New AMD Ryzen Zen 2 Processors Seem to be Incompatible With Older 300-Series Motherboards
AMD's Zen 2 processors, known as 3rd Generation Ryzen, will most probably not work on older 300-series chipset motherboards such as X370.
Forbes has published what it seems to be a response to a client sent by motherboard manufacturer MSI to a Reddit user, where the company reveals that AMD's Zen 2 processors will not work on older 300-series chipset motherboards. The company claims that the new CPUs will only work with 400-series, such as B450 and X470 chipsets.
Socket AM4 was slated to be part of AMD's plans till at least next year. However, it could be down to individual motherboard manufacturers as to whether they support AMD's Zen 2 CPUs, which are due for release this summer.
We have contacted MSI, Asus and Gigabyte for a comment.
With motherboard sales slowing, having a third generation of CPUs not requiring a new motherboard to work would be a negative decision for motherboard manufacturers.
Update: MSI responded saying its service representative who offered the advice was incorrect. AMD's 3rd Gen Ryzen CPUs will be compatible with the vast majority of 300-series chipset motherboards, according to MSI.
At this point,the company says it is performing testing on its existing lineup of 300- and 400-series AM4 motherboards to verify potential compatibility for the next-gen AMD Ryzen CPUs. "Our intention is to offer maximum compatibility for as many MSI products as possible. Towards the launch of the next-gen AMD CPUs, we will release a compatibility list of MSI AM4 motherboards," MSI added.