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[winjer]

AMD's first AM4 motherboards still getting firmware updates 6 years and 8 months after launch - VideoCardz.com

AMD 300 series motherboards still getting new BIOSes, Intel 300 series not so much The first AMD AM4 (X370/B350/A320) motherboards were released in February 2017. With nearly 6 years and 8 months since launch, the AMD AM4 platform is still being updated. AMD AM4 Socket Support, Source: AMD...

videocardz.com

A quick investigation into this claim has confirmed that all major motherboard manufacturers have indeed released updates in the past 3-4 months. These updates include the latest AGESA firmware update along with some security enhancements.

Although AMD 300 series motherboards are no longer the most cutting-edge platforms, as they lack fundamental features like PCIe Gen4 support, users still have the potential to upgrade their 6-year-old Ryzen CPUs with the 5000X3D series CPUs, which can significantly boost gaming performance. The most recent release in this series, the 6-core Ryzen 5 5600X3D CPU with 3D V-Cache, was launched this year.

Meanwhile, the Intel 300 series platform, which was released in 2017 as well, has not seen an update since 2021. Motherboard makers are no longer providing any optimizations and security patches and there is no need for new CPU support. Intel has abandoned the LGA1151v2 socket and has since moved to LGA1200 and later LGA1700. The latter is getting its last update this month before it is phased out by LGA1851 next year.

AMD promised 5 years of updates for its AM4 socket and this claim has indeed been fulfilled. In May 2022, AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su said that the AM4 platform isn’t going anywhere, and it will continue for years to come. Regarding AM5 platform support, the AMD CEO said that “AM5 will be a durable rig like AM4. I think AM4 will remain on the market for a few more years”.

Now this is a great example of costumer support.
And with AGESA 1.2.0.C targeted to release Dec 2023, it means more than 7 years of support.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

The driver support and future hardware support is why both of the builds I'm working on will be AM5...

 

[lostinblue]

I'm sure part of it is down to microcode no?

Things changed a bit with meltdown and the constant CPU vulnerabilities they need to patch. I feel Intel sockets also get way more updates than they used to. But that doesn't translate to features, and sometimes it even translates to worse performance.

MITIGATIONS.

 

[winjer]

I'm sure part of it is down to microcode no?

Things changed a bit with meltdown and the constant CPU vulnerabilities they need to patch. I feel Intel sockets also get way more updates than they used to. But that doesn't translate to features, and sometimes it even translates to worse performance.

MITIGATIONS.

Yes, several updates are due to security mitigations. But some are for new CPUs.
For example, AGESA 1.2.0.B added support for Picasso APUs. But also patches for CVE-2023-20569
And sometimes for new features, like the support for Curve Optimizer for the 5800X3D.

When it comes to security flaws, Intel is much worse than AMD.
According to the CVE database, there were around 100 flaws on AMD CPUs, in the last decade. But there were over 200 for Intel CPUs.
But because Intel only gives updates for 2-3 years, that leaves many users with systems without security patches.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

I hope AM5 gets this kind of love! I hope to upgrade to the 8800X3D down the line.

I do have this fear that AM5 will require more motherboard upgrades. They didn’t do a great job with the cooling and the size of the IHS.

 

[DaGwaphics]

The fact that users that picked up a decent motherboard in 2017 can upgrade to a 5800x3d was something special. Even though I'm sure doing this created a lot of headaches for AMD, I think it was a mistake to not announce this same support for AM5. It's a big selling feature for them, IMO.

 

[SF Kosmo]

Last time I updated my BIOS, Windows decided I needed to buy Windows again, so now I don't do that anymore.

 

[winjer]

The fact that users that picked up a decent motherboard in 2017 can upgrade to a 5800x3d was something special. Even though I'm sure doing this created a lot of headaches for AMD, I think it was a mistake to not announce this same support for AM5. It's a big selling feature for them, IMO.

But AMD already confirmed they will have support for AM5 for at least 5 years.

 

[DaGwaphics]

But AMD already confirmed they will have support for AM5 for at least 5 years.

Did they, okay. I thought they had just done that vague 2025+ thing.

 

[winjer]

Did they, okay. I thought they had just done that vague 2025+ thing.

It's in the article in the first post.

 

[DaGwaphics]

It's in the article in the first post.

That's today though. You never get that chance for the initial impression again, a lot of the good will for the feature was lost at launch because they didn't commit as hard as they should have out of the gate.

This should have been a centerpiece of the AM5 launch marketing, IMO. But it is good to see the extended support regardless, I had not been following that.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

This should have been a centerpiece of the AM5 launch marketing, IMO. But it is good to see the extended support regardless, I had not been following that.

It was...

 

[DaGwaphics]

It was...

Well, I remember the initial launch window of AM5 had a lot of people disappointed with the level of support announced. Perhaps they just have a poor marketing department if this was the result from their primary push.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Well, I remember the initial launch window of AM5 had a lot of people disappointed with the level of support announced. Perhaps they just have a poor marketing department if this was the result from their primary push.

 

[Joramun]

I hope AM5 gets the same treatment.

 

[DaGwaphics]

@ S0ULZB0URNE I was just referring to the fact that at launch they made it seem like only 3 years of support or so were guaranteed (naturally a bit disappointing given AM4).

AMD plans to support the new AM5 socket through 2025 and beyond

Which coincides nicely with the news that the Zen 5 design is on track for release in 2024.

www.pcgamer.com

AMD AM5 Platform Through At Least 2025 - ServeTheHome

AMD AM5 Platform Through At Least 2025

www.servethehome.com

Nice to see that we are already pushed out to 2026 now, hopefully AM5 ages as well as AM4.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Maybe next gen I'll move to AM5. There is no need this gen.

 

[SmokedMeat]

This is why I wasn’t hesitant about jumping from AM4 to AM5.

 

[YOU PC BRO?!]

It takes time to prove but this is how you garner consumer trust and establish brand loyalty.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

AMD CPU division has been good a long time now

Their GPU division unfortunately

They should spin ATI off again, it's like an anchor around their necks. Worst acquisition in tech company history

 

[violence]

A rule I follow. Never update your motherboard unless there’s a problem. It’s nice that they’re still supporting it though.

 

[marquimvfs]

A rule I follow. Never update your motherboard unless there’s a problem. It’s nice that they’re still supporting it though.

That maybe was true a decade ago, now, the updates are almost mandatory to keep your system up and running the way it was intended.

 

[Paulistano]

This must be torture to some manufacturers.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

A rule I follow. Never update your motherboard unless there’s a problem. It’s nice that they’re still supporting it though.

This is a terrible and obsolete idea in the era of constant security flaws and fixes

 

[FireFly]

AMD CPU division has been good a long time now

Their GPU division unfortunately

They should spin ATI off again, it's like an anchor around their necks. Worst acquisition in tech company history

The GPU division helped keep them alive during the Bulldozer years.

With A.I, data center, and APUs replacing dGPUs in laptops, it's also the future of the company. Just look at what Intel have invested in building their own GPU architecture.