Re:Intel 28-core fantasy vs. AMD 32-core reality
by dTal on Tuesday June 12, 2018 @06:45PM
(#17298763)
Worth noting that with AMD sockets, physical compatibility is no guarantee that it'll work without a software update. If you're unlucky/incautious during a system build, you can end up in a catch 22 with a motherboard that requires a BIOS update for your new CPU to work, and no way to boot it to update the BIOS because your CPU doesn't work. AMD will loan you an older CPU if you jump through enough hoops, but it's probably less hassle just to buy the cheapest last-gen CPU you can find on Amazon.
Still a better scenario than changing the socket all the time, but it can catch you out if you're used to Intel's "socket = generation" philosophy.
Source: happened to me a few weeks back.
It's also a big reason I'm not going with Intel, since I know I can upgrade to something significantly better without having to get a new motherboard.