Question Updating bios

[Threepexx]

I recently bought a msi b550m pro-vdh that ill pair up with the ryzen 5 5600x. Tho knowing some of those mother boards comes with older bios versions that wont work for 5000gen cpus. Im all ready to update the bios, with the motherboards convenient flash update. Tho knowing only some motherboards comes with older bios versions, i dont really see the point in updating bios if it already have a version working for 5600x.

Is there any way to check msi motherboards bios versions other than contacting its manufacturing, or checking it in bios?

And is there any damage in flash updating the bios while its already updated to the latest version?

Hope u guys understand my English
And thanks in advance

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[geofelt]

Motherboards will have the most current bios available at time of manufacture.
I see no bios updates that explicitly refer to 5600X support so I think you are good to go out of the box.
There are some ram related updates that are probably a good idea.
Once a motherboard is running in production, I will not update bios unless the update fixes a problem that is impacting me.
But, for a new build where failure is not catastrophic, I will update to currency.

 

[hotaru.hino]

Unless the motherboard had a revision (in which case it usually has a new product web page), you should assume that it comes with something earlier than the earliest version on the motherboard's support page.

There's no harm in updating BIOS if it's already up to date. The update just won't happen since it'll detect the versions are the same.

 

[sarcophagus_macabre]

Go to the MSI webpage for your motherboard. Click on the Support tab, then click on the Compatibility block. Look through the CPU section for your processor. In the far right column under result is the BIOS version required for the processor.

 

[Threepexx]

Motherboards will have the most current bios available at time of manufacture.
I see no bios updates that explicitly refer to 5600X support so I think you are good to go out of the box.
There are some ram related updates that are probably a good idea.
Once a motherboard is running in production, I will not update bios unless the update fixes a problem that is impacting me.
But, for a new build where failure is not catastrophic, I will update to currency.

I was checking compatibility on pcpartpicker, and this message showed up: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/#compatibility_notes

 

[Threepexx]

Unless the motherboard had a revision (in which case it usually has a new product web page), you should assume that it comes with something earlier than the earliest version on the motherboard's support page.

There's no harm in updating BIOS if it's already up to date. The update just won't happen since it'll detect the versions are the same.

Alright. I think ill just update the bios just in case im not using the right version then. But should i be updating to the specific version for that cpu or can i just go for the newest version?

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Alright. I think ill just update the bios just in case im not using the right version then. But should i be updating to the specific version for that cpu or can i just go for the newest version?

B550 mobos come with support for 5000 series out of the box.

Yes, update your bios. any self respecting AMD Ryzen owner should update their bios. As eluded to they often bring bog fixes, mem compatibility, and performance enhancements in addition to new security features.

In years gone by, there has often been the case that advice was to not update the bios unless you had to. 'Don't fix what ain't broken' kinda thing. Those days are past. Doing a bios update is more akin to a driver update, than some nefarious thing that will brick your system.

You can test your system, as is with current bios, then update to a newer one and test again. Compare the results. If the results don't suit, rollback to the previous bios.

Ideally you need to be on whatever bios has the AGESA 1.2.0.7 code. So version 7C95v2C at least.

 

[hotaru.hino]

In years gone by, there has often been the case that advice was to not update the bios unless you had to. 'Don't fix what ain't broken' kinda thing. Those days are past. Doing a bios update is more akin to a driver update, than some nefarious thing that will brick your system.

Treating firmware updates as something you update regularly is not a mindset I'd want to perpetuate. Firmware needs to be held to a higher standard. I should be able to use the base version firmware for the life of the platform without major issues as long as I don't need to change the hardware configuration.

But if we have things microcode bugs causing overvoltage issues, that doesn't instill a lot of confidence in the maintainer of said firmware in my eyes.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Treating firmware updates as something you update regularly is not a mindset I'd want to perpetuate

Good for you! If that's how you like it, who am I to say any different.

However, like I've outlined above, there are many reasons to update a bios.

Also, you're getting a little mixed up. The link you've included is for Ryzen 7xxx/AM5 CPU's. Hardly relevant here.

You might note that I mentioned AGESA 1.2.0.7 for AM4. Not the one you linked for AGESA 1.0.7.0 for AM5. This is the base level bios for common bugs on the platform in it's early years./ So 1.2.0.7 is advisable for a stable system.

On a side note, do you have a Ryzen system? Is it on it's original bios? If so, you may want to upgrade your bios

 

[Threepexx]

Motherboards will have the most current bios available at time of manufacture.
I see no bios updates that explicitly refer to 5600X support so I think you are good to go out of the box.
There are some ram related updates that are probably a good idea.
Once a motherboard is running in production, I will not update bios unless the update fixes a problem that is impacting me.
But, for a new build where failure is not catastrophic, I will update to currency.

Say hypothetically I need to update the bios for the 5 5600x to work with my motherboard. Would I damage any parts by booting the pc with wrong bios version?

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Say hypothetically I need to update the bios for the 5 5600x to work with my motherboard. Would I damage any parts by booting the pc with wrong bios version?

It's highly unlikely you will damage any parts. There's a small chance that you can update the bios the wrong way, and what that means is, if there's some sort of power disconnect during the bios update bios., then the system won't boot. Even so, your mobo has bios flashback, so even if the update didn't work as intended, you can simply flash it to the previous version as you had before.

As mentioned, a bios update is not that complicated.

If, in dire need :

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGuxXQ02xSM
- how to recover bios with flashback

 

[jaquith]

Is there any way to check msi motherboards bios versions other than contacting its manufacturing, or checking it in bios?

And is there any damage in flash updating the bios while its already updated to the latest version?

From Windows run CPU-Z, open the Mainboard (tab) and in the middle your BIOS Version is listed.

No there's nothing bad or damaging to re-flashing your BIOS to the same version. However, be careful to read the manufacture's prerequisite for upgrading to a newer BIOS. Sometimes there's a sequence or other updates required first. Even be cautious with "USB Flashback" and carefully read any notes for your motherboard.