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Ryzen2-Feature

Before this week, we covered a familiar trouble when pairing new processors with older motherboards. Older boards frequently demand firmware updates to properly support new processors, just not every lath on the market has been flashed to support new APUs. This means it'south possible for a client to buy a new APU like the 2400G, but end upward with a board whose UEFI is too one-time to kicking the CPU properly. This isn't a new issue — Intel CPUs accept as well had this problem in the by — but AMD's solution is bluntly exemplary.

AMD'due south support page walks through various options available to customers and recommends that customers check with their motherboard vendors for a gratuitous replacement or use a previously purchased Ryzen CPU to install the BIOS. That'due south pretty standard stuff.

Ryzen5CPU

Here'due south what'due south not standard. If you can't utilise UEFI flashback to install an updated BIOS or receive no support from your motherboard manufacturer, AMD will ship you an APU guaranteed to piece of work on all systems. Here's the exact text:

AMD volition provide affected and qualified users a boot kit to perform the BIOS update on their motherboard. This solution is offered through AMD warranty services and is available merely for affected and qualified users of this specific boot upward issue. This boot kit is gratuitous of charge.

To obtain the kick kit, please carefully follow these instructions:

Go to the AMD online warranty claims page:

Fill in your full contact and product details

In the Problem Clarification field enter "Boot kit Required" (without quotes)

NOTE: The product must exist a valid AMD processor with authentic OPN and serial number

Once the claim is received and approved, confirmation details and boot kit instructions will be provided in a follow up electronic mail.

A forum member at Ars Technica identified the APUs AMD is shipping out as the A6-9500, a dual-core Bristol Ridge APU with a modest integrated GPU and a boost clock of 3.8GHz. Information technology won't hold a candle to Ryzen as far every bit operation is concerned, just that doesn't matter. We've never heard of a visitor shipping out free CPUs to people with a problem similar this, and it'due south a heck of a thing for AMD to offer.

1 other thing worth noting: The reason this problem hits AMD is because AMD is sticking to the same chipsets it launched last year. Intel, in contrast, historically spins new chipsets for major launches. While backwards compatibility is maintained in some cases across Intel product lines, AMD has pledged to support its Ryzen chipsets (X370, B350, A320) through 2022. The inevitable event of that promise is that some boards may need flash updates from time to fourth dimension. Only information technology's not an issue unique to AMD and to the extent that it may affect AMD more oft, it'south a consequence of AMD supporting its motherboards and chipsets through multiple product generations, as opposed to some kind of failure in quality control. Given that AMD is literally sending people free processors to prepare this trouble, I'd much rather bargain with the minor hassle of a UEFI flash equally opposed to ownership an entirely new motherboard every few years.