ROG SCAR 18 (2023) BIOS 333 (ISSUES)

[hexaae]

So... what's new exactly ?

Successfully installed (331 --> 333) without errors but I'd like to have more details... Didn't notice any visible change in the BIOS UI.

NOTE: BIOS undervolting (-60mV) survived to the upgrade.

[hexaae]

MAJOR ISSUE FOUND: SLEEPY MULTI-PORT USB-C/TB4

Thunderbolt 4 not working on plug'n'play anymore! You have to open Device Manager and force a refresh every time you connect a Thunderbolt external drive. Up to 331 it was, of course, automatic on plug'n'play.

UPDATE: mmmh, without changing anything or installing anything new in the evening it started to work as before auto detecting plug'n'play of Thunderbolt 4 drive again. Have no idea why in the morning for the first 4-5 hours after updating the BIOS was acting like that... 🙄 Will keep this monitored, maybe it was triggered by a specific action (e.g. switching first to external screen etc.).

UPDATE2: it happened again. After forcing Plug'n'Play scan from Device Manager, it seems to work more reliably trying to reconnect the cable. Hard to tell whether it's a Windows 11 24H2 26100.6725 issue or BIOS 333 issue at this point.... and, even worse, it can happen also for USB-C 3.2 external drives and with external monitors, not limited to TB4 devices only.

👉🏻 UPDATE3: SOLVED? After I disabled "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" for the System Devices > Thunderbolt(TM) Controller - 1134... it seems I can't reproduce it anymore after 2 days. The multi-port is finally working reliably again.

TEMP WORKAROUND:

Open Device Manager and force a manual P'n'P device detection refresh clicking on the last button in the toolbar.
ASUS should check this out and provide a hotfix in case.

[Drong0]

What device is flying off the interface?

[hexaae]

... but, it's not even TB4 only: I just noticed when the P'n'P does not kick in, it happens also for normal enclosures USB3.2 connected to the multi-port. It looks like a BIOS 333 issue to me as I can't remember intermittent detections when I connected external drives before, or it could be Win11 24H2 26100.6725 (more likely a BIOS issue).

I entered the BIOS setup and selected Defaults settings to reset to optimal defaults, let's see if this is enough to fix this random "sleepy USB-C/TB4 multi-port" issue connecting external disks... -EDIT: no, still happened

BTW, I have also an external monitor connected to that port (when I don't connect high-speed external drives) and randomly also the external screen won't wake up! Definitely a BIOS 333 issue IMHO.

 

[hexaae]

To me it looks like a borked power-saving for the multi-port introduced with BIOS 333 (331 was always working fine). Maybe after a while (when not in use) the system tries to put that port in sleep mode but this also prevents further device connection detections. Just my speculation from my personal experience.

[Rithvik011]

Hello,

After updating from 330. All games have been experiencing micro stutters with gpu and cpu power dropping down significantly for a fraction and repeating the same. Current BIOS version 333. Device: G634JZ , Strix Scar 16 2023. 

I have done everything from a motherboard swap (by ASUS) to a clean windows installation, EC reboot, by holding the power button. Im not sure if it’s related I noticed the stutter to disappear when I’m logging sensors-only on HWinfo64. Any idea how I can solve this without hwinfo being on? Any help would be really appreciated.

[hexaae]

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@Rithvik011  ha scritto:

After updating from 330. All games have been experiencing micro stutters with gpu and cpu power dropping down significantly for a fraction and repeating the same. Current BIOS version 333. Device: G634JZ , Strix Scar 16 2023. 

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On my G834JY with i9-13980HX + 4090 laptop I see only improvements, excluding that "sleepy multi-port bug": better temps (on desktop usage fans are often totally quiet with 46°C, before up to 331 it was higher... ) and generally feels a bit more snappier. If they will only fix that multi-port problem for G834JY it would be perfect...

Will keep this thread updated in case I notice something more.

[Rithvik011]

I guess the bios issue is affecting everyone differently. I hope they fix it soon. 

[ROG0284]

Can downgrade or Rollback Bios to version 331 ?

[Rithvik011]

AFAIK, asus doesn’t allow bios downgrade for my particular model. I guess it depends on the model.