Motherboard Raven Ridge HDMI 2.0 Compatibility — 1st Gen AM4 Motherboard Test Request Megathread

[Hifihedgehog]

(UPDATE! LINUX USERS, PLEASE READ THE WARNING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST. WINDOWS USERS REMAIN UNAFFECTED.)

Fantastic news for Raven Ridge! Thanks to an adventurous redditor, it turns out that in at least one case HDMI 2.0 capability is, in fact, not dictated by the chipset but the processor. So some current first generation AM4 motherboards could, can, and do work with these Raven Ridge APUs, offering unhindered full specification HDMI 2.0 compatibility.

That is where you fellow forumers come in: let’s test Raven Ridge APUs and see which first generation AM4 motherboards (especially ITX and mATX, since this is SFF.net after all!) can properly display 4K at 60Hz. I will update this post to list the compatible models as you share your results here. Thank you for your help and participation.

Verified HDMI 2.0-compatible AM4 motherboards:

• ASRock AB350M Pro4 from redditor @SommoLex
• ASRock Fatal1ty AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac from @coeusite
• ASRock Fatal1ty X370 Gaming-ITX/ac from redditor @dcpower89
• ASUS Prime B350M-A from @kingeri
• ASUS Prime B350M-E from @gwilly7
• ASUS ROG Strix B350-F Gaming from c’t via @Stefan75
• ASUS TUF B350M-PLUS GAMING from AVSForum.com via @ncohafmuta
• BIOSTAR X370GT5-NF from @ooztuncer
• GIGABYTE GA-A320M-S2H from @atf
• GIGABYTE GA-AB350M-DS3H from @Frung
• GIGABYTE GA-AB350N-Gaming WIFI from c’t via @Stefan75
• MSI B350I PRO AC from PCWelt.com via @Stefan75
• MSI B350M-MORTAR from c’t via @Stefan75

Awaiting test results for:

• ...

Last updated on 8/20/2019 at 9:41 AM EST

Warning to Linux users: Linux, depending on the kernel, checks the BIOS tables for the explicitly coded support as defined by the manufacturer meaning HDMI 2.0 may or may not work in your particular Linux distro. This is despite the fact that the hardware itself is more than capable. Details below:

No exactly true. There are physical requirements for various HDMI versions. The OEM has to validate the port for the version of HDMI they want to support. The driver checks the connector tables in the bios provided by the OEM to determine what connectors are present and what they support.

The Linux driver since some months ago checks those tables, any refuses to utilize HDMI 2.0 features offered by the GPU/APU, even if they work just fine and the manufacturer was just too lazy to "validate" or to update his BIOS image.

Meanwhile the Windows drivers don't give a d*** about that BIOS table and HDMI 2.0 works like advertised for the affected GPUs.

This is clearly (like with ACPI-parsing for so many years) another case of "Linux kernel developers want to do 'the right thing' according to written specification", with just bad results for Linux users because neither Windows drivers nor the firmware follows the written specification.

Source:
https://www.phoronix.com/forums/for...-some-motherboards-bios?p=1008853#post1008853

 

[HeroXLazer]

Fantastic news for Raven Ridge! Thanks to an adventurous redditor, it turns out that in some cases HDMI 2.0 capability is, in fact, not dictated by the chipset but the processor. So some current first generation AM4 motherboards could, can, and do work with these Raven Ridge APU, offering unhindered full specification HDMI 2.0 compatibility! That is where you fellow forumers come in: let’s test Raven Ridge APUs and see which ITX and mATX motherboards can properly display 4K at 60Hz RGB 4:4:4. I will update this post to list the compatible models as your results come in. Thank you for your help and participation.

HDMI 2.0-compatible AM4 motherboards:
(list starts here)

Ooh, that's nice.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

Here is a posting of mine from Reddit which sheds some light on why this thread exists:

That has been my understanding as well. The matter here I think is ASRock did not bother with paying for and testing for anything more than HDMI 1.4 certification. Just like many HDMI 1.4 cables, the HDMI 1.4 traces on these motherboards should all flawlessly transmit an HDMI 2.0 signal. My only concern is HDMI 2.0 requires low noise and little interference (hence the hefty shielding surrounding the wiring inside HDMI cables) and depending on how noisy the signal path is on these motherboards, an HDMI 2.0 signal may or may not be stable and experience dropouts or distortion.

 

[K888D]

Thats great news! I have the Gigabyte GA-AB350N Wifi. Hopefully will have a running system this evening and will report back if it can output 2160p @ 60Hz.

 

[Stefan75]

Looking forward to the results...
I was planning to buy an i3-8100, but the lack of native HDMI2 put me off!

 

[Hifihedgehog]

Thats great news! I have the Gigabyte GA-AB350N Wifi. Hopefully will have a running system this evening and will report back if it can output 2160p @ 60Hz.

I greatly appreciate it, K888D! I’ll keep eyes open for this later today.

 

[Phuncz]

I'll be getting a Raven Ridge most likely on an ASRock AB350-ITX/ac in a while, but I don't have a 4K screen. If you know of a way to test this out, let us know !

 

[|||]

I'll be getting a Raven Ridge most likely on an ASRock AB350-ITX/ac in a while, but I don't have a 4K screen. If you know of a way to test this out, let us know !

I haven't tried it, but you could attempt to create a custom resolution at 3840 x 2160.

 

[gwilly7]

Does anyone know if the asrock instant flash will work without the cpu in to update bios

 

[Hifihedgehog]

I'll be getting a Raven Ridge most likely on an ASRock AB350-ITX/ac in a while, but I don't have a 4K screen. If you know of a way to test this out, let us know !

This $8 headless HDMI adapter (I own one and it worked well with my GTX 1080 for remote gaming at 4K and 60Hz) on the other vacant HDMI port should do the trick. If you can set it to 4K at 60 Hz, we will at least then know that 4K at 60 Hz works as a display option. You won’t be able to verify actual signal integrity or reliability to a physical display, though.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

Does anyone know if the asrock instant flash will work without the cpu in to update bios

Not sure. According to Reddit, though, Micro Center offers $15 BIOS updates for Raven Ridge APU users.

 

[gwilly7]

I called my local microcenter and none of the boards they have are updated yet and they quoted $30 to update the Bios. (I am in Denver) Will have to do some digging to find out, would be great if instant flash works without a cpu.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

I called my local microcenter and none of the boards they have are updated yet and they quoted $30 to update the Bios. (I am in Denver) Will have to do some digging to find out, would be great if instant flash works without a cpu.

You could try contacting ASRock and seeing what options you have. I am not sure how you would do a BIOS recovery, but some manufacturers have an method to flash without a display or working CPU. You can contact ASRock technical support here. Sadly, they are closed for the Chinese New Year through the 20th. If there is a way and they show you how to do it, please share the instructions with us here. Thanks!

 

[K888D]

Got the 2400G running on the Gigabyte AB350N using an A6-9500 to update the BIOS.

Running Windows off an M2 SSD and it feels super zippy so far.

Regarding HDMI 2.0, I forgot that the 4k monitor I have is only HDMI 1.4, I've been using Display port for 4k @ 60hz, so unfortunately I cant test the HDMI 2.0 aspect just yet!

It is outputting 2160p @ 30hz though.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

Does anyone know if the asrock instant flash will work without the cpu in to update bios

Good news! AMD expected this very scenario and has just announced a solution that is completely free of charge in the form of a “boot kit” (some are speculating this may be a last-gen Bristol Ridge or Carrizo Pro APU to serve as a temporary throwaway processor to perform the upgrade) for those with a Raven Ridge APU and a motherboard requiring the BIOS update. Here are the officially published details and instructions to begin the process to obtain your own:

Boot Kit Solution

AMD will provide affected and qualified users a boot kit to perform the BIOS update on their motherboard.

This solution is offered through AMD warranty services and is available only for affected and qualified users of this specific boot up issue. This boot kit is free of charge.

To obtain the boot kit, please carefully follow these instructions:

1. Go to the AMD online warranty claims page: https://support.amd.com/en-us/warranty/rma
2. Fill in your full contact and product details
3. In the Problem Description field enter "Boot kit Required" (without quotes)

NOTE: The product must be a valid AMD processor with authentic OPN and serial number.

Once the claim is received and approved, confirmation details and boot kit instructions will be provided in a follow up email.

 

[confusis]

I'm chasing more information on the boot kit (will order one tomorrow with the serial off a review unit APU).

Unfortunately I can't test 4K - my best monitor is 1080P at best

 

[gwilly7]

You could try contacting ASRock and seeing what options you have. I am not sure how you would do a BIOS recovery, but some manufacturers have an method to flash without a display or working CPU. You can contact ASRock technical support here. Sadly, they are closed for the Chinese New Year through the 20th. If there is a way and they show you how to do it, please share the instructions with us here. Thanks!

In the asrock forum tonight they said you should be able to use instant flash to update bios but might need a graphics card. Better than having to have a 1st gen ryzen.

 

[confusis]

I can test that one tomorrow. Unfortunately I jumped the gun and pre-flashed my Gigabyte AB350N itx board for testing.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

I'm chasing more information on the boot kit (will order one tomorrow with the serial off a review unit APU).

Unfortunately I can't test 4K - my best monitor is 1080P at best

You could still possibly throw this $8 headless adapter (this one has worked well for me for 4K game streaming) on the second HDMI port and see if 4K at 60 Hz comes up as an option. It would at least answer whether or not HDMI 2.0 is detected. It will not, however, answer the more pressing question if it can produce stable, glitch-free video. Glitches happen very easily at such high video bandwidths with sub-standard cables (Chinese knockoff HDMI 2.0 cables with 4.5-star+ ratings on Amazon that I have personally tried will not properly display at 4K and 60 Hz) and motherboard trace routing. Having dealt with these firsthand, the 7th Gen Intel NUCs are a textbook example of how even HDMI 2.0-certified ports can easily go off the rails. As a mere sampling, to date, there are some 668 replies speaking about this very thing--a record for a NUC-related thread on the official Intel forums--mostly from confused, disappointed, or enraged customers.

 

[confusis]

To be honest, I couldn't justify saying it can do HDMI 2.0 without it being a glitch free experience, so the adapter wouldn't really be worth it to me, even at $8. It's one of those things I just couldn't put my name to!