Is 2nd Gen Ryzen different from "2nd Gen Ryzen w/Vega Graphics"?

Shoopman · December 5, 2020

Doing a sanity check here. I want to buy an X570 board for eventual use with a Ryzen 5000 CPU, but I will need to update the BIOS with another older CPU first (which I will need to buy since I don't have one)

The product page says that the board supports 2nd/3rd Gen Ryzen CPUs AND 1st/2nd Gen Ryzen CPUs with Vega graphics. If I recall, Ryzen 1000 did not have any models with integrated graphics, so 1st gen "Ryzen with graphics" chips are actually Ryzen 2000 chips right? And 2nd gen with graphics is actually Ryzen 3000?

So the board supports Ryzen 2000/3000 series CPUs AND Ryzen 2000G/3000G APUs correct?

I am thinking of buying a Ryzen 3200G to use to upgrade the BIOS as it is the cheapest available chip in my area. I need to make absolutely sure it will work with an X570 board out of the box.

Thanks!

SupaKomputa · December 5, 2020

Ryzen with graphics are called an APU, everything with the G nomenclature.

2000g is a Ryzen 1st gen with graphics.

3000g is 2nd gen with graphics, 4000g is 3rd gen. 5000g is the 4th gen.

You don't need x570 to run these APU. B550 / B450 will do.

If you really want an APU right now, i suggest getting the 4XXXG (3rd gen APU), available only in ebay or aliexpress.

Or wait for 5000g apu in feb/march.

MarkR17 · December 5, 2020

Naming is confusing here.

2000 non-G is 2nd-Gen Ryzen

3000 non-G is 3rd-Gen Ryzen

2000G is 1st-Gen Ryzen with Graphics

3000G is 2nd-Gen Ryzen with Graphics

At least officially. In practice some X570 boards support even 1st Gen Ryzen (1000 series) without any graphics but do not count on it.

Also if you plan to buy a motherboard later, some boards may already have an updated BIOS to support 5000-series CPUs but again do not count on it.

They used to do that BIOS CPU lending program where you could lend a low-end CPU from AMD solely to update the BIOS, then sending said CPU back to AMD.

Condersider getting a motherboard with USB BIOS Flashback functionality. This allows you to update the BIOS without having any CPU installed at all.

Insert the USB stick with the BIOS file in it, which may have to be renamed to be detected properly. Then press a button and wait until it is finished.

This process varies a bit between different motherboard manufacturers.

Of course all precautions when it comes to BIOS updates have to be followed/