[SOLVED] Looking for an AM4 CPU that's compatible with most motherboards

[slippyjim]

Hi,

I have been out of the computer game for a few years now but am getting back into it and am looking to build up my spares again so what is the best cheapo AMD AM4 CPU to get as a test unit that will be compatible with the most motherboards old and new?
The range seems to vary so much that I am totally confused, should I be looking at an Athlon or Ryzen 3 and what series? The cheaper the better.

Thanks

 

[kanewolf]

Hi,

I have been out of the computer game for a few years now but am getting back into it and am looking to build up my spares again so what is the best cheapo AMD AM4 CPU to get as a test unit that will be compatible with the most motherboards old and new?
The range seems to vary so much that I am totally confused, should I be looking at an Athlon or Ryzen 3 and what series? The cheaper the better.

Thanks

I would suggest a two CPU set.
A 1000 series for 300 and 400 series motherboards and
A 3000 series for 400 and 500 series motherboards.

1000 series support was removed from some 400 series BIOS due to space limitations, so having the "backup" 3000 series CPU covers those situations.

 

[Eximo]

Seconded, going to have to hit up the used market for either really. Retail prices are a little too high.

You might also want something like a 3000G so you can test boards display outputs.

 

[slippyjim]

Thanks,

I have found a cheap Athlon X4 950 second hand but I believe that only works on 300 series motherboards although this website - https://www.cpu-upgrade.com/CPUs/AMD/Athlon_X4/950_motherboards.html says it works on some 400 series the Asus website doesn't agree
That will do as a cheap start though for the older mobos

 

[DSzymborski]

It depends on the exact motherboards, not just what the chipsets are. AMD kept the AM4 socket a long time, but it led to a bit of an awkward situation in which motherboard manufacturer were running out of room for microcode on the 16 MB BIOS chips. So different companies made different choices on just what to support on motherboards, especially on the low end. It wasn't so easy to just chuck in a larger BIOS chip; motherboards are extremely low-margin components.