Should I upgrade the bios?

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Wingzero01

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May 18, 2013
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Hi,
I have the bios version 1602 on my mobo asus z87 pro with an i7 4770k CPU. There have been 5 bios updates since 1602 (1602 was the factory bios). I have never messed with the bios, my friend helped me build the computer and setup the bios so everything was stock/auto/safe back in Feb. 2014 because I am not very technical. I would barely know how to navigate it. I have noticed no errors other than the computer monitors cutting back on like I moved the mouse randomly and the loading wheel next to the cursor spinning for no reason seemingly at all as if I was waiting for a program to load. Also the wifi seems to cut out and I need to disconnect and reconnect only on this pc, I have the wifi adapter that came with the mobo and updated the drivers. I don't know if these problems are related to the bios or something else please let me know if you have a guess as to why. These problems are not really an issue though and are seemingly menial.

So my question finally is should I update the bios to fix my problems or for some benefit I don't know about to any iteration for what they supposedly fix or improve upon. Supposedly my 1602 bios doesn't support my cpu, but it works and temps are fine. However like I said the next version (1707) specifically says "Support New 4th-Generation Intel Core Processors" as of 12/25/13 but yet my CPU works fine. Each bios iteration after says include one or all of the following "Improve System performance", "Fixed 4T HDD not detect in IDE mode" (I don't know what this means), "Enhance compatibility for new Anniversary Edition and Devil's Canyon CPU". Is there any reason to update the bios based on these statements? What exactly does the general statement "improve system performance", is there any specifics on this somewhere? Basically it really bugs me that supposedly my 1602 bios version doesn't support my CPU, it is not technically up to date, and the minor issues I mentioned that may or not be related. So any actual benefits to update the bios based on my case?

My build: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Wingzero01/saved/#view=9rM6Mp


 
Solution
MarkW
If your CPU is working, then your current BIOS is clearly supporting it.

"Fixed 4T HDD not detect in IDE mode" <-- IDE mode was used by hard drives over 10 years ago. Replaced by SATA, but there are tiny numbers of IDE users still out there today. 4T HDD means a 4TB hard drive.

When it comes to a BIOS, I never update them unless I have to. There is no easier way to brick hardware than to have a BIOS update crap out on you. I've worked in the PC industry since the early 1980's and I have never updated a motherboard BIOS.

So again, if your motherboard and CPU are working fine together, and you say they are, I would not update the BIOS.
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Wingzero01

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I have the USB bios flash option, if I do this, would I have to manually fix bios settings again or would they be as my friend had set them up, or is the default fine at stock/regular settings?
 
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Wingzero01

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Okay, thanks I naively bought the K model, but do not really care for OCing and I bought the blower style 780ti blower style fan unfortunately w/o wanting to do SLI (didn't do a lot of research on items, just went for sales). Do you know why the mobo is even able to accept my CPU if my current bios says it isn't compatible?
 
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MarkW

MarkW

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If your CPU is working, then your current BIOS is clearly supporting it.

"Fixed 4T HDD not detect in IDE mode" <-- IDE mode was used by hard drives over 10 years ago. Replaced by SATA, but there are tiny numbers of IDE users still out there today. 4T HDD means a 4TB hard drive.

When it comes to a BIOS, I never update them unless I have to. There is no easier way to brick hardware than to have a BIOS update crap out on you. I've worked in the PC industry since the early 1980's and I have never updated a motherboard BIOS.

So again, if your motherboard and CPU are working fine together, and you say they are, I would not update the BIOS.
 
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Wingzero01

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May 18, 2013
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Agreed MarkW, thanks for the info. I am 99% sure I will not update it as I have read not to mess with it. Everything other than those minor issues I outlined the stability is fine for over a year since initial build. Based on the link to my build and leaving everything at default settings or at least that is what I meant to do, do you have any guesses as to why I have those three minor problems?

Edit 1: Actually I have messed with some ssd settings on samsung magician and in control panel power mgt options. SSD only has OS on it, if this helps at all.
 
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MarkW

MarkW

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The spinner next to the mouse pointer is probably some background process that kicked in.

Wi-Fi is notoriously fickle. It can work great in one spot, and not work at all 10 feet away. And there are so many things that affect Wi-Fi I just say move the antenna around until it works better, because 90% of the time, that is all it takes. If you have the option to run an ethernet cable to your computer, it is the best way to be connected.

As for the monitors coming back on. I sure don't know what would cause that. If the desk got bumped and the mouse moved a little bit, that could cause the monitors to power back up. But besides that, it would just be me speculating.
 
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