[Hardware] MSI Windows 11 BIOS Updates Surface for AMD Motherboards

[MERNIZ]

To get ready for the October 5th launch of Windows 11, it's inevitable that a lot of Motherboard manufacturers are going to release updated BIOSes. Updating your BIOS isn't required for the new OS, but certain features such as having TPM enabled by default, make sense.

According to WCCFTech, MSI today became the first motherboard maker to issue Windows 11 BIOS updates for its B450 and B550 chipset motherboards. However, it's unclear at this time whether the updates in WCCFTech's story are official or safe as they aren't listed on MSI's site and can only be found on someone's Google Drive, which is not the way that any OEM, let alone a big player like MSI, would distribute its updates. In short, we would strongly recommend against downloading these files and for you to wait for an official release from MSI.

According to WCCFTech, the BIOS update (based on the AMD COMBOAM4v2PI 1.2.0.4 release) essentially enables the onboard TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module) by default - one of the requirements that's been added to the latest version of Windows in an effort to increase OS and system security. The new BIOS also purportedly updates the SMU (System Management Unit) firmware for AMD's Ryzen CPUs - namely for Vermeer (Ryzen 5000), Cezanne (Ryzen 5000G) and Picasso (Ryzen 3000G) to the latest release.

Seven motherboards in total are expected to be contemplated in this initial rollout, with more to follow as MSI completes BIOS development for more models and chipsets. Rest assured: MSI's X570 and X470 motherboards are expected to also receive the AMD AGESA 1.2.0.4 BIOS firmware update, to be made available at a later date and in time for Windows 11's release. For now, the updated motherboard listing as provided by WCCFTech includes two B450 and five B550 motherboards:

MEG B550 UNIFY
MEG B550 UNIFY-X
MAG B550 TOMAHAWK
MAG B550M MORTAR WIFI
MAG B550M MORTAR
B450 TOMAHAWK MAX
B450 TOMAHAWK MAX II
One thing to note is that the supported PC configurations for Windows 11 exclude a number of CPU families (such as AMD's Ryzen 1000 series). If your PC doesn't comply with Microsoft's system requirements for Windows 11, you might be able to install Windows 11 all the same - but according to the company, you won't be able to download OS updates, which throws the improved security philosophy of Windows 11 out the proverbial window.