Upcoming AMD Ryzen processors spotted in BIOS updates for B350/X370 mainboards

Until now, the main reasons that kept me away from upgrading my aging desktop PC to an AM4-based platform was the lack of a competitive chip with integrated graphics. Sure, there are a quite a few A-Series Bristol Ridge-based processors that come with Radeon integrated graphics, but those are all based on an older 28 nm architecture. However, since the first mobile Ryzen chips with Vega graphics, namely the Ryzen 7 2700U and Ryzen 5 2500U, are already on the market, it is only a matter of time until desktop users get the same treat. Thanks to Asus, now we also know that these new AMD desktop chips are on their way.

Yesterday, Derek Forrest from Tom's Hardware took a closer look at the latest BIOS released by Asus for its entire family of mainboards powered by the AMD B359 and X370 chipsets. The description of all the new BIOS updates for these motherboards says "Update to AGESA 1071 for new upcoming processors" and nothing more.

The names and the technical details of these new chips should be listed in the CPU/Memory Support section of the official Asus website. Unfortunately, after taking a closer look at the entire list of more B350 and X370-based mainboards, I failed to spot anything new.

Since Intel has recently unleashed the new Z370 chipset and the Coffee Lake lineup as an answer to the AMD Ryzen processors, AMD now has to fill the blanks in the Ryzen lineup by adding more powerful and modern APUs. Although the first 12 nm AMD chips and the new X470 chipset are expected to arrive in the first months of 2018, it is probably too much to hope for the chip maker to skip the 14 nm technology and to enter the 12 nm zone with anything else than high-end parts.

For now, the only thing we can do while waiting for the new AMD Ryzen chips is to check the CPU/Memory Support section for the B350 and X370 Asus mainboards from time to time, hoping they add the new processors before AMD comes up with an official announcement.