Wrapping Things Up
So, are Nvidia GPUs limiting Ryzen's gaming performance? Well, we didn't find any evidence of that. In some DX12 scenarios, the 1800X performs better than the 7700K when paired with a RX 480 over the GTX 1060, but that doesn't prove Nvidia is handicapping Ryzen.
In any case, we found some interesting results here that will be kept in mind when testing the gaming performance of Ryzen 5 CPUs set to arrive next week. We'll be sure to throw an AMD GPU into the mix for games such as Deus Ex: Mankind Divided or Total War: Warhammer, though these games are being dropped until we have a more powerful single-GPU graphics card from AMD.
For now, we'll continue to monitor Ryzen's progress as the platform matures. AMD has already announced that numerous tweaks and fixes are in the works. For example, the company will soon distribute version 1.0.0.4 of its "AMD Generic Encapsulated Software Architecture" (AGESA) to motherboard partners. As a result, there will be a BIOS update based on this AGESA, which should arrive in early April with four key improvements for end-users.
AMD says it has reduced DRAM latency by approximately 6ns, which can result in higher performance for latency-sensitive applications. It has resolved an unusual FMA3 code sequence that could cause a system hang, as well as the "overclock sleep bug" where an incorrect CPU frequency could be reported after resuming from S3 sleep. Lastly, the AMD Ryzen Master overclocking utility will no longer require the High-Precision Event Timer (HPET).
We expect more updates to come soon and we'll be ready to test Ryzen's performance again as the situation demands, starting with the arrival of AMD's mid-range chips next week.
If that's too long of a wait, check out these simulated Ryzen 5 results for an appetizer.