Question ASUS PRIME B350M-A BIOS update for 5650g support (from A8-9600!)

[nikoskazanakis]

Ok, this should be interesting...
I currently have the ancient A8-9600 on an ASUS B350M-A board (bios 4207).
According to the board's (outdated?) CPU support page it should not support anything more than a Ryzen 3950X (https://www.asus.com/Motherboards-Components/Motherboards/All-series/PRIME-B350M-A/HelpDesk_CPU/ ).

BUT the board's current (beta) 6042 BIOS has actually been updated to AGESA V2 PI 1.2.0.7, which essentially means support for most Ryzen 5000 series, including the 5650g one(?): https://www.asus.com/Motherboards-Components/Motherboards/All-series/PRIME-B350M-A/HelpDesk_BIOS/ I've seen reports that similar ASUS B350 boards with 6042 BIOS can now run the 5700X, which should be a clear indication. The official CPU support list (of all ASUS B350 boards) has just not been updated yet, since the 6042 BIOS is still shown as beta.

This notion is actually "backed" by the official CPU support page of the entry-level and much cheaper A320 equivalent of the above board, where 5650g is clearly shown as supported just after BIOS 6042 update to AGESA V2 PI 1.2.0.7 for that board too: https://www.asus.com/Motherboards-Components/Motherboards/PRIME/PRIME-A320M-A/HelpDesk_CPU/

All this means that ASUS actually supports the lesser and BAD A320 chipset better than the B350 one! Anyway this also leads me to believe that 5650g should actually be supported by ASUS B350M-A after the 6042 beta BIOS, which brings me to the following questions:

1) According to the similar upgrade path of the A320 board, support for the A8-9600 (Bristol Ridge) is dropped after BIOS 5862: https://www.asus.com/Motherboards-Components/Motherboards/PRIME/PRIME-A320M-A/HelpDesk_BIOS/ I highly suspect this is the case also with the B350M-A board after the 6026 (beta) BIOS update, even though this is not clearly stated in the above B350's BIOS page. Can someone confirm this or not?

2) If no1 is true and support for the A8-9600 was dropped after 6026 BIOS for the B350, will I be able to use the A8 CPU to flash straight to 6042 BIOS and then simply replace the A8 with a 5650g CPU? I have read that most probably an "incremental" update will be needed from such an old BIOS version to a much newer, especially if microcode changes are involved:
View: https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/up5bz5/asus_releases_2nd_wave_uefi_bios_support_agesa/


Or would I require an "intermediate" 1600 or 2600 or 3600 CPU from A8 to flash to 6042 BIOS?

Thanks a lot in advance!

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

The reason I suggest gradually work your way up during a BIOS update is so that you rule out any corruption in the BIOS update process. People who have jumped to the latest BIOS version often tend to come back and state a bricked board or simply a black screen after a powerup sequence. You should think about a B550 chipset board as opposed to repurposing an older board with a lackluster power delivery.

As for your BIOS A.G.E.S.A code question, at the end of the day, support being enabled or disabled is left at the hands of the board's makers. There's also the matter that the latest A.G.E.S.A code update was meant for a selective range of boards, not everything and anything under the sun.

 

[nikoskazanakis]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

The reason I suggest gradually work your way up during a BIOS update is so that you rule out any corruption in the BIOS update process. People who have jumped to the latest BIOS version often tend to come back and state a bricked board or simply a black screen after a powerup sequence. You should think about a B550 chipset board as opposed to repurposing an older board with a lackluster power delivery.

As for your BIOS A.G.E.S.A code question, at the end of the day, support being enabled or disabled is left at the hands of the board's makers. There's also the matter that the latest A.G.E.S.A code update was meant for a selective range of boards, not everything and anything under the sun.

Thanks for the prompt reply.
No problem in gradually updating, but as explained in the original post, in this particular case I'm constrained by the fact that support for my current CPU may have possibly been dropped since 6026 (beta) BIOS and the current 6042 (beta) BIOS I want to update to. Please see my BIOS updates links above in relation to both my board and the A320 one. So most I could go with the A8 CPU seems to be the 5606 BIOS (https://www.asus.com/Motherboards-Components/Motherboards/PRIME/PRIME-B350M-A/HelpDesk_BIOS/) . The question is what happens after that. Of course I'm also not 100% sure that the 5650g is actually supported since 6042, even though everything points to that.
Finally both the B350 board and the A8 CPU are not "repurposed", they are in my main production machine, which for simple office use is more than enough. I just want to replace the A8 with a 5650g and be done with that. There is not going to be any problem with the power. Both 5650g and A8-9600 have a TDP of 65W, so no problem there.

 

[Vic 40]

Don't know if you have facebook, but if you do, did you also ask here?
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ASUSPCDIY
migth already have been people who have tried.

 

[nikoskazanakis]

Don't know if you have facebook, but if you do, did you also ask here?
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ASUSPCDIY
migth already have been people who have tried.

Thanks, I think I'll do just that. Essentially the question boils down to if I will be able to flash the 6042 BIOS with a A8-9600 installed and then just swap CPUs after the flash.

 

[Vic 40]

Think that will work as long as the bios update isn't interrupted. But cannot say for 100% sure.

 

[nikoskazanakis]

Think that will work as long as the bios update isn't interrupted. But cannot say for 100% sure.

I thought so initially, but opinions seen to differ (for a similar situation with an Asrock board):

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/ASRock/comments/v2mcyu/is_it_possible_update_to_72_beta_bios_with/&ved=2ahUKEwiwv8GIgZ74AhXkSPEDHRLECMYQFnoECAcQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3tryFkerXE3zU7qz5JR9Xk


The problem is that according to my initial post and similar Asrock kobolds llinks, the beta BIOS cannot be reverted to an older one. So if I take the chance and try with the A8 and it fails I'm left without a working PC...

 

[Vic 40]

The problem is that according to my initial post and similar Asrock kobolds llinks, the beta BIOS cannot be reverted to an older one. So if I take the chance and try with the A8 and it fails I'm left without a working PC...

I understand, why i linked the facebook page, might be others that already tried and can confirm.