MSI B450 Tomahawk + Ryzen 5 3600 question.

[Pleo]

Will this cpu get recognized by the motherboard. I've seen alot about flashing bios etc to get the latest version that supports 3rd gen ryzen cpu's.

 

The question is though, IF the cpu does not work with the motherboard out of the box, how am i going to do anything without the CPU?

 

I'm wondering if i can order this combination of parts, and install it so that it works out of the box. No bios flashing etc.

 

Thanks

[LukeSavenije]

yes and no

 

you first need to update the bios, after that it will

 

instructions should be on the msi website

[Boyohan]

You can flash the bios without a CPU installed. 

 

See the MSI manual for instructions. 

[Pleo]

4 minutes ago, LukeSavenije said:

yes and no

 

you first need to update the bios, after that it will

 

instructions should be on the msi website

Do I need a working cpu to update the bios, or just a regular usb stick?

[LukeSavenije]

34 minutes ago, Pleo said:

Do I need a working cpu to update the bios, or just a regular usb stick?

tomahawk can do it without cpu, so just the usb with the bios on it (on the right location)

[paulmohr]

Nope it won't work out of the box, unless the seller upgraded the bios before selling it, which I doubt. Depending on where you are buying it from though you can ask if they will do that. They might charge a small fee.

 

I have that board with a 3600 on it. It has bios blashback, which means you can upgrade the bios without a cpu installed. You have to download the bios, rename it and install it on a usb drive. Plug the usb into the correct usb port on the motherboard (its marked), put power to the board and press the little button. It will update from there, it may take a while. Minutes, not like an hour or anything crazy like that. When its done put the 3600 in it and you are ready to go.

 

Or if you are upgrading from an older AM4 cpu you can use that cpu to do it. That is what I did. I upraded from a 1500x so I dropped that into the new board and used it to update the bios. Pretty much the same process though. Difference is I didn't have to rename the file, I just unzipped it to my usb drive. Started the computer up, went into the bios and used the bios update feature in that. Using the "flashback" method would have actually been easier since my way I had to install the cpu twice.

[Tom H]

With the latest bios, I believe the MSI Tomahawk is finally ready for 3rd gen Ryzen but you better check reddit etc to see. Prior versions of Bioses led to many booting problems. The most common complaint was trouble flashing the motherboard and when finally successful, the computer would not post with red cpu debug led light permanently on.

 

I have 2 x MSI B450 Pro Carbon AC's (on 3600x and 3700x) and with the version 18 bios, all my gremlins are now resolved, so I have no issues recommending this board.

[paulmohr]

My tomahawk install went perfectly smooth. Updated the bios, set the bios to default settings, enabled xmp for my memory and adjusted my fan curves and booted into windows. Temps where fine, idle voltages were great all was well. None of the issues other people seem to be complaining about.

 

I would suggest upgrading the cpu cooler though. The stock is pretty good for a stock cooler, but its still a stock cooler and not the greatest. Even a budget after market tower cooler will work a bit better and be more quiet.