Motherboards Do you update your bios?

I tend to always update the bios on a new build, but I also update this if a new version is availalble from the manufactures website. Bit of a pain when you have several pc's :/

 

I only update if that is the solution to a problem I'm having, otherwise it's kind of meh to me.

 

I never have but I might in a few months

 

I usually do it when I'm tweaking the hell out of my computer. Or when I'm about to do a hardware upgrade.

 

Normally i'm on some beta something or other... I have this tendency to enjoy the bleeding edge, though I've never actually killed one with an update.

Now hotflashing other boards' BIOSes onto a different chip... That's fun.

 

i have never updated a bios, because i'm lazy

 

Updating BIOSes is part of my yearly routine...

 

I probably should, be never really felt confident enough either with a new board/build, and then not wanting to destroy an existing one

 

I use the latest non-beta bios(/drivers). IE: Bios F5 for my EP35-DS3L. If I knew I was going to get a proc that needed the beta F6a bios(Q8200 or such), then I would use that bios.

 

My advice, if it ain't broke don't fix it!!!

If you're happy with your set-up and your system is stable then leave it alone. I had a nightmare with the P33 BIOS for the evga 680i, couldn't clock my q6600 past 2.6GHz. Ended up flashing it back to an earlier one and I'm back at 3.2GHz again

 

I tend to give it a flash at the very beginning of its life with me then leave it unless there is a problem or during one of my.... monthly or so checks of the manufacturers website I see there is an update that I may need, temperature detection etc.

 

Bios updates often bring advantages like more memory & CPU options, better overclocking and even power management.

I regularly update my bios when a new release is available. A lot of people seem to be terrified of updating the bios when it's really no big deal. On my Gigabyte board save it to a USB key, reboot and hit end, point to the file and hit enter, reboot and hit delete, choose load optimized defaults, reboot....Done!

OK it's a pain sinc eyou have to reconfigure any optimization, but is really easy.

 

at home, i update if it needs it - i.e. there is an issue that affects me that needs fixed.

at work, every machine i image, gets the latest from dell. every time.
i even have the kids trained to check versions, and put the bios updates on the bootable drives i built for them to do their imaging with.

 

I've never done it, but then I've never really had a problem with my current BIOS.

 

i tend to rebuild my machine every two months or so (i'm a g33k and love it) and i will search for updated bios as part of rebuilding it.

ONe thing i have noticed, and i may even go back to a previous BIOS to fix this, is that when support for the newer Phenoms was added to my motherboard, it took away my ability to successfully lower the multuiplier of my CPU down from 11. I used to overclock by reducing the mult to 10, then upping the FSB to 300, now i can't even get it to boot with a 10x multiplier, it has to be at 11.

strange

 

I have some kno0wlege of what goes on 'under the hood' of BIOS, so here is my 2 cents. I am by no means an expert, but what I have to say might be useful

BIOS updates can be released for a number of reasons. The IBV may have updated their code and the OEM has incoperated those changes, the update adds memory or CPU support, a bug was found as is addressed, etc. They are not always necessary, but IMHO, it is usually a good idea to apply them. I guess I don't see flashing as a hassle as I do it as part of my job so I have the 'tools' close at hand.

If you 'brick' your board, check with the OEM, their may be a recovery mode. This is where a PC diagnostic card, or POST code LEDs on the mainboard become very useful. Usally the 'boot block' is protected, and as long as that either flashed OK, or was write protected and was not flashed, there may be a recovery mode. Check with your manufacturer to see if there is and what you need to do to use it.

If the part is removable, you may be able to get help reprogramming it or ordering a replacement. In my experience, flash chips are sorted based on the interface they use. The common ones currently are Low Pin Count, FirmWare Hub, or Serial Peripreal Interface. I know I have seen a DIY LPC programmer for an xbox chip. It might work with other LPC parts, but have never really tried it. There is flash programmer called a willem programmer that is cheap, or even DIY, but support seems spotty. There are lots of variants and finding support for that one part you need could be a problem but I am no experience on them. I am also not sure about their support for SPI parts. But SPI parts can be programmed in circuit with the right equipment so chances of them being removable are slim.

 

i usually update mine every 2 or 3 releases or when i feel like doing it really.

 

Have never updated the BIOS on my desktop, can't be bothered, but I need to as it won't accept any more RAM. Have done it on my lappy to preserve the 8600GT.

 

P4C800-E Deluxe = didn't need a bios update ever since I installed the CT479 and a Pentium M 740 two years and a half ago... not that there are any newer bios available anyway ...



I need a new PC , even though this one is still rocking in Vista

 

eh, not really worth it for my mobo, its not overclocked and doesnt get used for games