Question Can you update the bios of a motherboard without a CPU?

[Anthony82093]

I was building a PC on PCPartPicker and it was giving me this warning.

"The MSI MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard supports the Intel Core i7-14700K 3.4 GHz 20-Core Processor with BIOS version 7E25vA1. If the motherboard is using an older BIOS version, updating the BIOS will be necessary to support the CPU."

So if I put it all together and the motherboard doesn't "Connect" with the CPU because of the BIOS, can I just update it? Or would I need a 13th gen CPU for it to run?

Mainly going for an MSI because I've used them in the past so I feel comfortable with them, but other recommendations are appreciated! I know very little about motherboards, and they all seem so similar, and different, and expensive!

 

[ThatVietGuy]

That particular motherboard does have a BIOS flash button on the rear panel. Usually this should allow you to update the motherboard without anything connected other than power.

Page 60 in the manual - https://download.msi.com/archive/mnu_exe/mb/MAGZ790TOMAHAWKMAXWIFI_EN.pdf

Tutorial -

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTkXunUAriE


So to answer the question, no, you shouldn't need a 13th gen CPU to be able to update the BIOS.

 

[Anthony82093]

That particular motherboard does have a BIOS flash button on the rear panel. Usually this should allow you to update the motherboard without anything connected other than power.

Page 60 in the manual - https://download.msi.com/archive/mnu_exe/mb/MAGZ790TOMAHAWKMAXWIFI_EN.pdf

Tutorial -

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTkXunUAriE


So to answer the question, no, you shouldn't need a 13th gen CPU to be able to update the BIOS.

Thanks, I appreciate the information!