While X470 and B450 motherboards haven’t arrived quite yet, there’s a good reason to consider a B350 or X370 motherboard for a 2nd generation AMD processor or APU. Most of these have to do with price. Every time a new generation of processor is released there’s a sale made available for previous generation motherboards. So, if you can find one of these for cheap, you can get quite the deal or a high-end motherboard with more features compared to what you could get with the latest generation.
Of course, there also seems to be a point in time down the road when these deals simply go away. When that happens, the current generation with its latest specs is ideal.
However, for now, you may be considering one of these motherboards.
The Problem
I recently received an e-mail from a reader who was worried that his B350 PC Mate motherboard would be in an endless BIOS loop when he received it and installed his Ryzen 3 2200G APU. While more recently released B350 and X370 motherboards will automatically be updated to a BIOS that works with Ryzen 2nd GEN, some may receive a motherboard that’s been on the shelf for a while.
- System Does Not Boot During Initial Setup.
- Some 300 Series ship with an incompatible BIOS.
Typically these are motherboards which have been on the shelf for a while. Recently produced 300 series motherboards should already have a BIOS installed that is compatible with 2nd GEN Ryzen CPUs.
The Free Solution
Unlike for previous Intel and AMD CPUs, if you find yourself in this situation, there’s a FREE solution.
AMD is offering boot kits which include an inexpensive APU (A6-9500) that they will send to you for free. With this APU you can update your X370 B350 or other 300 series motherboard to a BIOS that will function with 2nd generation Ryzen processors.
AMD does require some information. Here’s what they’re asking that you do if you run into this problem.
- Proof including a picture of the new processor along with the model and serial number.
- Copy of communication between the buyer and the motherboard manufacturer on why it won’t function.
- Buyers must fill out an AMD warranty claim page. https://support.amd.com/en-us/warranty/rma
- Submission of Contact and Product Details and Request Book Kit.
Go to this page if you’d like to learn more about how to submit this information.
AMD does request that you return the APU once you’re finished so that others may also receive the free loan.
Other Solutions
- Alternatively, some 300 series motherboards already include *ways to update your BIOS without a processor.
- Find a friend who has a first generation Ryzen processor.
*Asus’ EZ Flash 3 and MSI’s M-Flash are examples of this. Check the manufacturer’s specification page for more information.
Summary
We think it’s great that AMD is being so accommodating with its latest Ryzen release. Clearly, they are catering to consumer needs in a way that puts them in a good light. We expect the CPU competition to continue to heat up in 2018.