Introduction
After AMD overturned their controversial decision to only allow Zen 3 processors on 500 series boards, many hoped that support for these new processors would also come to B350 and X370 boards as the chipsets were nearly functionally identical to B450 and X470. Not long after the 5000 series CPUs released, experimental BIOSes for high end AsRock boards such as the X370 Taichi leaked with support for Zen 3 with a updated AGESA of 1.1.0.0.
These experimental builds enabling support for Zen 3 were definitely not without their faults. However, owners of these boards were happy to be able to upgrade their CPU without needing to upgrade their motherboard. While AsRock had been continuing to refine their BIOS releases on 300 series boards, AMD noticed this and was unhappy.
AsRock B350/X370 users were able to get one last update that fixed some major issues. However, they have not been able to get new AGESA updates due to AMD blocking AsRock from providing further updates. Due to this, along with boards from other manufacturers such as Asus not providing BIOS updates at all, some users turned to other methods to use their new CPUs with their existing boards.
Crossflashing
Users with AsRock boards found that they could flash the BIOS from similar B450 boards to use Zen 3 CPUs with their B350 boards. Similarly, owners of Asus’s first flagship AM4 board, the Crosshair 6 Hero, have gone one step further. Users on overclock.net have created a Crossflashing Database. This database tracks which bios is best to use for Zen 3 support with the C6H, which is currently an Asrock B450 BIOS.
Unfortunately, flashing a BIOS meant for a different board is no longer a viable option for B350/X370 for those looking for the newest AGESA updates. More than half a year ago with the release of AGESA 1.2.0.0, users found that they were unable to boot after flashing a BIOS using this new AGESA release.
A320 and B350 Support
Recently, users noticed that Asus and Gigabyte released BIOS updates for A320 boards. These new BIOSes have updated AGESA (1.2.0.3c for Asus, 1.2.0.5 for Gigabyte) and have full support for Zen 3. Similarly, MSI’s newest beta bios for the B350 Tomahawk has support for Cezanne (non-APU Zen 3 CPUs) although it is using a older AGESA (1.1.0.0).
Hopefully with these new BIOS releases for lower end 300 series boards, other boards will be updated as well. Asus claims that AMD currently does not allow this, but perhaps MSI’s recent release for the B350 Tomahawk shows that they have changed their mind.
If you’re looking for a new CPU, make sure to check out our CPU Buying Guide. Happy Holidays!
