AMD is releasing two new low-tier CPUs at the end of May (the R3 3100 and R3 3300X).

Due to their specifications and pricing, it’s very likely that one or both of them will be added to our main chart—but not immediately.

The Good

The R3 3100, slated to cost about $100, will be in the performance neighborhood of the R5 2600.

The R3 3300X, slated to cost about $120, is closer to the R5 3600.

Neither chip will feature an iGPU, and both will be 4-core/8-thread processors.

The Bad

So what’s the catch? The motherboard chipset is the catch. Like all third-generation Ryzen CPUs, these new CPUs can require a BIOS update to be compatible with all B450, X470, and older AM4 boards. And AMD is planning to end support for those older boards from 4th-gen Ryzen onwards.

That means that the only currently available motherboards that are both compatible with the new CPUs and will also be compatible with upcoming AMD releases are the high-end X570 boards for $150+. Recommending one of these new R3 CPUs with an X570 motherboard doesn’t currently make logical sense for the tiers where we would be considering adding the new processors.

Now, you may be thinking that we should still recommend using one of those older motherboards with one of these new CPUs if the builder is on a tight budget and isn’t planning to upgrade their CPU in the future. Well, by being just a little bit patient, you can have your cake and eat it, too; a new group of B550 motherboards are planned to release in mid-to-late June, with prices down closer to $100. As such, we will be waiting until then to consider adding the new chips to our chart.

The Ugly

In closing, it is worth underscoring that AMD won’t be supporting those older boards for any more future generations of Ryzen—meaning that it would currently be unwise to build with an X470 or B450 motherboard if the decision to build with that board is contingent on being able to upgrade to some hypothetical Ryzen 4000 or newer option later on.