MAG Z690 Tomahawk WIFI DDR4 Bios/CPU Q

[JC]

First off, when you do a Sys info, The person says the bios version is showing as MS-7D32 with out another version number attached, Is this normal, or does that mean they have the original stock bios? I was going to have them boot into bios to double check, but i thought i would toss this out there. For instance i checked mine and mine was not default.


Two, I was reading under the bios updates and what they did and one says it added 14th gen support, in version 7D32v1E. I thought those chips needed a 700 series, but i could not find other info on this on a couple sites i checked so i figured i would just ask, someone here must know right? Can you actually drop a 14th gen chip into this board with the draw back on not using DDR5?

[Illusion of Progress]

The "MS-xxxx" would be the "system" string (basically a motherboard identification number that MSI has given that board), not the BIOS version. My MSI Mag X570S Tomahawk Max shows MS7D54 for that field. I don't see the BIOS version listed so I presume the Windows "System information" won't show it.

CPU-Z will show this, but be aware that MSI seems to have two forms it can refer to the BIOS as. For example, CPU-Z shows mine as 1.90, but it's listed as 7D54v19 on the download page. You can cross check the dates to see if it has the latest, or if you notice, the BIOS tends to be the motherboard system string with a "vXX" number, 19 being 1.9 in my case, so you can cross check them that way (may not work with all models, but I notice it aligns with mine).

As for the second question, you don't need the 700 series chipset. It might have additional capabilities, performance (higher RAM speed stability might be one example), or features, but a Raptor lake CPU will work basically as intended with a 600 series chipset. Just ensure it has a BIOS version that supports it.

[JC]

ok, thanks i guess different motherboards use sys info differently. Mine for example lists the current bios version, i just updated it and it changed as well. Thanks for the info on the 600 series, i thought they were capped at 13's, so cool on that aspect.

[Illusion of Progress]

Looking closer, there is a BIOS Version/Date field in System Information but I missed it before. If you're skimming fast for a shorter string or, more likely, looking for a string like how MSI terms it on their support page, it won't stand out.

[JC]

Ok, one more Q, is there something about non US versions, as i don't see any Bios identifier that looks like the bios versions.


Manufacturer Micro-Star International Co. Ltd.
Model MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI (MS-7D32) (U3E1)
Version 3.0
Chipset Vendor Intel
Chipset Model IDA703
Chipset Revision 01
Southbridge Vendor Intel
Southbridge Model ID7A84
Southbridge Revision 11
BIOS
Brand American Megatrends International LLC.
Version H.H0
Date 29/03/2024

I also can't seam to find info on the U3E1 part, which makes me think it's geo tagged?

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-Z690-TOMAHAWK-WIFI-DDR4/support

Here is the bios lists, but i see nothing with that date, or the H.H0 version, this is the only thing with an H, but the date is different. 7D32v1H 2024-04-08 The only thing i can think of is UK might have a different bios than US, but i'm not sure why that would be. Can anyone shed light on this for me?

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Have them check using the CPU-Z app and send you the Validation web link

[Illusion of Progress]

With a date like that, it definitely seems new enough to support Alder lake CPUs, so I think you're fine anyway. There's only two others from 2024 and one is only different from three days, and the other by about a week, so I'd say the BIOS they have is near enough to the latest. You might be right about the locale impacting it.

If you want to rule out all doubt, you can have them use CPU-Z or just try updating to the latest BIOS anyway. If the latest BIOS in that list isn't "proper" (as in, wouldn't work), the board should refuse it when trying to update to it. And many board's now have flashback features to downgrade if things do go bad.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Just update to the very latest non-Beta BIOS. It's always best to do that.

[JC]

so you think that number is a beta version? The person is having an issue with crashes, but rare crashes, that they can repeat with certain steps. We thought it was the game but i loaded the save and i was able to run it fine, but their system doesn't. So that has me thinking the typical, stability, driver/config stuff.

The only bios after that date, (which is the version i can't seam to find info on) is this
Update Code Base.
- Improve system stability when switching to CSM mode.
- CPU uCode version 0x123 was updated for CPU performance optimization by disabling the CEP function for the 14th Gen CPU (stepping B0).

[Illusion of Progress]

Ursprungligen skrivet av JC:

The person is having an issue with crashes, but rare crashes, that they can repeat with certain steps

What CPU? And what are these crashes like? Is the CPU out of warranty already? I thought most 12th generations would still be covered but some of them are two and a half years old (not sure if CPUs typically have two or three year warranties).

The Raptor Lake CPUs, at least the Core i7s and Core i9s especially, are having issues with just that very thing, so don't jump out of the frying pan and into the fire, so to speak. You were mentioning the Core i5 as being the intended CPU to change to and thus far those aren't showing issues (I'd personally be hesitant to moving to one until more comes out to highlight what's causing it with the upper tier models, but that's just me).

All that aside, if the plan to move to the intended CPU regardless, yeah, just update to the latest BIOS if you're at all unsure. Given the date though, I'd say support is already there. And if it's not, you can always either put the old CPU back in and/or use the flashback feature with the new CPU in to update the BIOS if not (but I think it already supports Raptor Lake).

[JC]

Yea, there is that too. Apparently they just bought the system not that long ago and decided to go talk to the shop that built it. So it's all good. thanks for the help folks.