Datatalk / Upgrade CPU / Windows 11.
A friend donated a Ryzen 5 3600 CPU from his dead PC. Should I upgrade my own machine? Perhaps not.
But I'm still going to do it 😁
Speed
A 3600 should be about 20% faster than my current 1600X. Not a real reason.
Windows 10
Windows 10 support is ending on October 14, 2025, that's basically another 3 years I could run this machine with it's current hardware. By that time the hardware is so outdated I'd probably have little use for it, except perhaps to use it as my home server.
Windows 11
Do I need Windows 11? Not really. Windows 11 offers very little that I need. I do like the Android integration, but that's about it. (And it would be a lot better if it wouldn't be Amazon Android but Google Android based, and it it would be available in the Netherlands, sigh.)
But... Windows 11 doesn't run on a 1600X (for what seems to me some arbitrary reason, but alas.)
So why still try?
Well, a friend donated one from a broken mainboard. He used the opportunity to upgrade his whole machine and now had a 3600 left. Well, a free 3600... I guess that's a reason as good as it gets 😎
Hardware
I actually run the risk of hard- and software no longer being supported by Windows 11.
My machine is a bit of a mix of old and new stuff.
Mainboard - Asrock AB 350 Pro4
CPU - 1600X (now 3600)
Memory - 32GB DDR4 2133 (2400, lots but slow)
Video - GTX1060
SSD - Samsung EVO 870
Monitor 1 - IIyama XB3270QS
Monitor 2 - Wacom 21UX
Miscellaneous - Hercules Jog Shuttle
Software
I run some older software now and again, especially PhotoImpact.
Windows 10 / 11
PhotoImpact
Veracrypt
Forgotten Realms Interactive Atlas
Backup
I better make an image of my boot drive before upgrading to Windows 11, assuming I can get the mainboard working with the 3600. My older soft and hardware may simply not work with Windows 11...
Types of Ryzen
There are some BIOS issues, with Asrock's website referring to family names...
From https://www.wikiwand.com/en/List_of_AMD_processors
Bristol Ridge - Bulldozer (didn't expect that)
Summit Ridge - Ryzen 1xxx series
Pinnacle Ridge - Ryzen 2xxx series
Raven Ridge - Ryzen 2xxx series
So, I'm upgrading from a Summit to a Matisse, I think? Upon further investigation, it didn't really matter, as any configuration is supposed to work with a 1600X. Oh well...
The right BIOS
Several sites list the board to be compatible with a Ryzen 5 5500 if you flash the right BIOS, though it isn't listed on the Asrock site as a compatible CPU. What is interesting though is a comment regarding BIOS updates:
Note1: AMD Ryzen 1xxx series CPUs are able to boot up with all BIOS versions.
Okay. That's good 😁
So I can flash a new BIOS whilst keeping the 1600X in there, and can flash it easily to an older version as well. The right BIOS version then would be...
1600X - YD160XBCM6IAE - 95W - Summit Ridge - 3.6GHz - 3MB - P2.20
3600 - 100-000000031 - 65W - Matisse - 3.6GHz - 3MB - P5.80
I should end up with slightly lower power consumption (not so), a slightly faster machine, and Windows 11 compatibility. I need to update the BIOS to 5.80 to run the 3600.
Note that several sites suggest that even without the correct BIOS newer chips tend to work, as long as the memory isn't too fast. Well, I got memory as slow as molasses, so no sweat there 😁
Updating BIOS
This has to be done in stages... Current -> 3.0 -> 5.4 -> 5.8. All work with the 1600X inserted.
A couple of reboots later the machine still works. I'm going to run both 3DMark and PCMark to compare the performance before and after the CPU replacement.
Notes:
I had to flash the P5.80 BIOS twice. The first time it booted up, still reporting 5.40.
At first the system wouldn't boot, until I removed two memory sticks. Then, after a successful boot into the BIOS I switched the system off, inserted all four sticks and booted again. This time it worked fine. (Other people have reported a similar issue.)
After installing the new 5.8 BIOS the machine boots slower. It was never a fast booter, and it has gotten even worse. Maybe I should try UEFI when I'm going to install Windows 11.
Update: made no difference.
The Ryzen 5 3600 and the 'fan control curves' don't cooperate well. Apparently, the 3600 powers up and down all the time, resulting in fast-changing on-die temperatures, and my 1600X-based maiboard driven fan curves (where I speed up the fans if the CPU goes above 34 degrees) result in very nervous whining fans, speeding up and down, because the BIOS monitors junction instead of average die temperatures. I'm now forced to use way higher temperature limits for my fan curves. A 1600X is more silent in my configuration. (Unfortunately, the main board sensor on the Asrock AB350 Pro4 is pretty useless.)
Update: the non-free tool Argus does the job under Windows.
Performance
Ryzen 5 1600X
3DMark - Time Spy - Graphics 4348 - CPU 5533
PcMark 10 - 5135
Ryzen 5 3600
3DMark - Time Spy - Graphics 4221 - CPU 6409
PcMark 10 - 6341
The average gain is, as expected, around 20%.
The new BIOS has some better RAM timing options, so I had a look at those as well, and now use the XMP profile of my Corsair RAM modules, which offers another 5% in general, but strangely enough increases graphical (Benchmark) performance by 10%?!? Weird...
Ryzen 5 3600 with XMP 2400:
3DMark - Time Spy - Graphics 4201 - CPU 7124
PcMark 10 - 6379
Conclusion
Allowing XMP 2400 and installing the 3600 brought around 25% gain for non-games. I'm a little surprised PcMark didn't profit much from faster memory, where a graphical Benchmark did...
Some applications feel way more 'snappy', especially some older single threaded stuff. The old 'Forgotten Realms Interactive Atlas' feels (subjectively) twice as fast.
Also, I can confirm you can upgrade to Windows 11 after doing the above.
If you have an older Ryzen 1xxx or 2xxx and can get a replacement CPU on the cheap, then you could eke out a few more years of your current system.
Otherwise it's probably smarter to keep running your machine until the death of Windows 10, or until your machine dies on you, whichever comes first.
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