I built this PC in 2017 and have upgraded it a bit over time. It currently has an MSI B350M PRO-VH PLUS motherboard, a Ryzen 5 1600, an RX 6600, and 32GB of RAM. I mainly play World of Warcraft, and while the system is generally fine, raid performance can become inconsistent. I'd like to extend the machine's useful life cheaply by replacing the CPU with a Ryzen 5 5600. MSI's official CPU support list doesn't show the 5600, but I've seen reports that newer BIOS versions add Ryzen 5000 support. Is this upgrade actually possible and worthwhile on this board?
4 Answers
Update the BIOS while the Ryzen 5 1600 is still installed, then swap in the 5600. Check the exact BIOS notes and installation procedure first, since some boards may require a specific intermediate version or may lose support for older CPUs after the update.
People have successfully run even higher-end Ryzen 5000 chips, including the 5800X3D, on some B350 boards with the right BIOS. That makes the 5600 a relatively easy workload for the board, assuming the required BIOS version is available.
Yes, it should work after updating the motherboard BIOS to a version with the newer AGESA support. The Ryzen 5 5600 is a sensible upgrade from the 1600, especially for improving minimum frame rates in CPU-heavy games.
It’s likely to work, but MSI’s incomplete support listing means there’s some uncertainty, so keep a backup plan. If the board refuses to boot with the 5600, a used B450 motherboard would be an inexpensive fallback.
That’s helpful—I'll make sure the BIOS update is done before replacing the processor and keep a replacement board in mind just in case.