Not defending Asus AT ALL, lol. I'm pretty upset as well.
But if you want to flash back you can, you just have to do the following:
Rename 1002 bios on a FAT32 flash drive plugged into the flashback port to "C6H.CAP".
Power down, press and hold the BIOS clear button on the back for a second or two.
Press the BIOS Flash button on the back until it flashes. If it flashes a couple of times and stops the flash drive isn't right. Otherwise it will flash for 2 to 3 minutes.
You'll have 1002 back to use until you RMA it. Definitely don't go to an Asus service center though to do it -- the lines are very long...
Much of the blame goes to AMD for not producing solid microcode or getting their act in order before releasing the processor. They forced the board makers hand too soon with two little development by either AMD or the board partners. Not a recipe for customer satisfaction.
Tired of trolls and mods that act like this platform has no problems and it's the users fault. Later.