Possible Windows Bug Found, Hurts Ryzen Gaming Performance
Summary
TLDRThe video discusses a potential bug in Windows 11 affecting Ryzen processors' gaming performance, particularly Zen 5. AMD and the reviewer found that using a hidden administrator account improved gaming results, suggesting the issue might be more widespread across Ryzen CPUs. The video clarifies that this is not a Zen 5 specific problem and emphasizes the need for a Windows update to resolve the inconsistency in performance across different installations.
Takeaways
- ๐ There is a potential bug in Windows 11 affecting the gaming performance of Ryzen processors, including both Zen 4 and Zen 5.
- ๐ The issue seems to have a slightly more significant impact on Zen 5 processors, but the difference is minimal.
- ๐ค AMD and the reviewer worked together to diagnose the gaming performance, with AMD confirming the data but noticing a discrepancy with their internal results.
- ๐ Extensive retesting was done with fresh Windows installs and different hardware to understand the performance variance.
- ๐ฅ After discussions with other reviewers, it was found that the initial data was accurate, and the review was published.
- ๐ต๏ธโโ๏ธ AMD discovered that using a hidden administrator account in Windows could result in significant gaming performance gains for Zen 5 processors.
- ๐ The local user account with admin rights is not the same as the system administrator account with elevated privileges, which may affect Ryzen performance in bursty workloads like gaming.
- ๐ฎ The performance boost observed with the administrator account was not exclusive to Zen 5; it also affected Zen 4 processors.
- ๐ The testing showed that the performance uplift with the administrator account varied across different games, with some showing significant improvements and others showing little to no change.
- ๐ป The reviewer suggests that the issue may not be specific to Zen 5 and could be a broader issue affecting Ryzen processors in general.
- ๐ AMD expects a future Windows update to address the bug, which could improve gaming performance for Ryzen processors.
Q & A
What issue was identified in the video script related to Windows 11 and Ryzen processors?
-A bug in Windows 11 was identified that seems to be affecting the gaming performance of Ryzen processors, both Zen 4 and Zen 5, with a slightly more significant impact on Zen 5.
What was AMD's initial response to the gaming performance data presented in the video?
-AMD concluded that the gaming data was accurate and did not claim it was wrong, but they felt there were a few percentage points missing from the Ryzen 7 9700X results compared to their internal findings.
What steps were taken to retest the gaming performance of the Ryzen processors?
-The video creator spent days retesting with fresh Windows installs, different motherboards, and memory kits to understand the issue better.
What is the significance of the 'administrator account' in the context of this issue?
-AMD suggested that testing with a 'hidden administrator account' with elevated privileges might yield different results, as it could affect how Ryzen processors perform bursty workloads like gaming.
How did the use of the administrator account affect the gaming performance of the Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 7 7700X?
-Using the administrator account resulted in a performance boost for both processors in various games, but the gap between them varied, with some games showing a larger improvement for the 9700X and others showing similar or no change.
What was the average performance improvement for the Ryzen 9 7900X when using the administrator account across the tested games?
-The Ryzen 9 7900X saw an average performance improvement of 4% when compared to the initial review data when using the administrator account.
What does the video suggest about the potential impact of this issue on Intel processors?
-The video does not provide data on Intel processors, but it suggests that the issue might affect other CPUs as well, not just Ryzen, though this has not been confirmed.
Why did the video creator decide to hold the Ryzen 9 1900X review?
-The creator held the review to avoid the possibility of AMD sharing information with others who might have only tested Zen 5 processors and incorrectly concluded that Windows 11 is to blame for its weak gaming performance.
What is the main takeaway from the video regarding the Windows bug and its impact on Ryzen processors?
-The main takeaway is that the Windows bug is not specific to Zen 5 processors but seems to be a more general issue affecting Ryzen processors' gaming performance, which may be resolved in a future Windows update.
What is the video creator's plan regarding updating the gaming performance data for Ryzen processors?
-The creator plans to wait for a potential Windows update that may address the issue before retesting and updating the gaming performance data for Ryzen processors.
How does the video address the inconsistency in performance results observed by the creator and other reviewers?
-The video acknowledges the inconsistency in performance results and speculates that it might be related to the Windows bug, although it is not certain and more investigation is needed.
Outlines
๐น๏ธ Windows 11 Bug Impacting Ryzen Gaming Performance
The video script discusses a potential bug in Windows 11 that negatively affects the gaming performance of Ryzen processors, including both Zen 4 and Zen 5. The issue appears to be slightly more pronounced for Zen 5, but the impact is minimal. The script clarifies that this is not solely a Zen 5 problem and emphasizes the need for accurate information dissemination. AMD has been collaborating with the reviewer to diagnose the issue, which does not affect sustained workloads like Photoshop or Blender. The video suggests that running processes on an account with elevated privileges, such as a hidden administrator account in Windows, may resolve the issue, leading to significant gaming performance improvements for Zen 5 parts like the 9700x in certain games.
๐ฎ Zen 5 Performance Variance and Windows Bug Exploration
This paragraph delves into the testing and analysis of the Windows 11 bug's impact on Zen 4 and Zen 5 processors' gaming performance. The script outlines the process of enabling a hidden administrator account to test if elevated privileges affect performance. Results from various games, such as Cyberpunk 2077 and The Last of Us Part One, show performance improvements when using the administrator account, but these gains are not exclusive to Zen 5, as Zen 4 processors also benefit. The video aims to correct misconceptions about Zen 5's gaming performance being nerfed by Windows 11 and stresses that the bug is a broader Ryzen issue that may be resolved in a future Windows update.
๐ ๏ธ Final Thoughts on Ryzen's Performance and Future Outlook
The final paragraph summarizes the findings and clarifies that the Windows bug is not specific to Zen 5, affecting Ryzen processors in general. It discusses the inconsistency in gaming performance results across different Windows installations and the possibility that the hidden administrator account may be key to unlocking better performance. The script also addresses the potential for a future Windows update to resolve the issue, which could improve Ryzen's gaming performance. The author expresses the intention to wait for such an update before retesting and updating Ryzen gaming data, emphasizing the importance of accurate and consistent information for consumers.
Mindmap
Keywords
๐กZen 5
๐กWindows 11
๐กGaming Performance
๐กBug
๐กAMD
๐กAdministrator Account
๐กBenchmarking
๐กFrame Rate
๐กSustained All Core Workloads
๐กProductivity Applications
๐กPerformance Uplift
Highlights
A potential bug in Windows 11 is affecting the gaming performance of Ryzen processors, including both Zen 4 and Zen 5.
The issue may be more pronounced for Zen 5 processors, but the extent of the impact is minimal.
AMD and the reviewer worked together to diagnose the gaming performance of the Ryzen 7 9700x.
AMD confirmed the reviewer's gaming data was accurate but noted a slight discrepancy with their internal results.
The reviewer retested with fresh Windows installs and different hardware to investigate the issue further.
AMD suggested that testing with a hidden administrator account in Windows might yield different results.
Using the hidden administrator account, AMD observed significant gaming performance gains for Zen 5 processors.
The bug does not impact sustained all-core workloads, such as productivity applications.
The reviewer found that the performance uplift using the administrator account was not exclusive to Zen 5 but affected Zen 4 as well.
In some games, the performance difference between Zen 5 and Zen 4 processors narrowed when using the administrator account.
The reviewer emphasizes that the Windows bug is not specific to Zen 5 and could potentially affect other CPUs as well.
AMD is working on resolving the issue, which they expect to be addressed in a future Windows update.
The reviewer chose not to retest and update all Ryzen gaming data, waiting for the Windows update instead.
The inconsistency in gaming performance between different Windows installations has been a long-standing issue.
The reviewer speculates that the hidden administrator account might be required to work around an unknown problem in Windows.
The impact of the bug on Intel CPUs is unknown and was not tested in this review.
The reviewer will update their data once a Windows update is released to address the issue.
The gaming performance of Zen 5 remains underwhelming, but a Windows update may improve Ryzen's performance in general.
The reviewer clarifies that the findings do not change the conclusions of their previous reviews.
Transcripts
[Music]
okay you've seen the title in the
thumbnail but chill out let me explain
what's going on here before you race off
to another video or social media
platform to blame Zen 5 shortcomings on
Windows 11 cuz that's not really
accurate so let's not spread yet more
information about zen5 and I realized
I'm only talking to a vocal minority
here but had to give that disclaimer
just straight off the bat now there does
appear to be a bug in Windows 11 that's
hurting the gaming performance of ryzen
processors both zen4 and Zen 5 and we
have some evidence to suggest that the
issue is a little bit worse for Zen 5
but not much worse like a teeny tiny bit
we also don't know yet if this issue
affects processors such as the am4
Horizon models we don't know if this is
an issue at all for Intel processors so
please bear all of that information in
mind for those of you who have seen our
ryzen 7 9700x review you'll know we
worked with AMD to try and diagnose our
gaming performance and in the end AMD
concluded that our gaming data was
accurate they certainly didn't claim
that it was wrong but they did not that
they were seeing slightly better results
internally but stressed that it was only
slightly better obviously though we want
to provide you guys with the most
accurate data we can so I've spent days
retesting with fresh windows installs
different motherboards and memory kits
to try and work out what's going on in
the end after speaking with almost a
dozen other reviewers it became clear
that our data was pretty much on the
money so we went ahead and published our
review now since reviews went live amd's
team has been working around the clock
to try and figure out what's going on
again they weren't expecting Zen 5's
gaming performance to be much better
than what we showed you but they did
feel there were a few percent missing
from the 9700x results so yeah it does
sound trivial I know but like AMD we
want to make sure the numbers a bang on
so after more than a few back and forths
with AMD they asked me if I was testing
with an ad administrator account which
sounds like a bit of an odd question of
course we're testing with an
administrator account and then explain
to them that yeah like any normal person
I install Windows 11 create the user
account during the install process and
once in Windows that account is
described as the local administrator
account but this isn't actually what AMD
meant there's a sort of hidden
administrator account that you can
activate within windows and it has
elevated privileges as I understand the
local account the local user account has
admin rights whereas the administrator
account is the actual system admin seems
odd that there'd be a difference but
apparently there is and as far as I can
tell if the ryen processes aren't run on
an account with these elevated
privileges then they don't function as
intended for bursty workloads so that
means gaming in particular AMD told me
this bug if that's indeed what it is
won't impact sustained all core
workloads so productivity stuff that we
tested such as Photoshop premere s zip
blender and so on those applications
will not be affected by this issue AMD
also told me when switching between the
local user account and the administrator
account they were seeing big gaming
performance gains for Zen 5 Parts such
as the 9700x in multiple games they were
seeing this and therefore they believed
the bug to be responsible for the
difference between their data and my own
review data now I'm not sure why AMD
would have been benchmarking using the
sort of hidden administrator account if
indeed they were perhaps they required
the elevated privileges for their
automated testing software or maybe they
just found this issue while trying to
diagnose the review data I'm not exactly
sure on those details what I do know is
this AMD presented me with this as a
potential scenario to explain why their
gaming data was a bit more positive for
Zen 5 than my own and they asked me if I
could investigate on my end so of course
I did and now I can share with you what
I found the first step is to open up the
command prompt and type in net.exe user
administrator slactive yes once all of
that's been done simply sign out and now
you will see the administrator account
in the lower left corner of the screen
click that and log in and now all of
your windows-based software will need to
be reconfigured for testing as you're
essentially setting up a new user
account so with all of that done let's
take a look at the
results so we'll start with cyberp Punk
277 Phantom Liberty because this is
where AMD claimed they were seeing the
biggest Improvement and they went wrong
wrong using the administrator account we
saw a 7% Improvement to the average
frame rate and that's not a trivial
Improvement it's an extra 10 FPS and
that would make the 9700x 9% faster than
the 7700x based on our review data for
the
7700x however if we also test the 7700x
using the administrator account we find
an 8% boost for that processor which
actually closes the gap between it and
the
9700x previously the zen5 processor was
2% faster but now it's just 1% faster so
although AMD suggested this might be a
Zen 5 bug it seems they've discovered a
Windows bug that hurts both zen4 and Zen
5 performance it might also affect other
CPUs for all we know we haven't had a
chance to test them but we can at least
confirm that this does affect zen4 and
Zen 5 at this point in time now game
where these new Zen 5 processors sucked
was The Last of Us Part One so I tested
that next and found a 6% boost to the
average frame rate and a 10% uplift for
the 1% lows so that's a big Improvement
however if we test the 7700x we also see
a 5% boost to the average frame rate so
whereas previously the 7700x was 1.3%
faster it's now 6% faster so again this
seems to be a Zen issue in general that
said we did find an example in Hogwarts
Legacy where the 9700x does see a solid
performance uplift using the
administrator account but the 7700x
doesn't and I did triple check this data
so whereas the 7700x was 1% faster in
this example using the administrator
account the 9700x is now 9% faster and
that's a decent margin a plague tail
requim is another example where the data
becomes more favorable for the 9700x
previously the zen5 part was just 3%
faster but with the administrator
account it's down 9% faster as the 7700x
saw no
improvement things though go the other
way in Horizon forbidden West previously
the 7700 X was 2% faster in this title
whereas the administrator account
increased that margin in favor of the
7700x to 5% Hitman 3 previously saw the
9700 X win by a slim 1% margin but with
the administrator account performance
was
identical we see a very minor change in
home World 3 the administrator account
boost performance for both models but
whereas the 9700x was 3% faster it's now
4% faster so scaling is basically the
same in this example both CPUs again
become fter using the administrator
account in Spider-Man remastered but
whereas the 9700x was previously 5%
faster it is now 9% faster which is
becoming a decent
margin the administrator account helps
correct the 9700 X's performance in
Starfield though only to the degree that
it now matches or roughly matches the
7700x so an improvement for sure but
hardly anything to write home about both
CPUs saw a 5 to 6% performance uplift
when using the administrator account so
the margin here doesn't really change
the 7700x is now a% faster the ACC
results don't change at all with the
administrator account so the 9700x
remains 18% faster and I believe the big
Improvement here is due to the increased
L1 cash capacity The Boulders Gate 3
data also barely changes so not much to
see here and we see little to no change
for the Counter-Strike 2
results so across our 13 game sample the
9700x saw a 4% performance impr
Improvement on average when compared to
the day one review data meanwhile the
7700x saw a 3% Improvement so what all
of this means is previously we found an
average for gaming that the 9700x was
just 3% faster than the
7700x and when using the administrator
account it's now 4% faster so we've
improved the 9700 X's position by a perc
that's it if we didn't bother to also
retest the 7700x we might have included
that the 9700x is now 7% faster for
gaming which would have been a much
bigger deal but in reality that just
isn't the case so there you have it guys
I rushed to get this out and we've put
our ryzen 9 1900 X review on hold
because I didn't want AMD showing this
information with someone else who might
have only tested Zen 5 processors and
concluded that Zen 5's performance is
indeed being nerfed by Windows 11 when
in reality there is a bit more to the
story in fact there's a lot more to the
story this Windows bug which aim MD has
told me should be addressed in a future
Windows update seems to be more of a
general Ryon bug at least based on the
testing that we've been able to do so
far so it's not an issue that
specifically affects zen5 processors I
need to make that clear uh I think maybe
AMD initially thought that that might be
the case when they first discovered it
but I'm just speculating there the main
takeaway is this is not a Zen 5 specific
Windows bug the crazy thing is I think
I've been grappling with this issue for
a long time now I know there have been
occasions when I've gone and installed
Windows for parts such as the 7800 x3d
and it's delivered stronger gaming
performance than I was seeing previously
like a week prior and then after another
fresh install the results go back to
what I was seeing about a week prior and
other reviewers have also reported this
very same sort of inconsistent
performance issue with certain rise and
processes especially for these Day One
reviews that you've seen over the last
week so I don't know if sometimes
windows installs without the let's call
it bug uh you know rarely does it
install without it but then most of the
time it installs where I don't know you
require these elevated privileges to
work around whatever the problem is I
really don't know I'm I'm completely
speculating at this point all I know is
I have seen some inconsistent results
with you know installations of Windows
you install and it works well and then
you install and it doesn't work as well
as it was previously bit weird I don't
know if this is the culprit or not I
guess is what I'm trying to say and it's
really important to note that all the
information this video changes nothing
about the reviews The Gaming performance
relative to zen4 doesn't really change
as we just saw relative to Intel
processes this may improve ryzen's
position but that's also just an
assumption that I'm being forced to make
at this point in time it's very possible
that the administrator account will also
boost the gaming performance of Intel
CPUs and ideally I would have liked to
have looked into that before publishing
this content but I would need a few more
days to get that testing done and like I
said my fear was that someone would run
with this story and in the process
create Masseria online with claims that
Windows 11 is to blame for Zen 5's weak
gaming performance when in reality that
does not appear to be the case for now
I'm not going to retest and update all
of our ryen gaming data rather I'm going
to wait to see what happens with all of
this will Microsoft as AMD suggests
release a Windows update to fix this
issue don't know yet but if and when
they do that's when I'll update all of
my data because right now if you buy one
of these CPUs and install Windows unless
you specifically use the administrator
account by following the steps shown in
this video you will be getting the
performance that you have seen in the
day one reviews and that's all I have
for you on this issue Zen 5's gaming
performance remains highly disappointing
but it's possible ryzen's gaming
performance in general will be improved
shortly with a Windows update unless
running with elevated privileges poses
some kind of security risk and therefore
this isn't really a bug at all uh we'll
just have to wait and see on that one
also as I said I I do want to be clear
on this we haven't tested Intel CPUs so
it is possible this just improves gaming
performance for all CPUs so I guess time
will tell on that one but if you
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see you again next time
[Music]
[Music]
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