[SOLVED] Do all current B550 mobos require a BIO Flash when I Insert the new Zen 3 CPUs?

andypouch

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Oct 16, 2019
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As the title says.

Can't wait for for the new CPUs on 7 Nov

By the way, is the B550 a better alternative to the X570 apart from more form factors to choose from?
 
Solution
They are not released yet, so, anything anybody says in reply to your question is simply going to be a guess. Guessing is pointless.

Based on what we DO know so far, MOST boards WILL need a BIOS update. Some boards that have or will be released AFTER the compatible BIOS versions were available, or boards that specifically say they are ready for Ryzen 5000 series, won't, but those will be few and anybody who already has a board right now, WILL need a BIOS update to support Zen 3 CPUs.

Both chipsets have the same form factors to choose from. Not sure where your confusion on that stems from but pretty much ALL motherboard chipset families except maybe some enterprise or HEDT parts come in mini ITX, microATX and ATX form factors. So it...
They are not released yet, so, anything anybody says in reply to your question is simply going to be a guess. Guessing is pointless.

Based on what we DO know so far, MOST boards WILL need a BIOS update. Some boards that have or will be released AFTER the compatible BIOS versions were available, or boards that specifically say they are ready for Ryzen 5000 series, won't, but those will be few and anybody who already has a board right now, WILL need a BIOS update to support Zen 3 CPUs.

Both chipsets have the same form factors to choose from. Not sure where your confusion on that stems from but pretty much ALL motherboard chipset families except maybe some enterprise or HEDT parts come in mini ITX, microATX and ATX form factors. So it doesn't matter if it's a B550 or X570, there are a variety of form factors available.

As far as being a "better" alternative, that's probably just a toss up. Either chipset is pretty equitable and to be honest, B550 seems like a complete waste of time, money and resources because unlike past budget chipsets, these are NOT "budget". They are just as expensive as X570 boards in most cases except on the very lowest models.
 
Solution

Pytheus

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Oct 28, 2020
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As the title says.

Can't wait for for the new CPUs on 7 Nov

By the way, is the B550 a better alternative to the X570 apart from more form factors to choose from?

Yes you'll likely need to update your BIOS, which you should always do regardless.

I bought a B550 board cause I only needed the Graphics card, NVMe drive and RAM to be PCIe4. Nothing else uses PCIe4 right now so why buy a x570 which requires active cooling. Plus the B550 boards have more onboard features than the x570 boards at the same price. If you think there will be a lot of add on cards that require PCIe4 and you'll be using them, then go with the x570, personally I don't see that being the case.
 
I bought a B550 board cause I only needed the Graphics card, NVMe drive and RAM to be PCIe4.
There's no such thing as "PCIe 4.0 memory/RAM".

Currently, the highest spec for memory is DDR4, with DDR5 on the horizon, but neither of them has anything to do with the PCI bus.

Plus the B550 boards have more onboard features than the x570 boards at the same price.
Like what? The only real difference I've seen that would make me choose B550 over X570 is the fact that the chipset doesn't have a stupid, irritating cooling fan to hum along annoyingly. Other than that, X570 actually SHOULD have features not found on B550, since X570 is the premium chipset. Some FEW B550 models might have a couple of perks though, but they will probably not be models that are less expensive than their X570 counterparts.
 

Pytheus

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Oct 28, 2020
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There's no such thing as "PCIe 4.0 memory/RAM".

Currently, the highest spec for memory is DDR4, with DDR5 on the horizon, but neither of them has anything to do with the PCI bus.

Yes my bad. I only mentioned the RAM cause it was in my head. The CPU and graphics card share that bus, its not dependent to the mobo chipset. That's what matters.

Like what? The only real difference I've seen that would make me choose B550 over X570 is the fact that the chipset doesn't have a stupid, irritating cooling fan to hum along annoyingly. Other than that, X570 actually SHOULD have features not found on B550, since X570 is the premium chipset. Some FEW B550 models might have a couple of perks though, but they will probably not be models that are less expensive than their X570 counterparts.

Wifi 6, often higher speed LAN. Better audio chipset. I did my comparisons before purchasing. Granted I was looking in the lower price points so maybe the more expensive x570 boards have better features, but not from what I was seeing available.
 
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