AMD Ryzen 4000

Previously, AMD announced to only support their upcoming Ryzen 4000 desktop CPUs on the B550 and X570 chipsets. This was due to a capacity limitation for the BIOS ROM on most motherboards. But when the public took it online to voice their dissatisfaction, AMD made a u-turn on their initial decision and confirmed that they will now enable support for B450 and X470!

“We’ve heard our audience, and we understand the concerns. We are going to work out a way to support Zen 3 on our 400-series chipsets between now and launch – we’re still working out the what and the how, but we will update you closer to Zen 3 launch.”


But How?

Here is the response from AMD:

  1. We will develop and enable our motherboard partners with the code to support “Zen 3”-based processors in select beta BIOSes for AMD B450 and X470 motherboards.
  2. These optional BIOS updates will disable support for many existing AMD Ryzen™ Desktop Processor models to make the necessary ROM space available.
  3. The select beta BIOSes will enable a one-way upgrade path for AMD Ryzen Processors with “Zen 3,” coming later this year. Flashing back to an older BIOS version will not be supported.
  4. To reduce the potential for confusion, our intent is to offer BIOS download only to verified customers of 400 Series motherboards who have purchased a new desktop processor with “Zen 3” inside. This will help us ensure that customers have a bootable processor on-hand after the BIOS flash, minimizing the risk a user could get caught in a no-boot situation.
  5. Timing and availability of the BIOS updates will vary and may not immediately coincide with the availability of the first “Zen 3”-based processors.
  6. This is the final pathway AMD can enable for 400 Series motherboards to add new CPU support. CPU releases beyond “Zen 3” will require a newer motherboard.
  7. AMD continues to recommend that customers choose an AMD 500 Series motherboard for the best performance and features with our new CPUs.

TL;DR?

Basically, AMD will work with motherboard manufacturers to enable Zen 3 support on motherboards through a beta BIOS. This beta BIOS will be a one-way upgrade and is not reversible. The beta BIOS will disable support for some older CPUs in order to make way for the Zen 3 CPUs.

Although AMD will make it happen, they still recommend the 500-series chipset motherboards for the best experience. But if you already have a 400-series motherboard and looking to upgrade, it will be possible to do so upon your motherboard manufacturer releasing the beta BIOS.

It seems like the approach will be similar to how B350 and X370 received Zen 2 support.

AMD Ryzen 4000 Support


Other Takeaways

In the statement, AMD also said that this will be the final generation supported on B450 and X470. This is already expected as AMD is most likely switching to a new socket altogether after Zen 3 that supports DDR5 RAM for their 5nm Zen 4 CPUs.