7800x3d paired with GIGABYTE B650 AORUS PRO AX
7800x3d paired with GIGABYTE B650 AORUS PRO AX
Placed all my builds recently. The latest is the 7800x3d arriving on Tuesday. My motherboard is a GIGABYTE B650 AORUS PRO AX. Can I install Windows without updating the BIOS and then flash it in Windows, or do I need to flash first? I’ve only used laptops recently and have always been able to flash them whenever convenient. Thanks everyone! Fug
Flash it initially to enable support for the X3D CPU. It won’t function out of the box. You’ll need to install all components and then apply the Qflash Plus technique. Alternatively, you can proceed with just the 24-pin and CPU 8-pin connections—no installation required. It’s a straightforward process.
ASUS boards (on a B650 TUF) claim a BIOS update is necessary, but in practice they should start up without problems. You’re mainly aiming for a BIOS update before turning on EXPO or running performance tests, since the current setup may cause performance drops and affect CPU lifespan due to missing SOC voltage controls. MSI seems to follow the same pattern, though most of their products aren’t particularly valuable yet, so I haven’t examined them closely. ASRock’s description is accurate—the CPUs have been functional since the original BIOS release, but only confirmed working after the listed BIOS version. Gigabyte mentions only the first bootable BIOS, not necessarily the optimal one. From the X670E Taichi page, the 1.04 BIOS was the initial release version. The B650 Aorus Pro AX page states F1 is the original BIOS.
It seems the timing is influenced by the BIOS version it comes with. Thanks for sharing the video—your cooler will be ready tomorrow, and I hope the build goes smoothly! Good luck!
The board uses the F1 BIOS, roughly. This means you can assemble your system right away. Once it runs, you should update the BIOS as needed. Each BIOS upgrade makes small but meaningful improvements. We're currently at version F7, and it appears they restrict downloads/flashes to at least F4. https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B65...rt-dl-bios