BIOS update for MSI X670 and B650 boards can cut boot times in half

Shawn Knight

Posts: 15,256   +192
Staff member
In a nutshell: MSI has issued a BIOS update for X670 and B650 motherboards featuring a new option that can reportedly slash boot times in half. In lab testing with an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU, an MSI MAG X670E Tomahawk WiFi board and 32GB (2x 16GB) of Kingston DDR5-6000 memory, MSI was able to reduce boot time (the moment the power button was pressed to the moment the Windows 11 desktop loaded) from 43 seconds to 22 seconds. That's not bad for changing one setting, but is it worth the risk?

MSI's new Memory Context Restore option in the BIOS makes it all possible, but unfortunately the hardware vendor did not have much to say about what the option actually does.

Tom's Hardware points to an Asus forum post from a month ago where a user was discussing using the feature on an ROG Crosshair X670E Hero board. The feature also cropped up in this TechPowerUp forum discussion late last year although in both instances, it appeared to be buried deep in advanced user menus.

Do you have any experience with the Memory Context Restore option on your X670 or B650 board, or does it even sound like an option that you would be interested in? In my younger days, I would go to great lengths to chase even a smidgen of performance. These days, however, I value stability above all else. If my PC takes a couple of extra seconds to boot up but I know it's not going to crash, that's the route I am taking.

Many enthusiasts leave their machines on 24/7, so something like this might not even be worth the hassle or potential stability risk. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Those interested in tinkering with the new setting can grab the latest BIOS update from MSI's website. Simply navigate to your board, click support then look for BIOS under drivers and downloads. A quick check of the board MSI used in its testing reveals the latest BIOS update was released on April 14.

Permalink to story.

 
Great,
Now AMD and all MB and RAM manufacturers make a clear statement that you will cover warranty for processors, MB and RAM when customers use RAM with AMD EXPO profiles.
Because after 7800X3D melting drama, Asus said that will not cover warranty if those customers used RAM with AMD Expo profile.
If not, lower your price products, and expect low to 0 sales.
 
Last edited:
My system sleeps when it is not in use and only restarts when Windows pushes an update or I install a new GPU driver... resume from sleep is 5 seconds and would be faster if it were not for XMP on. I think it's good progress on AM5 that manufacturers are reducing the long boot times. 45 seconds is far too long to just be POSTING. I recently dusted off a z170 system with Skylake and I forgot how fast that platform used to boot. 10-12 seconds from power button to windows, and 1-2 seconds to resume from sleep. Much faster than contemporary systems.
 
Back