Update BIOS for "new" processor?

cerebralhigh

cerebralhigh

cerebralhigh

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Hi, I have the Asus z87-A motherboard with BIOS version 1207. I've just been looking on the Asus website and it says there is a BIOS update for what it calls the "new 4th generation Intel processors", which I assume means Haswell. But in the instructions to update the BIOS it says the following:

"* Note: To update your UEFI BIOS with the ‘BIOS updater for New 4th Gen Intel Core Processors’ tool you must boot your system with a current 4th generation Intel Core processor installed. When the update is complete, you can replace the current processor with a new 4th generation Intel Core processor."

What is a "current" 4th generation Intel Core processor, as opposed to a "new" one? I thought that any processor starting with a '4' was a 'new' Haswell processor? Am I wrong about this? It's suggesting that you need to update the BIOS with an old chip in your system and then swap it with a new chip when you've updated the BIOS??? Or is this only if you're upgrading your system? I only built my computer yesterday.

I have the i7 4770 which I assume is a 'new' 4th gen processor? In which case do I need to update my BIOS?

Confused! Thanks for any help in advance
 
Current processor is haswell - old 4th gen

New processor is haswell refresh, due out next month - new 4th gen

Update the bios with your current processor installed in order to support the new processors
 
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Hi Jamin, that explains it, thanks.

So since I won't be using a 'Haswell refresh' processor for this computer, does that mean I won't need to update the bios? The update only seems to provide support for these new processors (which I don't have).

Sorry to labour the point but I just want to be sure. Thanks
 
If you are not going to get a 4th gen cpu then leave it. I reckon 1207 was the best bios for the Z87-A. It was the original bios when i got my board and even overclocked with a manual fixed voltage the voltage would still drop when the cpu was at idle. Stupidly, when 1606 came out i updated and the voltage no longer dropped at idle. I tried flashing back to 1207 but it still no longer worked. Apart from the cpu support, the newer bios versions offer nothing new. If you do end up buyiong a 4th gen cpu flash it before you get it but you are supposed to use the tool on their site to flash and not EZ-flash in the bios.
 
See now I would flash the bios, if at some point in the future you decide to sell the board, and the guy buying it, only has a haswell refresh cpu, he's not going to be very happy and send it back as not working.
 
Thanks very much to both of you. You've sort of given me both sides of the argument!

It's very unlikely that I'll sell the computer; more likely I'll just upgrade it in a few years time. So probably I'll just leave it as it is since at the moment the computer is working a treat.

I was more concerned that if I didn't update the bios then it would have a detrimental effect on performance, but by the sound of it that's not the case.

So are BIOS updates not the same as (say) windows or antivirus updates in the sense that they don't actually need to be updated? Is this because of the risk of messing up your motherboard during the process?

It's strange though, all the main motherboard manufacturer's websites give detailed instructions about how to update the BIOS, as if it's nothing to worry about. Have motherboards improved to the extent that updating the BIOS is basically risk free these days?
 
Windows / AV are software updates.

Bios updates are to fix issues which they may discover on the board, bugs, address issues and things like that, also to support certain new hardware and also update things like the hard drive, lan controllers etc, so I'd say they were more hardware updates than software.

However, quite right in the aspect that if a flash goes wrong, or you have a power failure whilst it's flashing the bios then your motherboard is pretty much dead unless it comes with some sort of recovery like a second bios chip as found on most Gigabyte motherboards.
 
No it's not risk free especially if using the windows flashing software or you have a MSI board (they are not confisent with their flashing tools and prefer the user to sign up to the forum and use the forum tool for flashing!!). The safest way is to use the tool in the bios, Ez-Flash on Asus boards but that 4th gen cpu update one they want you to use the flashing tool on the website. I did it and it worked for me but i was holding my breath for a bit. Most people say if it isn't broken and is working fine then leave it. Personally i like to keep it updated but that's just me and i ended up worse off that time.
 
Thanks again to both of you; very interesting. I didn't know that about the MSI motherboards. I'm glad I went with Asus with hindsight!

The 'USB Flashback' option on the Asus website isn't available for the z87-A motherboard, but it suggests using the 'BIOS updater for new Intel 4th Gen Core Processors' instead (also available on the Asus website). It seems very straightforward and I'm tempted to do it, but it would be a pain in the backside if something went wrong and I ended up killing my mb.

I think for now I'll refrain from updating the bios as things are working just fine at the moment. I'd like to get everything as up to date as possible, but then again 'if it isn't broken, why fix it?'
 
The USB flashback thing got me confused on the Z87-A too. I must have scoured the manual half a dozen times. :D:D:D

The tool worked fine for me but it was a bit hope and pray while it was working. I really don't like windows flashing software. It's up to you at the end of the day. Like i said, it didn't make any noticeable difference to my setup. Overclock and voltage was the same, it was already rock solid and i didn't have any compatibility problems so i suppose all it does is to add the extra cpu support. Now that i have figured out that AVX code affects offset voltage as well as adaptive voltage i would probably have kept my board.
 
On the bios update page for the Z87-A it says to update to the latest bios for 4th gen cpu's with USB flashback or the downloadable bios flashing tool. The thing they overlooked is that the Z87-A doesn't support USB bios flashback. That's where the confusion came from. The downloadable bios flashing tool is a windows tool.
 
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