ASRock States Intel Platform Power Management Driver For Z890 Motherboards Improve Core Ultra 200S CPU Performance

ASRock has announced a significant update for its Z890 motherboards, introducing support for the Intel Platform Power Management (PPM) driver. This update aims to optimize the performance of Intel Core Ultra 200S CPUs, particularly in gaming scenarios.

• Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Adjustment: The Intel PPM driver allows for real-time adjustments to the CPU's voltage and frequency, enhancing both efficiency and performance.

• Performance Boost: ASRock claims that users can experience up to a 13.23% increase in gaming performance when using the Intel PPM driver on Z890 motherboards.

• Compatibility: This driver is designed for Windows 11 and is part of ongoing BIOS updates aimed at optimizing the new Arrow Lake processors.

Benchmark Results:

• A benchmark test conducted on Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail showed a notable performance difference:

  • Without Intel PPM: 29,157 points

  • With Intel PPM: 33,017 points

• This test was performed at 1080p high settings using a configuration that includes the Core Ultra 9 285K CPU paired with an RX 7900 XTX GPU.

Recommendations for Users:

ASRock encourages all owners of Z890 motherboards to download the latest Intel PPM driver (version 1007.20240913) from their respective support pages to take full advantage of these performance enhancements.

While the initial results are promising, ASRock is expected to release more benchmarks to further validate the performance improvements across various games. Unlike Intel's Digital Linear Voltage Regulator (DLVR), the Intel PPM operates at a software level, facilitating better communication between the operating system and Intel's power management features. This is anticipated to lead to smoother transitions between high-performance and low-power states, ultimately enhancing CPU efficiency.

What are your thoughts on the performance boost offered by the Intel PPM driver? Have you noticed any improvements in your gaming experience with the Core Ultra 200S?