Here are some thoughts I wanted to scratch since AMD released its Raven Ridge APUs. It's also something that many of you have asked me to grill AMD for a few months now, but I'm going to go differently with that.
A little history back ... AMD released Ryzen on the new AM4 platform in March 2017 and released over the course of the year more than a dozen new processors using the socket AM4. For this first generation of Ryzen processors, we have the A320, B350 and X370 chipsets. In the same year, Intel released two new series of consumer desktop processors: firstly the Core Core 7th generation series dubbed "Kaby Lake" and with it fifteen priced office parts range from $ 40 to $ 340. $
Then, less than nine months later, Intel released its 8th generation Core Series baptized 'Coffee Lake'. and we now have fourteen new standard office pieces, priced between 40 and 360 dollars.
Why do I talk about it? Well because these new processors, although they use exactly the same LGA 1151 socket, are in no way compatible. Although Intel can open compatibility, they have deliberately blocked it, which means that those who wish to upgrade from the Core i5-7600K to the Core i7-8700K will have to dump their motherboard for the benefit of one. newer map of the 300 series.
Intel's historical standard requires continued compatibility for two generations and two generations only. For example, Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge, the 2nd and 3rd generation Core series, are compatible. Then, the 4th and 5th generations code-named Haswell and Broadwell are compatible, and the 6th and 7th generations codenamed Skylake and Kaby Lake are compatible.
Intel's historical standard requires continued compatibility for two generations and two generations only.
This problem was somewhat mitigated by the fact that Intel offered small incremental improvements from one generation to the next. So it's only when the 6th and 7th generations arrived that those with 2nd and 3rd generation parts started to feel the need to update.
A problem encountered in maintaining support by ensuring compatibility with a new generation is to support these new processors on older generation motherboards. For example, if you purchased a 6th Generation Core i3-6100 by the end of 2015, but that in early 2017, you have decided to upgrade to a 7th Gen Core i5-7600K, you must d & # 39; First, make sure your motherboard is up to date. before installing the new CPU.
The installation of the new CPU without the required BIOS would cause the system to fail the POST test, otherwise known as the Power-On Self Test. This is because the motherboard does not recognize the (new) processor installed.
Motherboard manufacturers are usually quick to add support and often the required BIOS is available for download before the actual CPU output, so it's not a big deal. However, if you purchased a Z170 motherboard designed for the 6th Generation Core Series, but you purchased this board with a 7th generation processor, it may not work and leave the consumer in a mess.
To avoid this scenario, Intel is still launching many new chipsets, so it's unlikely that anyone will buy a previous generation motherboard with a new processor, but this still happens occasionally. People facing this problem will have to bring their new hardware to a local PC store and, hopefully, be able to update the chart, otherwise it will have to be returned to the retailer and replaced.
Intel is always taking a step further to minimize this problem by completely eliminating compatibility and starting a new generation every two seconds. This simplifies things for Intel, makes them much more profitable in chipset sales and can help avoid headaches for consumers. That said, the consumer is ultimately worse off with this approach, especially fans who have a budget.
Most of you would probably prefer to be able to upgrade your Intel 100 or 200 motherboard to support a "Coffee Lake" processor, rather than having to get rid of it. be forced to spend $ 100 on a new Z370 card.
So back to the beginning ... AMD launched Ryzen on the AM4 platform in 2017 and announced at the time that it was planning to maintain compatibility at least until 2020.
This means that multiple generations of processors will be supported on the same socket, not just refreshments. This is a big problem and although we have seen that 2nd generation Ryzen processors work perfectly on the A320, B350 and X370 motherboards, this should also be true for Zen2 processors due to be released in 2019.
Although AMD continues to release new chipsets, they are not mandatory, and that means that the B350 motherboard that you bought last year for $ 70 will stay for a day or so. other. If you bought the MSI B350 Mortar on its first release, for example, it would have shipped with an earlier version of the BIOS, probably version 1.0 or 1.1.
... while we have now seen that second-generation Ryzen processors work perfectly on A320, B350, and X370 motherboards, this should also be true for Zen2 processors due out in 2019.
]But if you wanted to use the B350 Mortar with a Raven Ridge APU, you need to make sure that it has been updated with the BIOS version 7A37v1B that was released two weeks before the launch of the. ;COULD. If you bought this motherboard with an earlier version of the BIOS with a new APU, it would not have worked.
AMD did not release a new chipset next to the APUs and maintained support for the 300 series chipsets, most buying a B350 card and many old ones stored before the update BIOS.
AMD copied a lot of flak on this point, so they had to invest time and money to develop a program that would help customers update their motherboards by sending them an inexpensive AM4 CPU which could be used to start the system. update the BIOS.
In retrospect, it would have been easier for them to do what they had done before with their APUs. That is, to segment the product lines and offer their APUs on a different socket with different chipsets. This approach would have been less of a puzzle for AMD, but far less convenient for consumers and for my part, I am very grateful that they have not taken this approach.
The problem resurfaced with the release of the second-generation Ryzen, as people began trying to pair them with B350 motherboards that had not been updated.
It is impossible for AMD to add support for the processors that they will launch in the future. Intel has not developed a time machine to work around this problem.
It is impossible for AMD to add support for the processors that they will launch in the future. Intel has not developed a time machine to work around this problem either. The only solution is to eliminate the support after a certain period of time and start a new process and that is the approach that Android has adopted.
We do not want AMD to take the same approach. There will be a time when the upgrade will be necessary to support new features and memory technologies, but until then, I would prefer not to see the compatibility removed so that these companies can pull the best of you. I bet there are many owners of H110, H170 and Z170 who would like to stick a CPU 'Coffee Lake'. on their motherboard perfectly good.
If AMD continues to receive hostile reactions, I think it's something that they could abandon after 2020 and instead adopt a similar compatibility cycle to Intel's: reset all generations and require you to invest in a new platform offer something new beyond the CPU support.
As I said, many people have attacked AMD about the BIOS update, but this is not a situation where AMD has mismanaged things, which caused problems. AMD can not do anything to prevent this. If we want the compatibility to be maintained, when new CPUs come out of the motherboards have to be updated to support them, this has always been the case for both AMD and Intel.
AMD can continue to offer starter kits, but there are other solutions, and these must come from the motherboard manufacturers. Asus has developed such a solution called "USB BIOS Flashback". For this method, all you need is the 24-pin power cable connected to the motherboard and a USB key with the required BIOS. Simply plug the USB storage device into the USB BIOS Flashback port on the motherboard, and then press and hold the USB BIOS Flashback or ROG Connect button for three seconds. At this point, an LED starts flashing, just sit back and wait for the LED to stop flashing, indicating that the BIOS has been updated and you are ready to go.
Unfortunately, Asus only offers this feature on their top-of-the-line cards and none of their B350 models support it. AMD may be able to work with its board partners to create a standard Ryzen feature.
I understand that it is a frustrating problem. Those of us who build their own computers choose to take on the role of technician and the BIOS update is part of the job. If you do not want to deal with this stuff, buy custom systems from your local PC store, you will pay more but at least the support will be part of the equation.
It'll do it for this one. The problem bored me because even though I have frustration, the alternative is much worse. So, I would prefer to have the disadvantage of having to buy a brand new motherboard when it is not really necessary. As always we would like to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.
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