Is it safe to upgrade my cpu, with the Powerspec G500?

sdecker32

Hey gang,

I have had my computer for a solid 4 years now, and am thinking about either getting a new one, or upgrading the cpu on my G500. The only modification i made to the computer was switchign the GPU out for a 2060 Super, which worked marvelously. Part of me would like to just go for the low hanging fruit, and replace the processor instead of buying a whole new rig.

The problem is this: Given the Motherboard and the BIOS, it's a bit unclear which cpus might be eligible. As far as I know the motherboard is an Asus B-350, and the BIOS just says "American Megatrends Inc" with the version as "9002 - AMD AGESA SummitPI-AM4 1.0.0.6". I have heard that getting a new cpu, even if it is compatible with the motherboard, can have issues that require a BIOS update, which i am a bit hesitant to do.

My Question: is there a AMD cpu that would be an upgrade (the G500 comes with the Ryzen 5 1600) that I could get that would run on my current BIOS/Motherboard? If the answer is no and I would need to wade into the dicey territory of updating the BIOS I might be more inclined to just get a new computer in full, as bricking my current desktop would be a real pain. However, if I am in the clear for a modest CPU upgrade without doing anything other than opening my case up and installing it, that would be great news.

Thanks in advance!

PowerSpec_MikeW

@sdecker32

BIOS is 0902, correct? For any modern upgrade you are going to need to update your BIOS. Now, flashing the BIOS always has some inherit risk. You're flashing the boards firmware, if there's any failure in the middle of that process it's very likely you'll brick your motherboard. However this is rare. I will warn you about that upfront as this board has no recovery options like flashback in the event that happened.

Latest BIOS is 6042. If you were to upgrade to that your system would support Zen3 CPU's. You could go up to a 5900X: https://www.asus.com/Motherboards-Components/Motherboards/PRIME/PRIME-B350-PLUS/HelpDesk_CPU/