SOLVED Strange descriptor for ASRock bios update

[trents]

What does this mean?: Support ComboPI 1.0.0.3ab

What is "ComboPI"?

Okay, finally found the answer: PI is "Platform Initialization". The update must have something to do with Ryzen 3xxx compatibility.

 

[Woomack]

Afaik this is early BIOS which combines current and previous generations of Ryzen. If I'm right then it doesn't include all patches and it may not be tunned for higher overclocking or support with higher frequency memory. There are already ABB and ABBA AGESA releases so I would simply skip any older version or use it as a bridge between first version and the latest if motherboard requires that.
I'm testing ABBA AGESA on ASRock since yesterday and all seems fine.

 

[mackerel]

Asus example: Update AM4 Combo PI 1.0.0.3 Patch ABB
Asrock recent example: Update AMD AGESA Combo-AM4 1.0.0.3 ABB
Asrock old example: Update PinnaclePI-AM4_1.0.0.4 Patch C

I'm now wondering what the correct name for it is. Asrock lists the current AGESA series as Combo-AM4, with the previous one PinaclePI-AM4. Asus use AM4 Combo PI. The "combo" one either way is the current series supporting Zen 2. No official 1.0.0.3 ABBA release for my boards (yet) so they're both still on ABB.

I'd also caution the number series for the old and new ones overlap, and are NOT the same thing. Still if you're updating bios you're probably going to grab the latest, so there isn't much scope for getting the ancient ones by mistake.