AMD previously confirmed that Zen 3 would be compatible with 400-series chipsets. However, there’s a caveat to this that has owners for those motherboards nervous. Ryzen 5000 compatibility depends on the motherboard’s manufacturer to implement via an updated BIOS. Not all motherboard manufacturers have committed to making their 400-series boards compatible with Zen 3, but one has announced that they’ll be doing so with every model. MSI will be bringing Ryzen 5000-series support to its entire line of motherboards with no exceptions. MSI is still determining release details, but the company is targeting January 2021 for the new firmware. This updated BIOS will cover MSI’s B450 and X470-series motherboards and allows users to upgrade to a Zen 3 processor once installed. However, the process isn’t without caveats.Though MSI hasn’t revealed specifics, upgrading a B450 or X470 motherboard to support Zen 3 may involve some compromises. Since many of those boards have limited BIOS memory compared to 500-series boards, the update is a one-way ticket. When the new firmware is installed, some motherboards will no longer be compatible with older Ryzen CPUs, and there will be no option to roll the firmware back. Another disadvantage the B450 and X470 chipsets face is their lack of support for PCIe 3.0. There aren’t that many PCIe 4.0 devices available yet, but the latest SSDs, NVIDIA’s RTX 3000-series GPUS, and AMD’s current and upcoming-gen GPUs all utilize the higher bandwidth for better performance (in theory). MSI’s announcement is good news for gamers, who have increasingly found that CPU upgrades usually entail a motherboards swap as well. For enthusiasts that crave the latest and greatest, Zen 3 support for 400-series motherboards means they’ll be able to enjoy AMD’s upcoming CPUs without breaking the bank. Hopefully, this consumer-friendly move will influence Intel to support more longevity from its chipsets.
