How to update bios of Gigabyte X470 Gaming 7 Wifi for Ryzen 3700x?

I've recently purchased both this motherboard and cpu. Does anyone know if it's possible to flash the bios to enabled Ryzen 3000 series support without owning a prior generation cpu (ie: 2700x,1600x, etc)?

I've lodged a ticket to AMD, just in case they have knowledge.

 

Doesn't look like your board has a bios flash without cpu option.

You can contact your reseller and take it to them to flash the bios, they might do it for free, charge $10, charge over $30. If you bought online, you will also have to pay shipping.
You can contact a computer store in your area and ask them to do it, again they may charge you a fee.
You can contact the motherboard manufacturer, but short of shipping to them and back, I wouldn't expect them to do much.
You can ask here or in your community for a kind person to loan you a CPU to perform this.

You can contact AMD and try to get a Loan kit - https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/pa-100.

Did you buy online?

 

Wow, that's a comprehensive list. Thank you. It's already assembled at my home and won't boot. Mind you, I don't have any ram sticks yet so that could be the reason (bios boot failure code 00, not covered by manual).

I'll try to ask for the boot-kit from AMD after checking with both them and Gigabyte if they know any way to update the bios without doing so.

The reason I asked here is because the retailer, who I contacted only once it was too late (shipped) said the board was one they hadn't had any calls on regarding inability to boot Zen 2. So, the guy said I might be able to use standard q-flash (manually load bios update from usb from within bios). If I learn anything in this process I'll post an update here.

 

Under the 'unique features' it lists Qflash - https://www.gigabyte.com/au/Motherboard/X470-AORUS-GAMING-7-WIFI-rev-10/sp#sp - so user5124 should be ok, if they can navigate the does and don'ts when it comes to usb sticks and bioses Although I have to admit I don't know if the Gigabyte bios will show if the cpu is not supported...

Edit: from reading, seems it won't - so user5124 is SOL. You would need QFlash Plus - Gigabyte's branding for updating the BIOS via USB without cpu and ram.

 

where are you?

 

I have this board, 00 means CPU cannot be found usually which in your case I get.

Phido already outlined a pretty comprehensive list of things for you to try, if you're having trouble let me know and I'll see what I can do to help out

 

Hi - I'm in Sydney.

 

Oh no! Well darn. If anyone wants to lend me an AM4 chip for the flashing I'd appreciate it! If you happen to live in Sydney Metro and can drive I can offer 22+ old but safe tins of tuna as payment just for the loan (Random I know )

Anyone know if q-flash work without ram? My ram chips aren't set to arrive for 2 weeks at least..

 

Q-Flash requires entering the BIOS and updating as per normal so you'll need: CPU, CPU Cooler, PSU (24 pin + 8 Pin EPS), Motherboard, Graphics Card and Memory installed along with a USB Drive with the BIOS file on it you which to flash.

If you only needed the CPU I would have been happy to lend you that but if you're going to be waiting 2 weeks for memory anyway might be best to run through the list Phido provided

 

If RAM's required then I think that's for the best. Damn, it's such a pity they didn't put q-flash plus into the board. They've done it for years and suddenly decide to withhold this feature on their flagship???

 

Here we go:

1. AMD won't provide boot kit without written assurance from Gigabyte that the x470G7-WIFI can't get a bios update without it
2. Gigabyte's global technical support team either don't know or don't want to say, and so palmed me off to the Australian Gigabyte contact page (https://www.gigabyte.com/au/Contact)
3. Gigabyte AU don't answer either of their contact numbers (called both, once each day until ringing out - no answer). The other contact point apart from the phone numbers on their Australian page is Gigabyte global technical support

If anyone's thinking of going Gigabyte for Ryzen 3000 without owning any already supported AM4 chip without asking the vendor to update the firmware for you, you're in for an adventure. I'm going to keep going for amusement. See how painful it gets just for fun.

TLDR: "Can a Gigabyte x470 gaming 7 wifi apply a bios update if you only own a 3700x cpu to do so?" is asking too much from Gigabyte Support...

 

Alright. Just an FYI for anyone that's interested.

I got the replacement Athlon 200 GE CPU shipped out by AMD after showing them a screenshot of Gigabyte support's message saying that without a bios update, it would be unable to boot. This was not a clean procedure and I felt that someone else might struggle to get Gigabyte's blessing without them trying to send you to a Gigabyte centre or to the shop you purchased from instead of just giving you the statement you need to organise a boot kit with AMD. Be persistent is my advice.

However, this Athlon 200GE boot kit from AMD did not work. Either it or the original firmware of the motherboard were incapable of seeing my 4x2133 4GB RAM modules.

So, I had to send it back to the shop in the end regardless. The shop gave incredible support (Computer Alliance in Syd) and treated the whole thing like a potential board defect, because at the time we had no idea whether the board was faulty (undocumented boot code 0d) or not. They updated the firmware for free and the board booted on their Ryzen 3000 series chip. Great. After all the previous hassle it was great to get no nonsense assistance.

I was then able to boot with the 4x2133 modules and since then everything board and chip related has been fine. The hardware and bios both on the Gigabyte have been excellent and it's been *completely* stable in Windows 7 for games, software, etc. 4275MHZ all-core clock (SMT OFF) and 4325MHZ single thread clock (SMT ON). Hardware wise, this board and 3700x have been flawless once getting past the boot issues.

EDIT: It took me a long time to get around to writing this because I was drained by the whole misadventure and the anxiety in trying to shoehorn Windows 7 into this thing so I can stave off the whole windows 10 debacle for a few more years. Sorry if anyone was waiting for an update!