AMD announced that even motherboards based on chipset B450 and X470 will support future processors Ryzen 4000 based on Zen 3 architecture. The company is thus reversing compared to what was announced only about ten days ago, in the wake of the forts critical receipts by enthusiasts who hoped, based on the promise of support for the AM4 socket until 2020, to be able to update their PC without having to buy a new motherboard.
At the origin of the initial choice of AMD was the limited size of the BIOS chips, where the support for the various CPUs and all the various functions is stipulated, including the same user interface, which is increasingly evolved. Already with the launch of the Ryzen 3000 some manufacturers were forced to castrate the graphic aspect in favor of visually more basic BIOS to make room for support for the new range of CPUs. For example, MSI comes to mind, which to remedy the problem also presented a series of motherboards called "MAX" with 32 MB BIOS.
The reality is that many motherboards in enthusiasts' homes have 128 megabit (16 MB) BIOS chips and that some older AM4 CPUs can only address the first 16 MB of a BIOS chip, even if it is more capacious. These two aspects make it difficult to guarantee a uniform and consistent updating experience, for this AMD initially decided to "cut the bull's head" by limiting support for the Ryzen 4000 to the latest motherboards based on the B550 and X570 chipsets.
The big discussions that broke out on the net, however, led AMD to rethink your choice, so much so that now the company is formally committed to work, from now to the day of its debut, to guarantee support for the new CPUs on the 400 series motherboards.
AMD will then put code for supporting Zen 3 processors available to motherboard manufacturers. These will be up to packaging "Selected BIOS BIOS" for B450 and X470 motherboards. "These optional BIOSes will disable support for many existing Ryzen processors to make the necessary space in the ROM," explains AMD. Beta BIOSes will also enable a "Zenzen-based Ryzen unique update path" that it will not be reversible, meaning you will not be able to revert to a previous BIOS version.
To reduce confusion power, AMD plans to offer the BIOS download only to "verified 400 series motherboard customers who have purchased a new Zen 3 desktop processor. This will help us ensure that customers have a bootable processor available after the BIOS flash, minimizing the risk of the user being unable to boot. "It is not clear what AMD means by this sentence, but we'll find out in the future. The company has previously offered "boot kits" for upgrading old motherboards.
"Timing and availability of BIOS updates will vary and may not immediately coincide with the availability of the first Zen 3 processors", reads a note. AMD also clarifies that CPUs subsequent to Zen 3 will require a motherboard different from the 400 series solutions. Finally, AMD points out that it will still recommend the 500 series motherboards as the best option for the Ryzen 4000 in order to have maximum performance and the latest features, as it should be remembered that only the motherboards of the 500 family allow you to enjoy support for PCI Express 4.0.
