While we are very eager for the AMD openSIL open-source CPU silicon initialization project to achieve production readiness with Zen 6 platforms for ultimately replacing AGESA, there is some experimental excitement on the way for open-source firmware enthusiasts… OpenSIL and Coreboot are being brought to an AM5 motherboard you can buy retail.
Since Zen 4 when AMD rolled out the openSIL open-source code it’s been in an experimental state and just targeted a few of AMD’s reference board designs. The 3mdeb open-source firmware consulting firm has been porting openSIL and Coreboot to one AMD EPYC 9005 series motherboard, the GIGABYTE MZ33-AR1 that can be easily found in retail channels. Now even more exciting for Linux desktop users and open-source firmware devotees is a port to a retail AM5 consumer motherboard for use with current Ryzen processors.
3mdeb announced publicly today that they are bringing the Coreboot and openSIL stack to the MSI PRO B850-P. This is being made possible thanks to funding from the NLnet Foundation.
They have been successful in bringing up the open-source firmware on the MSI PRO B850-P though still reliant on blobs for the Platform Security Processor (PSP). 3mdeb is using their Dasharo downstream of Coreboot for facilitating the ongoing development of this port. Eventually this support will hopefully end up in upstream Coreboot.
Details on this still-early-stage work around Coreboot/Dasharo with openSIL on the MSI PRO B850-P via the 3mdeb blog.
The MSI PRO B850-P is an ATX motherboard retailing for less than $200 USD and readily available from the likes of Amazon ($176 USD, affiliate link). Once they are ready to publish their Dasharo builds, you can be sure I’ll eagerly be purchasing an MSI PRO B850-P for testing out this open-source firmware stack on the AMD Ryzen 9000 series hardware.
3mdeb is the company who in 2022 also ported Coreboot/Dasharo to an Intel Alder Lake motherboard, the MSI PRO Z690-A WIFI, as a very pleasant experience from my testing there as well.
