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AGESA

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AMD Generic Encapsulated Software Architecture (AGESA) is a procedure library developed by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), used to perform the Platform Initialization (PI) on mainboards using their AMD64 architecture. As part of the BIOS of such mainboards, AGESA is responsible for the initialization of the CPU cores, chipset, main memory, and the HyperTransport controller.

History

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AGESA was open sourced in early 2011, aiming to aid in the development of coreboot, a project attempting to replace PC's proprietary BIOS.[1] However, such releases never became the basis for the development of coreboot beyond AMD's family 15h, as they were subsequently halted.[2]

AGESA became particularly relevant with the AM4 platform, which AMD designed for futureproofing, and as of May 2019 has served as the base for three different generations of CPUs based on its Zen architecture. For each of these generations, a new branch of AGESA code has been released. AGESA versioning often runs separately for each of these three releases, so numbering regressions are bound to happen when going from one generation to the next.

The first version, named "Summit PI", launched in February 2017. It was targeted at the first generation Zen chips, and started with version 1.0.0.4. In December 2017, when Summit PI reached version 1.0.0.7, the branch was renamed to "Raven PI" (its version numbering was not reset), and it was released as the first version of AGESA to support Raven Ridge APUs.[3]

The second version, supporting the Zen's second generation, known as Zen , is named "Pinnacle PI", after the Ryzen processors' codename, Pinnacle Ridge. It launched in February 2018 with an initial version of 1.0.0.0a.

Then in March 2019, the third iteration of AGESA, named "ComboAM4 PI", was released, starting at version 0.0.7.0, introducing support for Zen 2-based processors.[4]

"ComboAM4v2" supports Zen 3-based processors, while "ComboAM5PI"[5] supports Zen 4-based processors in socket AM5 motherboards.

"ChagallWS PI" for the sWRX8 platform, supporting ThreadRipper Pro processors based on the Chagall architecture.

In April 2023, AMD announced plans to replace the aging AGESA codebase with a new open-source firmware called "AMD openSIL".[6] The new firmware is expected to be ready by 2026.[7]

Version history

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AGESA releases for socket AM5
Name Microarchitecture Version Release Notes Release Date
ComboAM5PI Zen 5

Zen 4

1.2.0.2 Reduced inter-core latency September 2024
1.2.0.1 Fixed security vulnerabilities (AMD-SB-7014) August 2024
1.2.0.0a Performance, Bugfixes June 2024
FireRangePi 1.1.7.0 Patch A Support for Ryzen 9500 April 2024
ComboAM5PI Zen 4 1.1.0.1 Fixed security vulnerabilities (LogoFAIL) January 2024
1.1.0.0 Bugfixes December 2023
1.0.9.0 Bugfixes concerning USB 3.0 November 2023
1.0.8.0 Support for Phoenix October 2023
1.0.0.7c Fixes boot issues with certain RAM August 2023
1.0.0.7 Limits SoC voltage to a maximum of 1.3 volts May 2023
1.0.0.6 Bugfixes April 2023
1.0.0.5 Patch C Support for Ryzen 7000X3D March 2023
1.0.0.4 Support for Ryzen 7000 with 65 Watt January 2023
1.0.0.3 Patch A Improved GPU compatibility for GeForce RTX 40 series, Optimize for AMD Ryzen Master Utility September 2022
1.0.0.3 Optimized system settings
1.0.0.2 Optimized system stability
1.0.0.1 Patch H Improved RAM-compatibility


AGESA releases for socket AM4
Name Microarchitecture Version Notes Date
Combo-AM4v2 Zen 3

Zen 2

Zen

Zen

1.2.0.Cc security fixes (Sinkclose/SMM Lock Bypass) in Ryzen 3000 September 2024
1.2.0.Cb security fixes (Sinkclose/SMM Lock Bypass AMD-SB-7014) in Ryzen 4000/5000 August 2024
1.2.0.Ca security fixes for Ryzen 4000G Renoir (AMD-SB-7008) April 2024
1.2.0.C security fixes March 2024
1.2.0.B security fixes (Inception) September 2023
1.2.0.A security fixes April 2023
1.2.0.8 security fixes for Ryzen 5000 Cezanne January 2023
1.2.0.7 support for Cezanne with 300 chipset April 2022
1.2.0.6b support for Ryzen 5800X3D March 2022
1.2.0.5 stability fixes December 2021
1.2.0.3c support for Ryzen 5000 Vermeer, Ryzen 4000G Renoir with 300 chipset October 2021
1.2.0.2 stability fixes March 2021
1.2.0.1 stability fixes February 2021
1.2.0.0 support for Vermeer, Renoir, Cezanne with 400 chipset January 2021
1.1.9.0 Curve Optimizer for undervolting and overclocking
1.1.0.0d support for 400 chipset December 2020
1.1.0.0c stability fixes November 2020
1.1.0.0 stability fixes September 2020
1.0.8.1 stability fixes September 2020
1.0.8.0 support for Vermeer with 500 chipset August 2020
1.0.0.2 support for B550 chipset, Ryzen 3000 Matisse XT, Renoir June 2020
Combo-AM4 Zen 2

Zen

Zen

(Excavator)

1.0.0.6 stability fixes June 2020
1.0.0.5 stability fixes April 2020
1.0.0.4b support for Ryzen 9 3950X, Zen und Zen November 2019
1.0.0.3abba stability fixes September 2019
1.0.0.3abb stability fixes August 2019
1.0.0.3aba stability fixes
1.0.0.3ab stability fixes
1.0.0.3a stability fixes
1.0.0.3 stability fixes
1.0.0.2 stability fixes
1.0.0.1 full support for Matisse
0.0.7.2 support for Ryzen 3000G Picasso, preliminary support for Matisse March 2019
PinnaclePI-AM4 Zen

Zen

Excavator

1.0.0.6 December 2018
1.0.0.4 August 2018
1.0.0.2a June 2018
1.0.0.2
1.0.0.1a March 2018
SummitPI-AM4 Zen

Excavator

1.0.0.6b September 2017
1.0.0.6a July 2017
1.0.0.6 support for DDR4 SDRAM up to 4000 MT/s May 2017
1.0.0.4a April 2017

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Technical details on AMD's coreboot source code release". AMD. 28 February 2011. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  2. ^ Griffith, Bruce (2014-11-05). "AMD's binary-only AGESA libraries". Retrieved 2017-05-08.
  3. ^ "AMD AGESA 1.0.0.7 Update Will Add Raven Ridge Support". 17 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Socket AM4 motherboard BIOS update - ready for Ryzen 3000 CPUs - Series 500 Chipset". Guru3D.
  5. ^ "Asus x670-p bios".
  6. ^ "Empowering The Industry with Open System Firmware – AMD openSIL". AMD.com. 13 April 2023.
  7. ^ Bonshor, Gavin. "AMD openSIL Planned to Replace AGESA Firmware in Client and Server in 2026". www.anandtech.com.
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  • Specification document by AMD (2008)
  • ThomasNet – General Software, Inc. First BIOS Provider to Support AMD Barcelona
  • coreboot – LinuxBIOS Enablement Strategy @AMD & AGESA Info (PDF)
  • AGESA source code Link to AGESA source code in coreboot. The repository history contains AGESA source code for previously-supported platforms.