Zen 3 will be compatible with AMD X470 and B450

[Andytizer 269]

AMD have announced that they will be offering Zen 3 support for older AMD 400 motherboards. This backtracks their previous statement that there would be no such backwards compatibility support.

The main reason they did not offer support initially was due to "serious constraints in SPI ROM capacities in most of the AMD 400 Series motherboards". However they have found a novel solution:

Quote

1. We will develop and enable our motherboard partners with the code to support “Zen 3”-based processors in select beta BIOSes for AMD B450 and X470 motherboards.
2. These optional BIOS updates will disable support for many existing AMD Ryzen™ Desktop Processor models to make the necessary ROM space available.
3. The select beta BIOSes will enable a one-way upgrade path for AMD Ryzen Processors with “Zen 3,” coming later this year. Flashing back to an older BIOS version will not be supported.
4. To reduce the potential for confusion, our intent is to offer BIOS download only to verified customers of 400 Series motherboards who have purchased a new desktop processor with “Zen 3” inside. This will help us ensure that customers have a bootable processor on-hand after the BIOS flash, minimizing the risk a user could get caught in a no-boot situation.
5. Timing and availability of the BIOS updates will vary and may not immediately coincide with the availability of the first “Zen 3”-based processors.
6. This is the final pathway AMD can enable for 400 Series motherboards to add new CPU support. CPU releases beyond “Zen 3” will require a newer motherboard.
7. AMD continues to recommend that customers choose an AMD 500 Series motherboard for the best performance and features with our new CPUs.

AMD made a commitment to support AM4 socket until 2020 and it looks like the newest batch of Ryzen 3 CPUs will be supported for even longer than expected.