MSI AGESA 1.1.9.0 update brings Resizable BAR support to X570 and B550 motherboards

MSI has started rolling out the new AGESA 1.1.9.0 update for AMD B550 and X570 motherboards. The BIOS update will enable Resizable BAR on a far wider range of hardware configurations than AMD's SAM (Smart Access Memory) implementation. 

As of now, just the B550M Mortar and B550M Mortar WiFi have received the update. However, we expect a much wider range of MSI motherboards, including the well-received MAG X570 Tomahawk WiFi, to receive it in the weeks to come. 

Shortly after AMD announced Smart Access Memory support for Ryzen 5000 and Big Navi-based systems, NVIDIA stated that it was working on a similar solution since the underlying technology is part of the PCI-e specification. NVIDIA has yet to roll out driver support for Resizable BAR, but with wider motherboard support, we expect this to happen shortly as well. 

Resizable BAR has a small, but noticeable, performance impact in a number of games. Titles like Assassin's Creed: Valhalla benefit from 10 percent higher framerates, while minimum framerates go up in games like Red Dead Redemption 2. For systems with cards like the GeForce RTX 3080 and RX 6800 XT, which are often right at the cusp of offering 4K/60 experiences, Resizable BAR could push performance up to optimal levels.