AMD Zen 4 and Zen 5 Ryzen CPUs get big performance gains with new Windows 11 24H2 update

Microsoft's new Windows 11 24H2 update is ushering in boosts in performance for both Zen 4 and Zen 5 processors from AMD.

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The new Windows 11 24H2 update has been tested briefly so far, with fellow Aussie outlet HardwareUnboxed testing the new Windows 11 update with the Zen 4-based Ryzen 7 7700X and Zen 5-based Ryzen 7 9700X processors between 24H2 and 23H2 updates on Windows 11.

AMD's previous-gen Ryzen 7 7700X saw a 10% average performance boost at 1080p across a multitude of games, while the new Zen 5-based Ryzen 7 9700X was 11% faster on average at 1080p with the new Windows 11 24H2 update installed.

Personally, I have ASUS's new Zenbook S16 laptop here with AMD's new Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 "Strix Point" APU and installed the Windows 11 24H2 update a couple of days ago and have compiled a few benchmarks for this laptop.

• Read more: AMD says Windows 11 patch will boost Zen 5, Zen 4, Zen 3 CPU gaming performance

I've noticed an uptick in performance with the 24H2 update installed, which makes me question why AMD didn't delay the launch of Zen 5 to roll out at the same time as this -- very important, performance-boosting -- update to Windows with Microsoft.

AMD noted recently that its Zen 5-based Ryzen 9000 series CPUs didn't meet the performance people were expecting once the reviews went live, explaining in a blog post that the gap in performance from AMD's promises to reviewers' performance data was because AMD was using Windows 11 24H2 for its data, and some reviewers (probably most) weren't.

Internally, AMD had its new Ryzen 9000 series CPUs being 9% faster on average, but the reviews at launch didn't show that, however, the new Windows 11 24H2 update seems to be bringing CPU performance to where the company claimed months ago.