Question Asus Tuf b450m bios version & 1600Af Question

[Mikk_UA_]

Hello!
Planning upgrade GPU to rx 6650 xt / RTX 3060 and later in the year cpu to ryzen 5 3600 \ 7 5800. (because of SAM and potential bottleneck).
Currently, my bios ver. 2006 and EZ update return - "there is no need to update"...that makes sense .
But could I update to the latest version (3802), or it doesn't support old cpu ?
Is there normal asus compatibility table (bios ver & cpu list) ? Asus list not very informative

Spoiler: Specs

Asus Tuf b450M pro gaming (bios ver. 2006)
[*]Ryzen 5 1600AF
[*]SAPPHIRE PULSE RX 5500 XT
[*]Patriot DDR4 16GB (2x8GB) 3200Mhz Viper Steel (PVS416G320C6K)

 

[drea.drechsler]

Hello!
Planning upgrade GPU to rx 6650 xt / RTX 3060 and later in the year cpu to ryzen 5 3600 \ 7 5800. (because of SAM and potential bottleneck).
Currently, my bios ver. 2006 and EZ update return - "there is no need to update"...that makes sense .
But could I update to the latest version (3802), or it doesn't support old cpu ?
Is there normal asus compatibility table (bios ver & cpu list) ? Asus list not very informative

Spoiler: Specs

Asus Tuf b450M pro gaming (bios ver. 2006)
[*]Ryzen 5 1600AF
[*]SAPPHIRE PULSE RX 5500 XT
[*]Patriot DDR4 16GB (2x8GB) 3200Mhz Viper Steel (PVS416G320C6K)

Actually...that's a very good question with an unclear answer....

Ver. 3802 BIOS does NOT have an SMU for Pinnacle Ridge but it does have one for Summit Ridge. That means it will work with 1000 series CPU's but not 2000 series CPU's. Why they did that, I have no idea.

Nothing on Asus sites tell me that...I use a utility called "Ryzen SMU Checker". You can Google it and DL it yourself.

On the surface it would seem it should work with your 1600...except it's an AF. As I understand it a 1600AF uses a Pinnacle ridge die but with operating parameters of the Summit ridge part. So...it sounds to me like it won't work with your CPU unless AF parts are really more like a Summit Ridge than the Pinnacle Ridge die suggests so that it is quite happy using the Summit Ridge SMU in the new BIOS.

So that's the unclear answer. I'd suggest contacting Asus tech support to ask them except most of them have no clue what you're asking about most of the time so you get a random and usually irrelevant canned answer.

EDIT ADDED: I decided to check BIOS ver 3211 and guess what...it DOES have an SMU for both Pinnacle Ridge and Summit Ridge so it will almost certainly work with your CPU. I'm not sure I'd worry about running a few rev's back from the latest since most of the attention there was to fix issues with Ryzen 5000 CPU's (like the dropping of USB ports and fTPM caused stuttering in audio). Sounds like that's a low-risk update if you wish to try it.

As an aside, I can't say why they did this to Pinnacle Ridge parts. It really hurts the owners of this board with 2000 series CPU's who want to run the latest BIOS for Win11 compatibility. Especially since it's the Summit Ridge CPU's that have been deemed incompatible with Win11.

 

[Mikk_UA_]

I use a utility called "Ryzen SMU Checker"

What version of Ryzen SMU Checker do you use ?

I checked web versions and exe

• https://zen2-smu-checker-blazor.raiha.rocks (1.2.0.9)
• https://kolos.github.io/ryzen-smu-checker/ (1.2.0.8)
• And Ryzen SMU Checker 1.2.0.8.exe and 1.2.0.7

Web Versions have identical results - Pinnacle Ridge modules exist
Exe - " Could not find any Pinnacle Ridge SMU modules"
Weird.....

 

[drea.drechsler]

What version of Ryzen SMU Checker do you use ?

I checked web versions and exe

• https://zen2-smu-checker-blazor.raiha.rocks (1.2.0.9)
• https://kolos.github.io/ryzen-smu-checker/ (1.2.0.8)
• And Ryzen SMU Checker 1.2.0.8.exe and 1.2.0.7

Web Versions have identical results - Pinnacle Ridge modules exist
Exe - " Could not find any Pinnacle Ridge SMU modules"
Weird.....

Hah...I'm using the .exe, v. 1.2.0.8. So why the disparity? I think it's question worth posing to the developer if you can find a return e-mail or forum.

It's your choice of course, but if me I'd just go with the ver 3211 BIOS which has the changes for Win11 compatibility. The later BIOS's are fixing issues with Ryzen 5000 processors so shouldn't be necessary for a 1600AF CPU. It seems the safest unless your board has a BIOS flash-back feature.

In truth, for system level performance a BIOS much earlier is probably good enough since AMD stopped working on Summit Ridge and Pinnacle Ridge AGESA and SMU fixes soon after Matisse released (AGESA ComboAM4 1.0.0.4b/SMU 25.86.0 or 43.24.0). The only reason to try to get up to latest is for the BIOS fixes they implemented for Win11 security features.

 

[Mikk_UA_]

Hah...I'm using the .exe, v. 1.2.0.8. So why the disparity?

SOLVED =)
But first - thanks for reminding about Ryzen SMU Checker (forget about this utility).

So about disparity - found on Reddit that were was changed part of the hex code what SMU Checker searching.
But in new version this problem was solved.
P.S. last version Ryzen SMU Checker 1.2.2.0 😀

So, in near future I want new CPU anyway, I decided to roll the dice and install 3802 BIOS.
And it worked =))

 

[drea.drechsler]

...
P.S. last version Ryzen SMU Checker 1.2.2.0😀
...

Thanks for clueing me in on the update. I had no idea one was out...

Also added something revealing in the ReadMe: it informs us that a specific CPU can be blocked in PSP or AGESA code so having the appropriate SMU isn't a guarantee it will initialize and boot a locked-out CPU. I've not seen any reports where that's been done but it's good to keep this in mind.