Ensuring out-of-the-box compatibility between motherboard and 7800X3D?

jameshcunningham

Is there a way to ensure that the motherboard we buy is compatible out of the box with the 7800X3D? This is for my nephew who is not hugely computer savvy, and I don't know if he'll be up for flashing the BIOS (particularly without another working AM5 CPU at hand).

PowerSpec_MikeW

@jameshcunningham

You're going to want to update the BIOS regardless, due to BIOS fixes implemented for the SOC voltage just to be safe. It's pretty easy to do through the UEFI and a nice thing about the AM5 platform, flashback is native. So on the off chance you get a board that won't POST out of the box you throw the BIOS on a flash drive. Then you rename the file per the manufacturer. ASUS has as tool they include with the BIOS that'll do it automatically. MSI you rename to MSI.ROM, ASRock is CREATOR.ROM. Insert it into the marked port and press the 'BIOS Flashback' button. When the light stops flashing or goes solid after 2-3 minutes, you're good. This doesn't require anything be installed on the board, except 24 pin power from the PSU.

You can also talk to the BYO associates, they should be able to tell you if there are any boards that are likely to give you an issue. You can also ask is service is able to do a POST test for you before you take the hardware home.

jameshcunningham

OK! Thanks, I appreciate that. I'll plan on flashing it then.