Do I need to update my BIOS?

[Samhfx]

Basically I downloaded and played the Battlefield 6 play-test the weekend. I noticed my CPU was reaching 90-95% with everything closed in the background and nothing in my task manager. I was checking on Google and I come across a post mentioning updating the BIOS to improve stability for games. I started to remember some other games felt sloppy due to the CPU and now I'm going in circles and questioning myself after all these years my PC wasn't running smoothly because I never update my BIOS. This isn't a thing right? I went into my BIOS just now and checked the version and it's very old, would this even matter at all?

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5800x
3070 FE
750 PSU
32 GB

 

[Tetras]

BIOS updates can fix weird issues, so yeah, that's possible, but realistically I'd expect this to be far more likely a software problem, like a buggy driver or service.

 

[Avathar77]

There are few Agesa updates in the later bios which helped with performance and stability of the X570 boards and Ryzen CPUs. While it is a good idea to update bios, I too think this is not related to the bios.
Does it constantly stay at those levels or come down after a certain time of inactivity? Have you run a scan for any malware in your system?

 

[Samhfx]

BIOS updates can fix weird issues, so yeah, that's possible, but realistically I'd expect this to be far more likely a software problem, like a buggy driver or service.

There are few Agesa updates in the later bios which helped with performance and stability of the X570 boards and Ryzen CPUs. While it is a good idea to update bios, I too think this is not related to the bios.
Does it constantly stay at those levels or come down after a certain time of inactivity? Have you run a scan for any malware in your system?

This is the problem right. I was doing a lot of research about my cpu and gpu and there is no bottleneck apparently even though i'm on 1440p 165hz monitor. so i read into updating my bios, my version is very old right? then i read storys like people saying it can be dangerous, if something goes wrong your pc is bricked. for someone like myself who suffers with anxiety that's not a step I want to take. but if it increases my pc performance then maybe it's a risk i would have to take.

i also read about resizable rebar. apparently i have that disabled in my bios, i should enable that right? i never knew this was even a thing.

also i have no maleware or any background stuff running. just annoying time for me to post this because the playtest for bf6 is currently over and it was the only game where i felt the cpu usage being high, game felt sloppy but then again i could only get around 85-110 fps on lowest settings.

i hope my post made sense, going crazy and it's 2am extremely tired.

when i checked msi site it has something about cpu support for one of the newer versions, does that include mine and is it anything i should be wanting?

https://imgur.com/a/C3JXtc5

 

[freddie64]

This is the problem right. I was doing a lot of research about my cpu and gpu and there is no bottleneck apparently even though i'm on 1440p 165hz monitor. so i read into updating my bios, my version is very old right? then i read storys like people saying it can be dangerous, if something goes wrong your pc is bricked. for someone like myself who suffers with anxiety that's not a step I want to take. but if it increases my pc performance then maybe it's a risk i would have to take.

i also read about resizable rebar. apparently i have that disabled in my bios, i should enable that right? i never knew this was even a thing.

also i have no maleware or any background stuff running. just annoying time for me to post this because the playtest for bf6 is currently over and it was the only game where i felt the cpu usage being high, game felt sloppy but then again i could only get around 85-110 fps on lowest settings.

i hope my post made sense, going crazy and it's 2am extremely tired.

when i checked msi site it has something about cpu support for one of the newer versions, does that include mine and is it anything i should be wanting?

https://imgur.com/a/C3JXtc5

I would update to latest bios just for the security fixes.
As long as you download the file to a memory stick and update through bios, you should be fine. If i remember right, once you start the update your keyboard and mouse are disabled so you can't accidentally stop the update before it finishes.

You may as well enable rebar.

Have you run a scan for malware using Malwarebytes or some other scanner?

Your CPU is supported now, if it wasn't you would not be able to use the PC.

Should also update chipset drivers if you haven't done yet.

 

[Samhfx]

I would update to latest bios just for the security fixes.
As long as you download the file to a memory stick and update through bios, you should be fine. If i remember right, once you start the update your keyboard and mouse are disabled so you can't accidentally stop the update before it finishes.

You may as well enable rebar.

Have you run a scan for malware using Malwarebytes or some other scanner?

Your CPU is supported now, if it wasn't you would not be able to use the PC.

Should also update chipset drivers if you haven't done yet.

What are the steps I need to do? what type of file is this? i just need to put this on a usb stick and thats it? https://imgur.com/a/Yb4dDNw

i just have a really bad feeling. what if i update the bios and it turns out to be the wrong file and now i can't boot my pc?

yes i did malewarebytes scan, everything is clean.

 

[mickyflinn]

Have you checked in task manger to see if any process is causing the high CPU usage ?

 

[freddie64]

What are the steps I need to do? what type of file is this? i just need to put this on a usb stick and thats it? https://imgur.com/a/Yb4dDNw

i just have a really bad feeling. what if i update the bios and it turns out to be the wrong file and now i can't boot my pc?

yes i did malewarebytes scan, everything is clean.

You have the MSI X570 Tomahawk WIFI, yes? I have the same and that is the file i used, just let it do its thing and don't power off the PC and you should be fine.

Follow the steps in this video (flashing starts at around 52 secs)

You have a "Bios flashback" button on the rear of the motherboard (where you plug mouse etc in). If anything goes wrong, this will save you and you do not have to dismantle your PC.

This is not your motherboard but the process is the same.

As others have said though, this may not solve your issue as it sounds like software/driver/service problem.

 

[Samhfx]

You have the MSI X570 Tomahawk WIFI, yes? I have the same and that is the file i used, just let it do its thing and don't power off the PC and you should be fine.

Follow the steps in this video (flashing starts at around 52 secs)

You have a "Bios flashback" button on the rear of the motherboard (where you plug mouse etc in). If anything goes wrong, this will save you and you do not have to dismantle your PC.

This is not your motherboard but the process is the same.

As others have said though, this may not solve your issue as it sounds like software/driver/service problem.

lets say something does go wrong. the flash bios, will i lose all my stuff?

 

[Ch3m1c4L]

you wont lose your stuff on ssd/hdd when upgrading the bios, or using bios flashback if something goes wrong with the process. the only things you lose are your bios settings as these go back to default.

You are also most likely seeing the CPU usage be that high simple due to being CPU limited. You stated "there is no bottleneck" with your cpu/gpu, but there always is. One of them is the limiting factor. You normally want this to be GPU, so gpu usage at 95-100% at all times. But, a lot of gpus out pace the 5xxx series in some modern games. Space marine 2, helldivers 2 etc I get 80-120 in game, due to my 5950x. My 4090 sits at 50-65% usage in those games. If I increase the cpu load in the background by streaming etc, my fps goes down accordingly. Other games, i am sat at 100% gpu load and low cpu load with similar FPS, its all engine/game dependant, and often a case of "game adds ray tracing - im suddenly gpu limited instead of cpu". I am happy enough with it for now, hoping I can hold out until AM6 :/

I imagine BF6 is doing the same, although I did not play it so cant confirm.

 

[Tetras]

i also read about resizable rebar. apparently i have that disabled in my bios, i should enable that right? i never knew this was even a thing.

So far as I'm aware, not having it enabled shouldn't cause a huge performance impact. Rebar is usually single digit percentage, or a low double digit.

also i have no maleware or any background stuff running.

If you're getting huge CPU usage sitting idle, something is running. Note that I believe the anti cheat on BF6 installs and runs at a low level, so I'm not sure how visible the process would be to the OS. I'd assume if you install BF6, it uninstalls that too.

just annoying time for me to post this because the playtest for bf6 is currently over and it was the only game where i felt the cpu usage being high, game felt sloppy but then again i could only get around 85-110 fps on lowest settings.

85-110 fps on a new AAA game that is in beta (and probably not well optimised yet) doesn't sound that bad to me? Your 3070 is getting on a bit.

i just have a really bad feeling. what if i update the bios and it turns out to be the wrong file and now i can't boot my pc?

I don't know about you, but I don't enough evidence here to say that your BIOS is the problem. Presumably your PC was fine before BF6, right?

Is there anything in the event viewer?

lets say something does go wrong. the flash bios, will i lose all my stuff?

If you have encryption enabled or Windows Hello, then that is possible, but normally no.

 

[Samhfx]

So far as I'm aware, not having it enabled shouldn't cause a huge performance impact. Rebar is usually single digit percentage, or a low double digit.


If you're getting huge CPU usage sitting idle, something is running. Note that I believe the anti cheat on BF6 installs and runs at a low level, so I'm not sure how visible the process would be to the OS. I'd assume if you install BF6, it uninstalls that too.


85-110 fps on a new AAA game that is in beta (and probably not well optimised yet) doesn't sound that bad to me? Your 3070 is getting on a bit.


I don't know about you, but I don't enough evidence here to say that your BIOS is the problem. Presumably your PC was fine before BF6, right?

Is there anything in the event viewer?


If you have encryption enabled or Windows Hello, then that is possible, but normally no.

not really sure what i'm looking at there but it looks like a lot of errors just from today. is that normal? https://imgur.com/a/Vi4tAwB (event viewer)

i'm just curious, what would be the upgrade from a 3070. the 5070 ti right? i'm kind of poor but i really do want to upgrade eventually.

 

[mickyflinn]

So you checked event viewer but did you check task manger ?

 

[Tetras]

is that normal? https://imgur.com/a/Vi4tAwB (event viewer)

Most of the stuff in the event viewer is meaningless and safe to ignore.

What is the devicesetupmanager saying? Do you have a USB device that has come loose, or something like that?

i'm just curious, what would be the upgrade from a 3070. the 5070 ti right? i'm kind of poor but i really do want to upgrade eventually.

That would be a good card to aim for, yes.

 

[Quartz]

my version is very old right? then i read storys like people saying it can be dangerous, if something goes wrong your pc is bricked.

Both true. Read the instructions very carefully. A BIOS upgrade can really only go very wrong if the power cuts, so if you can attach your PC to a UPS you'll be fine. If you cannot and it does go wrong, your motherboard supports BIOS flashback and failing that the BIOS chip can be desoldered and reflashed.

FWIW there's also a LED firmware update.

 

[JollyJamma]

Basically I downloaded and played the Battlefield 6 play-test the weekend. I noticed my CPU was reaching 90-95% with everything closed in the background and nothing in my task manager. I was checking on Google and I come across a post mentioning updating the BIOS to improve stability for games. I started to remember some other games felt sloppy due to the CPU and now I'm going in circles and questioning myself after all these years my PC wasn't running smoothly because I never update my BIOS. This isn't a thing right? I went into my BIOS just now and checked the version and it's very old, would this even matter at all?

imgur.com

Discover the magic of the internet at Imgur, a community powered entertainment destination. Lift your spirits with funny jokes, trending memes, entertaining gifs, inspiring stories, viral videos, and so much more from users.

imgur.com

5800x
3070 FE
750 PSU
32 GB

Yes, it's usually a good idea to update your BIOS but I'd be surprised if the BIOS was linked to that behaviour.

Sometimes you have a runaway process or memory leak with an app but that's usually a Windows bug or a virus or a specific bug with an application.

Do the BIOS update and check your system for malware. Update all of your software if you have any outstanding updates too.

 

[Dg834man]

Think he worded his first post badly, in game with 90-95% cpu usage with no background apps running, totally normal game engines will use as much cpu/gpu as it can, one or the other will always hit 100% holding the other back unless you put in an artificial limit like fps cap, some people think running cpu at 100% causes stutter but never experienced it myself.

 

[Samhfx]

Think he worded his first post badly, in game with 90-95% cpu usage with no background apps running, totally normal game engines will use as much cpu/gpu as it can, one or the other will always hit 100% holding the other back unless you put in an artificial limit like fps cap, some people think running cpu at 100% causes stutter but never experienced it myself.

Running high cpu degrades performance and i notice it badly. I do use a fps cap. in fact in the bf6 beta i can only achieve 80-110 fps on the lowest settings so I capped my fps at 90 to ensure it's more smooth. even then my cpu spikes up to 99% randomly and my gpu is 99% too

 

[mattyfez]

It's one game/application it's in beta...

I wouldn't be doing anything until it's released properly, and even then I'd probably wait a new gpu driver release too... It's a major release so it's very possible there will be a big game patch soon after lunch, and some gpu driver optimisations in subsequent gpu driver releases.

 

[throwaway4372]

The problem is the game. I had to cap it at 90 FPS on low due to CPU load.