My system is an MSI Tomahawk B450 Max which previously held an AMD Ryzen 3200g processor that I put in for $85 when I built the system. I put this system together on a small budget with the intent of upgrading in the future (about 3 years as it turns out) when something with more cores, more threads, and higher IPC was under .... lets say $150.00.
AMD Ryzen 5600g ... bingo.
So, the only snag in the entire process wasn't Amazon's or AMD's fault. It was that the old heat sink was stuck and took a bit of heat and twisting to break loose (I did run the system for 15 min prior to trying to pop the old processor out for just this reason, but it needed a little more).
So .... here was the process.
First, BEFORE you buy this processor, make sure your motherboard supports it. EVEN IF it supports it, you may need to upgrade your BIOS BEFORE you swap out the processor.
The B450 MAX (and ONLY the MAX) was made with enough memory to simply add support for the Ryzen 5 processors as well as all the previous Ryzen processors; HOWEVER, the non MAX had less memory, and the process for doing that board (or ANY motherboard that can't support your current processor AND the new 5000 series processors on the same BIOS) is more complex (but still possible).
For the B450 MAX, it was a simple matter of going to the MSI website, selecting my board, and downloading the latest BIOS. Put it on a thumb drive, then follow the MSI instructions on how to update your BIOS. Once you have done this (it takes some time), then let the system reboot with your old processor to make sure everything is OK.
First, you really should do this with EITHER a humid room (summer is a good time in most places) OR a ground strap to keep from zapping any parts .... which will absolutely break them.
Unplug everything from the back of the computer.
Open BOTH sides of the case (if you don't have a case that opens on both sides, hopefully you DON'T also have a backing plate on your CPU and your CPU heat sink mounting holes are built into your motherboard .... I am not even sure that they make those BTW). On the MSI Tomahak Max, you have to use a backing plate that has the female threads that the heat sink goes into. This backing plate is on the back side of the motherboard, so if you CAN'T just open up the other side of the case (the one that covers the back of the motherboard), you would have to take the motherboard OUT which requires quite a bit more work.
Ok, but my case doesn't have this issue and both sides come off.
So .....
Once you loosen the 4 heat sink screws (a little at a time on each one and go around so you don't break anything .... this is even more important on the tightening phase with the new processor), your backing plate will fall off the back (which is why you need access to the other side of your case).
You must unplug the fan.
Now, in every video you will see, the heat sink just comes off..... except in real life, if it has been some time since you installed the system, the thermal paste will dry up and cake onto the processor (which is still firmly in the ZIF socket with the lever down .... that you can't get to without removing the heat sink).
If you use a blow dryer (or even better a heat gun) to warm it up, it helps. Twist it back and fourth (for the love of God make sure all the mounting screws have been completely backed out first) until it breaks loose. NOTE the position of the old fan before removing it (take a picture first).
Lift the ZIF socket retaining handle, and take out the old processor... but NOTE the orientation. There is a little arrow in one corner of the processor. The new one will have it too. Make sure the little arrow goes into the same position (note it won't go in all the way in any other position, BUT you could bend one of those little pins .... which you REALLY don't want to do).
Make sure you are very careful in putting the new processor in. Don't touch the bottom pins. Handle the processor carefully and make sure you don't shock it (ground yourself before touching it, or wear a ground strap). Put the new processor into the ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) socket in the exact same orientation as the old one came out. It should sit down flat into the socket and you should not see ANY part of the pins.
Pull the handle down on the ZIF socket and lock the handle down into its retainer.
Get the heat sink out. It comes with thermal paste already on it (cool idea), so be careful NOT to touch the bottom (you'll get thermal paste everywhere and will then need to put more on it). Put the heat sink on the processor in the exact orientation as the old one you removed.
Screw the 4 heat sink retaining screws down a few turns at a time on each screw (do one, then the opposite one first) until they bottom out. DON'T screw them in hard. It isn't necessary and may break things. The springs are what is holding your heat sink onto the processor, NOT the screws.
Plug the processor fan back into the motherboard.
Plug everything back into your computer and turn it on.
You are going to want to go back into the bios if you were on an older Ryzen g model. The new processor will default to 3200MHz RAM, but if you have faster RAM (I have 3600), you can use one of the RAM profiles to clock up to 3600 (which you should absolutely do as it has a huge effect on your graphics performance).
That's it!
This should take about 30 min if you are careful.
| Processor | 4.4 GHz amd_ryzen_5_5600g |
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