Ryzen 9 3950x could work on some a320 motherboards

Due to the power requirements of the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X, many entry-level AMD motherboards may not support this 16-core chip. However, a ComputerBase reader noted that the chip will work on the ASRock A320M-DVS R3.0 motherboard, which gives hope that some models might be compatible to run on this processor.

Ryzen 9 3950X is detected on an ASrock A320 motherboard

AMD's upcoming flagship has 16 cores and 32 threads, while the current AMD Ryzen 9 3900X has 12 cores and 24 threads.

A320 motherboards are AMD's lowest-end AM4 motherboard range and the one that delivers the lowest power, so it's surprising that ASRock has listed that its A320M-DVS R3.0 motherboard is compatible with the Ryzen 9 3950X.

Interestingly, support is limited to this specific review, as the new A320M-DVS R4.0 model seems to lack CPU support. Both revisions continue to use a 6-phase power supply subsystem. Aside from the slight cosmetic change, it's unclear what the difference between the two motherboards would make one compatible with the Ryzen 9 3950X but not the other.

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For the Ryzen 9 3950X to work on the A320M-DVS R3.0, it is necessary to update the firmware on the motherboard to version 3.30, which incorporates the microcode AGESA 1.0.0.0.3ABB.

AMD has not officially announced whether the Ryzen 9 3950X will work on A320 motherboards. We probably won't find out until the processor is available next month. However, it is an indication that it could be compatible with motherboard from other manufacturers as well. We will keep you informed.

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