Framerate dropping

Short version: do BIOS need to be updated sequentially if more than one revision has been released since the last update?

I'm having the exact same drop in framerate happen to me as Inquizitor in this thread (I thought it best to start a new thread rather than bring the old one up from page 30 something).

I'm reading the suggestions there, and have read through the ++ Common Solutions & Posting Guidelines ++ to see what I can do before posting that nothing has worked. I'm currently updating all the drivers I can think of, but I have come to ask if BIOS need to be updated sequentially or if I can just slap in the newest version (since my motherboard has had about 15 revisions since I installed it early last year, and some of the early revisions are larger than later ones). After I get things updated and monitoring programs running, I'll come back with HijackThis and CoHhelper readouts if things don't improve.

BIOS upgrades are a high-risk operation: if something goes wrong (say, the power goes out during the upgrade), your computer will be rendered completely non-functional. Unless you know that a BIOS upgrade will fix your problem, don't do it.

I do realize that the BIOS are the lifeblood of a computer's start-up procedure, and that screwing up the BIOS install renders your computer kaput. However, I'm willing to take that risk if it means that my overall computing experience improves. (the framerate drop isn't just with CoH, it also happens with other games and hefty Flash animations)

My current revision is 0307 (OEM version). The next one in line is 0405, then 0503, then 0603, and so on down the line about 11 more times, until revision 2101. Now, can I slap on revision 2101 and have all of the tweaks from the previous versions, or do I need to update to 0405, then 0503, etc until I reach 2101?

Read the instructions that come with the update: it should tell you.

um... BIOS's don't.. .quite... work like that.

Basically, if you want to know how a BIOS actually works, check out http://www.openfirmware.info/Welcome_to_OpenBIOS

And, More specifically, http://www.openfirmware.info/OpenBIOS itself.

You'd also want to drop by : http://www.coreboot.org/Welcome_to_coreboot

In the case of most modern operating systems, such as a modern Linux, Microsoft NT, and BSD based systems like Apple OSX, the BIOS simply serves to initialize the hardware, then hands off the actual handling of the hardware to the Operating System. As CoreBoot calls it, a BIOS simply sets up for the payload : http://www.coreboot.org/Payloads

The problems with a traditional BIOS, such as only a 16-bit processor mode, only 1 MiB addressable space, and pretty much compatibility with x86 hardware only, saw Intel create EFI, or the Extensible Firmware Interface. http://www.intel.com/technology/efi/ Currently though, EFI is only used in the consumer market by Apple, although you can buy products such as EFI-X that will let you install Apple's BSD remixes on retail x86 systems : http://www.art-studios.net/home

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Now, typically, updating your BIOS will only help for certain hardware related problems, like the AMD Phenom TLB issue: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=537868

BIOS updates also generally are used to add new processor support, although in some cases they can be used to fix odd problems actually occurring in an Operating System. Like the patch note for Asus's M2R32-MVP BIOS version 1106, which simply says: Patch it can't mute via the icon on the taskbar... or the earlier M2R32-MVP BIOS Version 0607, which noted the following: Patch system will fail to boot with some DDR2 memory. Patch system unable to restore from S3 state.

While a BIOS system can be used to overclock your computer, tools like AMD OverDrive and Nvidia System Tools, which I believe is now here under Nvidia MCP often achieve the same exact results in an already loaded operating system.

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Basically, unless you have a problem that is specifically noted in the patch notes for a BIOS, upgrading or updating probably won't do a thing to help your particular issue.

To directly answer your last question: No, you do not need to sequentially upgrade your BIOS with each revision.

When you do go to upgrade your bios most tools automatically completely clear the existing software update during the flash process. Since nothing in the BIOS is saved during the flash operation, all of the updates or tweaks have to be contained in whatever the latest file is.

Alright, thanks for explaining je_saist, I think I understand it now. Part of the reason I was considering updating the BIOS was a note on one of the revisions that claimed it 'Reduce the thermal of the CPU' (ASUS needs to have a better translator working on the notes). Can't hurt to update the video drivers and install monitoring software though.

After some informal testing (having a fan blowing across the back of the case,) I'm now pretty sure it's a cooling issue, so now I just need to figure out how I'm going to fix it.

Not a lot of room in an old HP Pavilion 734n case for new fans. There's barely any room for the newer CPU and its massive heatsink. And the setup of my room has the tower stuck in a corner where there isn't a lot of airflow. Might be time to rearrange. And Christmas is coming up...



P.S. Thanks for the replies!