ASRock Z87 Extreme 3 BIOS Update? What does this mean? Please Help!

[hockeyplayer]

There Are BIOS updates for my ASRock Extreme 3 Z87 (new version) with the following description of the updates...
1. Support New 4th Generation Intel Core Processors.
2. Add "USB Compatibility Patch" setup option in BIOS.
3. Modify adjust [FIVR Switch Frequency Offset], system cannot resume from S3 issue.
and another Update with this...
Unlock C-State MSR.

Does anyone know what these updates do? Or if they are needed or may help my new build? I have a new Intel i5 4670k CPU which is 4th gen so could this be a big deal? IDK much about pc stuff so any help would be much appreciated!!! THANKS!!!

So I have been having some issues with my GPU, or atleast the issue leads me to look at the GPU, I get a TDR issue when playing games like DayZ, Dead Space, and Crysis, or sometimes it won't even say Timeout Detection and Recovery it will freeze my game for a second and then exit the game and goto the Windows Home screen. I can still hear the game playing and can hear my character move it i press buttons but the screen will not come back.

- I did since this change the time delay for TDR from 2 seconds to 6 secs-

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31KWO
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31KWO/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31KWO/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($24.50 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $609.43
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-12 22:03 EDT-0400)

 

[clutchc]

Which BIOS version do you have now? You obviously have a BIOS late enough to recognize the 4th gen I-Cores.
As far as the other issues, have you had problems with sleep mode? USB?
Personally, I like to always download the latest drivers when I get a new board.. and update the BIOS to the latest at the same time.

 

[hockeyplayer]

i am totally new to PC building and custimizing stuff on pc's so yea.

Here is the site for my board. http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z87%20Extreme3/?cat=Download&os=BIOS

CUP-Z states me having the BIOS P2.10 The current update is 2.40

 

[Tradesman1]

It's a Z87 so obviously, yes it supports the 4th Gen as it's made to run them and only them (3rd gen is 1155 socket)....it's indicating additional support for it, USB and other, there are also numerous other updates included, most BIOS updates have of bevy of updates/fixes for DRAM... It's always a good idea to update the BIOS when you get a new mobo, especially on newer models as they are continually working on fixes, most often for minor problems

 

[clutchc]

Check out the "how to update" link and see if you feel comfortable doing the update. It is pretty simple and straight-forward with today's PCs. Not like it used to be. If you can build a PC, you can update one of today's BIOSs.

 

[hockeyplayer]

Thanks for the help guys! Are there any good programs that actually test the entire build to make sure its operating properly? Or are certain burn tests the only real way of testing hardware? Is Furmark a good software to use to check parts like the cpu or gpu??

 

[Tradesman1]

Furmark is good for GPUs, Prime95 test the rig well, or if you're a gamer, can play some of the games you like, that's generally a pretty good indication is things are stable

 

[clutchc]

There is also a pgm I use called Intel Burn Test that will stress and heat up your CPU is short order. Generally, if you can do the default 10 pass run and it comes back with a stable result, your CPU and its subsytem is in good shape. But keep an eye on temps while it runs to be sure your CPU doesn't overheat. I fried one old AMD processor and MB running it awhile back. But I think the CPU had been previously O/C'd to near death and that's why it couldn't take the test.
http://www.techspot.com/downloads/4965-intelburntest.html

 

[hockeyplayer]

Thanks! Yeah, part of me feels that I built everything and did everything right, but I question myself a lot since I am new to this. I've only got 3 games since I built this pc, DayZ first which runs pretty well on low/ very low settings, which I believe DayZ is still pretty much an Arma 2 based game (my geforce experience says it runs Arma 2 Fair). My second purchase was Dead Space 1 from Steam, as well as a Disc copy of Crysis 1 Maximum edition since I've heard these are pretty good games. Both of them i thought I could run on high, but it would do the same thing after a few minutes, go black screen then exit to the desktop and continue playing but I cant get the screen back. Low or very low settings work pretty well but I thought I could play at atleast Hight settings with one of these games. Maybe not :/

Also the only reason I have GeForce Experience is because when I tried to DL the gpu update Nvidea wouldnt let me, I finally tried the experience and it worked, idk if it was Nvidia trying to force people to use it or what. There is an option to reinstall the Driver for the gpu but not sure if thatll solve anything.

 

[clutchc]

If you suspect a gfx driver as the problem, uninstall it again (including GE and all Nvidia apps), run Driver Sweeper from Safe Mode, and have it remove any remnants of Nvidia, AMD, and ATI graphic drivers it finds. Re-boot and install the latest driver for your card and OS.
DS: http://www.techspot.com/downloads/4266-driver-sweeper.html
Nvidia: http://www.geforce.com/drivers

But first, you may want to give CCleaner a quick run to see if it finds any Registry errors that may be causing issues. Have it do the Clean and Registry portions both: https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner