful.Integer values(ohms)
tWCL/tWL/tCWLCAS Write Latency,or the amount of time it takes to write to the open memory bank.WCL is generally configured equal to CAS or CAS-1.This can be a significant timing for stability,and lower values often prove better.Integer values(cycles)
tRCRow cycle time,or the number of clock cycles required for a memory row to complete a full operational cycle.Lower values cannotably improve performance,but should not be set lower than tRP+tRAS for stability reasons.Integer values(cycles)
tFAWFour activation window,or the time that must elapse before new memory banks can be activated after four ACTIVATE commands have been issued.Configured to a minumum 4x tRRD_S,but values>8x tRRD_S are often used for stability.Integer values(ns)
tWRWrite recovery time,or the time that must elapse between a valid write operation and the precharging of another bank.Higher values are often beneficial for stability,and values<8 can quickly corrupt data stored in RAM.Integer values(ns)
CLDO_VDDP

Voltage for the DDR4 PHY on the SoC.Somewhat counterintuitively,lowering VDDP can often be more beneficial for stability than raising CLDO_VDDP.Advanced overclockers should also know that altering CLDO_VDDP can move or resolve memory holes.Small changes to VDDP can have a big effect,and VDDP should not be set to a value greater than VDIMM-0.1V.A cold reboot is required if you alter this voltage.

Sidenote:pre-1.0.0.6 BIOSes may also have an entry labeled“VDDP”that alters the external voltage level sent to the CPU VDDP pins.This is not the same parameter as CLDO_VDDP in AGESA 1.0.0.6.

Integer values(V)
tRDWR/tWRRDRead-to-write and write-to-read latency,or the time that must elapse between issuing sequential read/write or write/read commands.Integer values(cycles)
tRDRD/tWRWRRead-to-read and write-to-write latency,or the time between sequential read or write requests(e.g.DIMM-to-DIMM,or across ranks).Lower values can significantly improve DRAM throughput,but high memory clocks often demand relaxed timings.Integer values(cycles)
Geardown ModeAllows the DRAM device to run off its internally-generated ½ rate clock for latching on the command or address buses.ON is the default for speeds greater than DDR4-2667,however the benefit of ON vs.OFF will vary from memory kit to memory kit.Enabling Geardown Mode will override your current command rate.On/Off
RttControls the performance of DRAM internal termination resistors during nominal,write,and park states.Nom(inal),WR(ite),and Park integers(ohms)
tMAWMaximum activation window,or the maximum number of times a DRAM row can be activated before adjacent memory rows must be refreshed to preserve data.Integer values(cycles)
tMACMaximum activate count,or the number of times a row is activated by the system before adjacent row refresh.Must be equal to or less than tMAW.Integer values(cycles)
tRFCRefresh cycle time,or the time it takes for the memory to read and re-write information to the same DRAM cell for the purposes of preserving information.This is typically a timing automatically derived from other values.Integer values(cycles)
tRFC2Refresh cycle time for double frequency(2x)mode.This is typically a timing automatically derived from other values.Integer values(cycles)
tRFC4Refresh cycle time for quad frequency(4x)mode.This is typically a timing automatically derived from other values.Integer values(cycles)
tRRD_SActivate to activate delay(short),or the number of clock cycles between activate commands in a different bank group.Integer values(cycles)
tRRD_LActivate to activate delay(long),or the number of clock cycles between activate commands in the same bank group.Integer values(cycles)
tWRWrite recovery time,or the time that must elapse between a valid write operation and the precharging of another bank.Higher values are often better for stability.Integer values(ns)
tWTR_SWrite to read delay(short),or the time between a write transaction and read command on a different bank group.Integer values(cycles)
tWTR_LWrite to read delay(long),or the time between a write transaction and read command on the same bank group.Integer values(cycles)
tRTPRead to precharge time,or the number of clock cycles between a READ command to a row and a precharge command to the same rank.Integer values(cycles)
DRAM Power DownCan modestly save system power,at the expense of higher DRAM latency,by putting DRAM into a quiescent state after a period of inactivity.On/Off



Source: AMD Community

News by Luca Rocchi and Marc Büchel - German Translation by Paul Görnhardt - Italian Translation by Francesco Daghini


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AGESA update 1.0.0.6 incoming - AMD - News - ocaholic