First of all, you should know that BIOS and chipset are not the same. They are often confused, but they are two very different elements. We can define BIOS in a simple way as the “boot” system for the components of our computer.
While, on the other hand, the chipset acts as a communication between the different peripherals and the processor. Although some components communicate directly with the processor, others do so indirectly. Some examples are USB ports, SATA ports or additional PCIe lines.
This is why you need to update the chipset driver.
It not only handles additional connectivity, but it also performs other functions. The first and most important of these is to allow the system to boot if it detects a compatible processor. This is important because installing an unsupported processor will not boot.
Additionally, it has additional security features that add protection to the system against different types of malware. It even impacts system performance, since it can change the processor’s operating parameters.
Updating the chipset firmware is very important, because improves system security and stability.
Note that the person who takes care of the chipset the most is AMD, with fairly regular updates of the AGESA microcode. Each manufacturer then adds it via firmware updates to their products. These mainly help alleviate security issues, although they provide much more.
The first AMD Ryzen processors did not perform very well and AGESA updates were very frequent. These optimizations added CPU performance, mainly improving RAM compatibility. Now the company’s processors are robust and these improvements are not as numerous. But it is essential for supporting new processors on their motherboards.
Intel, for its part, is more lax in this regard. It rarely releases updates of this type, one or two per year at most. Mainly security updates and some RAM optimizations are released, but minor. Note that Intel requires you to periodically change the motherboard by modifying the socket.
It’s a pretty simple process
Updating the chipset differs greatly from updating the BIOS. To update the BIOS, you must save the new file to a USB stick and do it from the BIOS itself. There is no need to update the chipset, you can do it directly from Windows. The process is greatly simplified and only requires an update once the installation is complete.
Let’s quickly see how this is done for Intel and AMD.
Update Intel Chipset
The process is simple, but there are a few steps to follow:
- We right-click on the Windows icon in the lower left corner
- In the drop-down menu we must click on Device Manager
- Once inside we will look for the System devices option
- We open the drop-down menu and inside we will look for Intel SMBus
- We right-click on it and click on the Update option.
Update AMD chipset
For AMD motherboards, it’s much simpler. AMD offers all chipsets on its website, support page. We will have to check the chipset option, choose the socket then from the list, select that of our motherboard.
What’s interesting is that an executable file is downloaded, which makes updating very simple and convenient.
Using third-party software
As a last option, you have the option of using third-party tools. Driver Booster is a very comprehensive software that allows you to keep your system drivers completely up to date. Detects all outdated drivers, not just the chipset one.
This may be the best option, because updating everything greatly improves the security of your equipment.
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