BIOS update question

[Guest]

Hi I would get either Gigabyte H97 Gaming 3 or ASUS H97 Pro Gamer.

On the site I saw there are tons of BIOS updates. I know I should get the latest one.

But should I update BIOS in order to get the max out of my components? Or is it not needed?

Specs.
Intel i5 4690
Zotac GTX 980 Ti AMP Extreme
Kingston 8GB 1600Mhz ( 2 matched sticks, not a kit)
Seasonic G750
1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD

 

[blazorthon]

The BIOS updates rarely have much effect on performance. They are mostly for fixing broken things and improving compatibility with components that came out after the motherboard. If you have the system already and it is working fine, then it is generally good practice to leave the BIOS as it is. Updating them can be problematic and is best only done when something isn't working and you know there's a good chance that updating the BIOS will fix it, like when a new CPU comes out and won't work out of the box.

 

[Guest]

The BIOS updates rarely have much effect on performance. They are mostly for fixing broken things and improving compatibility with components that came out after the motherboard. If you have the system already and it is working fine, then it is generally good practice to leave the BIOS as it is. Updating them can be problematic and is best only done when something isn't working and you know there's a good chance that updating the BIOS will fix it, like when a new CPU comes out and won't work out of the box.

Have you done BIOS updates even if you don't have any problems with the mobo?

 

[blazorthon]

Done it, yes, but I don't anymore. It can mess up settings and even if you get them back where they should be, you may still need to reinstall Windows to get it working again. It's an unnecessary hassle.

 

[Guest]

Done it, yes, but I don't anymore. It can mess up settings and even if you get them back where they should be, you may still need to reinstall Windows to get it working again. It's an unnecessary hassle.

I am going with the Gigabyte Mobo. I don't have a SSD or a K Cpu. I don't need the BIOS updates right?

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4997#bios

 

[blazorthon]

There shouldn't be any issues. Chances are they ship with F5 or at least F4 anyway. No you don't need a BIOS update for that.

 

[Guest]

There shouldn't be any issues. Chances are they ship with F5 or at least F4 anyway. No you don't need a BIOS update for that.

Is there a way to check what bios is it befor purchasing?

 

[blazorthon]

Unfortunately, there generally is not. When a motherboard is being sold on say Newegg, the stock of that board might not all be the same age (like one unit might be from last year and just didn't get shipped yet) and there's almost never a guarantee of which BIOS version you're getting. You can get a basic idea though (like it a BIOS version is two years old and the next version is a year and a half old or so, then you are probably getting the newer one) based on ages. If a new BIOS version is only a few months old, then might not be on all of the stock of the board yet.

Sites selling boards often don't flash new BIOS versions before shipping the board.

 

[Guest]

However with the stuff I mentioned before, I don't need a bios update right?

 

[blazorthon]

I already said that you don't need a BIOS update.

 

[Guest]

I already said that you don't need a BIOS update.

Thanks Appreciate that.