Asus patches older Intel motherboards to protect against Spectre and Meltdown

Right around a month ago, Intel announced it had completed the release of microcode updates for products launched within the last 9+ years to protect against Spectre and Meltdown. It was then up to Intel's hardware partners to issue BIOS updates based on the latest microcode, and Asus has begun doing that for some of its older products. Specifically, Asus now has new firmware available for several boards based on Intel's 9-series chipsets.

Among those are socket LGA1150 motherboards for Intel's 4th generation Haswell and 5th generation Broadwell processors, such as the Z97-A/USB 3.1. Asus also has updated BIOSes available for its enthusiast X99 (socket LGA2011) motherboards like the ROG Strix X99 Gaming and ROG Rampage V Edition 10.

The new BIOS releases are all labeled as "beta," which TechPowerup surmises is because they're dated motherboards that, in most cases, are now beyond their warranty coverage.

If you own an Intel 9-series motherboard from Asus, head over to your model's product page and go to Support > Driver & Tools > BIOS & Firmware. To see what BIOS version you're looking for, reference this support document that Asus posted in January—it lists all the motherboards Asus plans to update, broken down by chipset and BIOS version.

TOPICS
Paul Lilly

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).

Latest in Motherboards
The PCIe slot on an Asus ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi motherboard, showing the Q-release latch for GPUs.
Rejoice! PCI Express 7.0 hits 'final draft' status enabling bandwidth that you probably won't notice on devices that won't appear for years
A photo of an ASRock Z890 Taichi Lite motherboard
ASRock Z890 Taichi Lite review
A photo of the Asus TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi motherboard
Asus TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi review
A photo of an Asus ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi motherboard
Asus ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi review
Gigabyte X870E Aorus Pro motherboard with the SSD heatsinks detached and on a light desk.
Gigabyte X870E Aorus Pro review
Gigabyte Z890 Aorus Elite WiFi 7 Ice on a light desk with a white background and SSD covers removed.
Gigabyte Z890 Aorus Elite WiFi7 Ice review
Latest in News
Raidou Kuzonoha and pals, looking like they've about to drop the most fire single of the 1930s
Raidou Remastered is finally bringing the historical Shin Megami Tensei supernatural sleuth spinoff to PC this June
Greedfall 2
Greedfall 2 aims to turn around a disastrous early access launch with a combat overhaul and a big new boat
Nova, a hero from Marvel Comics, smolders at the camera while surrounded by flames.
The team behind Shredder's Revenge has a Marvel beat 'em up on the way with a whopping 15 characters and unsurprisingly gorgeous pixel art
Kinich, a character in Genshin Impact, stands prepared to brawl with an enemy.
'Diabolical': Genshin Impact's English cast gives new VO the cold shoulder after he frames replacing a striking actor as an 'opportunity to carry the flame'
An image of Alan Wake from Alan Wake 2's rock opera-style song, Herald of Darkness, lifting a hand to the sky while the other bundles on his chest.
Epic’s 2025 Spring Sale kicks off with some big discounts on recent hits and a pair of cat-themed giveaways
An army of Grand Cathay, including infantry, cavalry, and warmachines, from the tabletop wargame Warhammer: The Old World.
After a not-so-subtle tease 2 months ago, and 4 years since it was originally announced, Grand Cathay from Total War: Warhammer 3 is finally coming to the tabletop wargame