AMD has shared a beta chipset driver update to address problems with AMD Ryzen 3000 processors and Destiny 2.
Ryzen 3000 owners have complained about problems with Destiny 2 since the CPU series debuted in early July. The company released the AGESA 1.0.0.3ABA microcode update to address the problem, but the update was pulled a few days later due to a technical issue. AMD’s senior technical marketing manager, Robert Hallock, started a Reddit thread on July 26 and said the company planned to release “a comprehensive update” related to various Ryzen 3000 problems on July 30.
Hallock commented on that thread yesterday with additional information about the update and an invitation for interested Reddit users to help test a chipset driver update meant to address those issues. He also noted that AMD has been pretty active on Reddit (and other social platforms) to offer Ryzen 3000 owners as much information as possible regarding the company’s efforts to resolve the launch issues for its most enthusiastic customers.
The AMD exec also responded to concerns about Ryzen 3000 owners with older motherboards struggling to update their BIOS so they could actually, ya know, use their new CPUs.
Hallock explained that finding a way to update an older board’s BIOS is a necessary evil for in-socket upgrades:
“The alternative to this BIOS ‘problem,’ which we find truly repugnant, is simply breaking socket compatibility with every new generation of CPU. Nobody can keep their old motherboard and upgrade, anymore. Nobody would ever have to worry about a BIOS update again… but they would also never get to keep their investment ever again. To us, that is not the right thing to do. It seems hostile and abusive to arbitrarily prevent users from keeping the same motherboard, which may cost a few hundred dollars, just to make the upgrade process a little ‘neater’ on paper. So we do what we can to support in-socket upgrades as we have with Socket AM4.”
We doubt anyone was particularly happy about the Ryzen 3000’s launch problems. Our reviews of the Ryzen 7 3800X and Ryzen 5 3600X were favorable; it’s a shame for that to be marred by technical issues. But distributing a beta chipset driver update while regularly updating Reddit users about work to resolve those problems seems like a more transparent response than most companies would offer disgruntled customers.