MSI has begun rolling out the Intel Planned Release 5 (PR5) BIOS for some of its Z890 motherboards. This update aims to improve stability and provide better optimizations for gaming performance on Intel's Core Ultra Series 2 processors.
Intel PR5 BIOS with Microcode 0x114 and ME Firmware
The new Intel PR5 BIOS includes microcode 0x114 and the latest ME Firmware 19.0.0.1854 v2.2. While microcode 0x114 was included in the previous PR4 BIOS, this new firmware (1854 v2.2) seeks to deliver further optimizations.
It's currently unclear how much of a performance uplift users should expect. The Intel PR5 BIOS is not yet widely available for Z890 motherboards, with only a few vendors releasing the update for select models.
MSI Z890 Motherboards Receiving the Update
As of now, only two MSI Z890 motherboards have received the update: the MEG Z890 ACE and the MPG Z890 Carbon WiFi. The flagship MEG Z890 GODLIKE and other models are still missing the update in their support sections.
The BIOS version is '7E22v1A41', released on December 27th, and is 9.98 MB in size. The previous version, '7E22v1A4', released on December 25th, also supported microcode 0x114 but was considered not fully optimized.
While Intel may release even newer ME firmware in January, no user has reported any significant gaming performance improvements from these updates. There are concerns that the performance improvements will not meet the expectations of customers who purchased Intel's Core Ultra 200 series based on promises of significant performance boosts.
