Updating BIOS

RobSmith · 17 Sep 2011 at 21:59

How important is it to update to the latest version of BIOS?

I've just recently got a new mobo (P8Z68-V Pro) and was wondering if it's really that essential to download the latest BIOS and other drivers to accompany it?

Could not downloading them potentially cause problems?

Many thanks!

Duke · 17 Sep 2011 at 22:09

If you check which version your board has already (within the BIOS), the website will list the changes in each version so you can work out if its worth doing. I would always keep it up to date myself.

Philtor · 18 Sep 2011 at 01:48

Check the readme for the latest version and see if it's worth doing.

yashiro · 18 Sep 2011 at 02:36

Updating a bios for more overclocking potential is what a lot of people here would consider a risk worth taking. However, in reality, unless you have a specific issue that's solved by a new bios it's a very bad idea to perform an update.

bledd · 18 Sep 2011 at 06:30

yashiro said:
However, in reality, unless you have a specific issue that's solved by a new bios it's a very bad idea to perform an update.

I wouldn't say that.. Just make sure it's the right version, and only do an update if you're certain your machine won't crash / power off

3dcandy · 18 Sep 2011 at 10:32

I tend to update when the BIOS file has been out a little while to see if any major problems manifest themselves, and then update when all seems well...

TheVoice · 18 Sep 2011 at 18:04

bledd. said:
I wouldn't say that.. Just make sure it's the right version, and only do an update if you're certain your machine won't crash / power off

Agreed. I can't see what makes it a "very bad idea" at all, quite the opposite really.

sagum · 19 Sep 2011 at 20:03

A lot of boards have CrashFree type BIOS (like that ASUS board), so even if you have a bad flash you can still recover the board or switch back to stock BIOS.

Another little trick you can often do is replace the bios splash screen. Asus have a tool called MyLogo that allows you to easily change it.

Of course, updating the bios for features and improvements is great if you can make use of them. Sometimes boards have bios updates later on that allow them to support different/more memory types or CPUs etc. But unless the board is old stock from the retailer, they usually have a recent BIOS anyway.

chaosophy · 19 Sep 2011 at 20:39

sagum said:
A lot of boards have CrashFree type BIOS (like that ASUS board), so even if you have a bad flash you can still recover the board or switch back to stock BIOS.

Yeah, look into this and you can be prepared. With some you just need the old bios on a floppy/cd/usb named as a specfic file name. And then if the BIOS is hosed it will check all devices for a file with that name and flash the BIOS with it.

Or at least that's how some of the older ASUS boards where.