BIOS Update

Survinar · July 4, 2020

So im building a budget Ryzen 5 3600 build with the ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX is that gonna be compatible ,cause on PcPartPicker it says that I MAY need a bios update. Is that necessary?

DailyProcrastinator · July 4, 2020

1 minute ago, Survinar said:

So im building a budget Ryzen 5 3600 build with the ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX is that gonna be compatible ,cause on PcPartPicker it says that I MAY need a bios update. Is that necessary?

If the motherboard does not support 3rd gen Ryzen out of the box, then yes it is necessary as you will not be able to boot. Verify with the selling vendor if it is compatible with 3rd gen Ryzen, otherwise you need a 1st or 2nd gen Ryzen processor in order to boot itno bios, and update the bios to the latest version. AMD has a loaner program for a CPU so this can be done, but it is a major hassle and I would just get a motherboard that supports 3rd gen already.

MSI B450 'Max' motherboards support 3rd gen out of the box, but I would recommend B550/X570.

Windows7ge · July 4, 2020

The 3XXX series processors require BIOS version P3.30 and later for your motherboard. If the board has been out for a while there's a fair chance it will come with near or the latest BIOS version (meaning you'd be all set).

There is a possibility though that you could end up with a board with a BIOS version older meaning a BIOS update would be necessary.

So you might be fine you might not.

LIGISTX · July 4, 2020

5 minutes ago, Survinar said:

So im building a budget Ryzen 5 3600 build with the ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX is that gonna be compatible ,cause on PcPartPicker it says that I MAY need a bios update. Is that necessary?

Possibly, yes. Depending when the board was made and what BIOS revision it has, it may not be able to run with a 3600. Sorta a huge PITA if it turns out it won't work. AMD provides a BIOS flash kit (an older CPU that it WILL boot with) if it comes to that. Just.... takes time to actually get them to ship it to you.

Lagombi · July 4, 2020

Well, MAY would be correct in this situation since there is a chance you get shipped a board that doesn't include the updated BIOS. If you're planning on going to a physical location to buy your motherboard, you can look for an orange rectangle on the box that says the board is ready for Ryzen 3000, but otherwise there's no way to guarantee out of the box that it will be compatible until it arrives. (Maybe you can call the online store and check?)

It does seem however like that board is frequently sold out on Newegg, so you might have luck finding a new one.