Question New Ryzen 5 5600 Cpu vs Old Ryzen 3 3100 Cpu & Bios Update question. B550 Pro4

[Kris Clark]

Hi guys,

I'm horrible with this technical stuff. My prebuilt pc came with a Ryzen 3 3100 cpu and a faulty ai cooling system. I bought a Ryzen 5 5600 (regular version) to replace them, I'm using the stock cooling system it came with. And I'm wondering if its okay to update to 2.71.

This is the latest version of my board on the website.

On the website using this link, https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/B550 Pro4/index.asp#CPU I see that my Ryzen 3 3100 is marked as All under Validated Bios. Where as the Ryzen 5 5600, only has P2.20.

My PC says I have the P2.20 version installed already. As well as CMD.

Do I have to update to 2.71? Can I install the Ryzen 5 cpu off the bat and not worry about flashing the bios? Or should I flash the bios with the old ryzen cpu?. I have never updated my bios before so I'm quite nervous and would like some assistance, thank you!

 

[Misgar]

Both the Ryzen 3100 and the 5600 have a nominal Thermal Dissipation Power rating of 65W, so in theory you should be able to keep the stock cooler, but I'd keep an eye on the 5600's temperatures and see how hot it gets under load. If the 5600 comes with an air cooler that is bigger than the existing heatsink/fan, then fit the new unit.

If the web site says the 5600 needs BIOS P2.20 or later to run and you've already got this version, you can fit the new CPU without updating the BIOS. However, AMD and motherboard manufacturers have made a number of changes to the BIOS which improve memory stability amongst other things.

When you've got the 5600 running, consider updating to the latest BIOS. Look at the list of BIOS changes and improvements, then decide if they affect you. Although I keep my fingers crossed when updating the BIOS on various motherboards, I've not had any problems to date.

 

[SorryBella]

Where as the Ryzen 5 5600, only has P2.20.

What's listed on QVLs are usually minimum BIOS version, not the only supported one. And yeah i agreed that you should update to the latest version when you can in a new system, especially in Ryzen as BIOS update includes an AGESA microcode updates that helps a lot with device and RAM compatibility.