Question Does the MSI Z390-A-PRO Support 9th Gen Out of the Box?

[FluffyFlounder]

What the title says.
i5-9600k + MSI Z370-A-Pro + RTX 2060

 

[FluffyFlounder]

Title

 

[TJ Hooker]

Title says Z390, post says Z370, which is it?

 

[FluffyFlounder]

Z390

 

[FluffyFlounder]

Sorry I have been thinking about the Z370 a lot but now prices are so close I changed it to the Z390, still used to saying Z370!

 

[TJ Hooker]

First BIOS the board shipped with is v10, 9600K only supported with v15 or later. So not guaranteed to work out of the box, would depend when the individual board was manufactured.

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/Z390-A-PRO#support-cpu

 

[FluffyFlounder]

So when I went on PC part picker, with the z370 a pro it gives me an alert saying that I might need a compatible CPU to update bios, but when I change it to the z390 it is green and says nothing. Any reason why?

 

[TJ Hooker]

PCPartpicker isn't 100% accurate. Most Z390's would support that CPU out of the box, which I'm guessing is what PCPartpicker is going off. I'm actually a little shocked it doesn't, but I'm going to trust the manufacturer's website over a 3rd party site.

 

[FluffyFlounder]

If I went to micro center and asked if it was compatible and it wasn't, do you think they would be able to update the bios for me?

 

[TJ Hooker]

Call them and ask.

 

[Karadjgne]

Bios are all the same. As far as the cpu support goes. So when v15 came out, every Z370 and Z390 produced by MSI has the exact same cpu support, only the UI is different, depending on the mobo. So it won't matter which, when you ask, just when. If the mobo was manufactured After v15 was released, it will have at least that bios version and support the 9600k. If it's older stock that predates the v15 release, you'll need either to have the bios updated to current, or use a cpu that IS already recognised by bios. The only exceptions are any cpu that the motherboard is not rated to support, like low-end Z370/Z390 and a 9900k.

 

[FluffyFlounder]

So what are my odds of having the mobo already compatible w/ the 9600k out of the box?

 

[FluffyFlounder]

Another forum (Linus tech tips) said that because z390 and 9th gen intel were released at the same time, z390 doesn't need a bios update. Is that right?

 

[TJ Hooker]

So what are my odds of having the mobo already compatible w/ the 9600k out of the box?

Somewhere between 0 and 100%. The board was first released around August 2018, and the BIOS that supports a 9600K was released Feb 25 2019. Really no way to say how likely it is that retailers still have boards that were produced prior to Feb 25.

Another forum (Linus tech tips) said that because z390 and 9th gen intel were released at the same time, z390 doesn't need a bios update. Is that right?

The answer isn't going to change just because you keep asking it. As I've said, according to MSI not all BIOS revisions for that board support the 9600K and therefore that motherboard isn't guaranteed to support a 9600K out of the box. If you'd rather trust some dude on LTT over the motherboard manufacturer, that's up to you.