I don't know that any source is 100% reliable on the matter, given there could be an Intel bias in some reports, and an AMD bias in others.  However, I have been reading here and there that AM4 motherboards have been available here in Australia as of Feb 24, with some stores listing them as being in stock.

It won't matter too much to me at this time, though, being I have other priorities that will push a Ryzen build back until later in the year... possibly September/October.  By then there'll be more information out there and I will have a better idea of which version and motherboard would best suit me.

So long as it's a Ryzen falling from the tree and not an Intel i7 6950X I can't afford, I'll be happy.  Yeah, I can get the entire core of a Ryzen based machine - Motherboard, CPU and RAM - for less than what an i7 6950X alone would cost, so obviously I'd go with a Ryzen based machine when the time comes.  Even if the 6950X is a bit faster, it's a matter of economics and affordability, really ...

That is unless a 'tightrope-walking' rich uncle with chronic vertigo suddenly has an accident and leaves me a not so small sum of money.

Or if a claustrophobic rich aunt doesn't come out and gets stuck in the closet.

No, none of them spare... but I do have a nymphomaniac cousin who owns her own mobile home [read mattress in the back of a van] and currently is a discharged bankrupt so isn't in any major debt.

That's the thing, tech articles at times can be biased, incorrect and even missing important information, which is why they're not necessarily the best places when looking for purchasing ideas.  That's why I take most with a grain of salt while turning to a couple of techies I know and word of mouth from actual users.

As for Ryzen selling like hotcakes, well that's good for the market and consumers in general.  Now I don't know about elsewhere, regarding AM4 motherboards, but there seems to be plenty available here in Australia, with ASUS, MSI and Gigabyte all releasing their range of Ryzen ready motherboards in late February.

Having said that tech articles can be biased, etc, I am excited by what I'm reading about Ryzen thus far.  Yes, there has been a couple of artices saying that Ryzen is still miles behind Intel's i7 6900K and 6950X, but for the most part I'm reading rather positive reviews about Ryzen and feel AMD is on a winner with its Zen architecture.

One would think so.  I checked with a few online retailers here in Australia and all say they have AM4 motherboards in stock, and being that some of those online sellers have bricks n' mortar stores as well, one could pretty much walk in off the street and purchase one from a local PC store.

Technical difficulties right on the start ?

Many Users report performance degradation in some applications aswell as games.
The cause seems to be the CPU´s thread scheduling, which is in simple terms a task telling the CPU on how to process tasks distributed to its cores.
This isn't necessary a physical problem rather more a software based one.
Since the CPU is relatively new and brings a different architecture with it, it may take some time for the developers to adjust the software in order to make Ryzen run equally performant as an Intel at this point.

Just found this article....

AMD has released a tips sheet for best performance [gaming and otherwise] with AMD's Ryzen 7 processors.

I don't know who these 'experts' are, but waiting a year just isn't practical in some instances... or even possible... when looking at how Win 10 was forced down peoples throats.

As for Ryzen, the hardware is sound and the new architecture solid, it's just that revisions to the firmware/software are required to remedy unforeseen issues that were not evident in factory testing.

Thing is, I will be waiting close to a year before I [can] build a Ryzen based machine, though not because I doubt the technology, but rather that I have other priorities to consider.

This is more of Microsoft trying to force Windows 10 down users [who clearly don't want it] throats.  This crap that older OSes 'will not' support new CPUs didn't happen when MS released XP; Vista; Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1, so why is it suddenly so now that Windows 10 is here?  MS can try to claim security reasons but that's total bullshit and most people know it.

Hopefully AMD and Intel tell MS to go fech 'emselves and release support software for their latest CPUs for all OSes. For mine, it's the sensible and right thing to do, to provide 7th generation [and later] support to users of Win 7 and 8/8.1, thus broadening market scope for CPU and related hardware manufacturers. 

Surely there's got to be a law somewhere that prohibits one company, in this case, Microsoft, from artificially and unnecessarily inhibiting the potential sales of others: in this case; MS' partners AMD and Intel, and, subsequently, the motherboard manufacturers, etc.  Furthermore, Microsoft's stance on this reduces choice for paying customers who purchased Windows 7 and 8/8.1.  Antitrust anyone?

It was my plan to build a Ryzen 7 1800x machine based on Windows 8.1 [cos there is no way on Earth I'll pay good money for a copy of Win 10] but MS has put the karbosh on that...unless AMD tells MS to go fech 'emselves.  Sadly, I don't see AMD standing up to MS like that, nor anyone else for that matter [except for disgruntled users perhaps], meaning that nothing will change any time soon... if ever.

Windows 8.1 is in mainstream support, not extended support like Win 7. Why on earth would Microsoft block updates for an OS that is in its prime (rhetorical question)? It's the latest stable OS from Microsoft. Blocking updates? Isn't that a security vulnerability?

So Linux will have better Ryzen support than Windows 8.1 and 7. Microsoft is their own worst enemy.

The harder Microsoft try to push Windows 10, the more it feels like a no go zone. Windows 10 might work, but Microsoft is the most depressing company I can think of right now. You can't trust anything they say.

Chrome OS has zero privacy, but despite that Google seems like a more straight-forward company I think. Less excuses and dumb explanations. Not that I want to advocate Google, but Microsoft is doing it wrong.

What are you, an official spokesperson for Microsoft?  No one at all serious can call what they've pulled since releasing 10 anything but underhanded.  They hid nagware, advertisements, and even full blown operating system upgrades as critical security updates.

I still have three years of security updates left on Windows 7 that I wont be using because they turned the update system into a trojan horse.  I had to spend a considerable amount of time countering and fixing their intentional screwups aimed at removing me from an operating system I bought and paid for.

You might could get away with saying we "should" upgrade, but plenty of people are running legacy software that simply doesn't work in the newest operating system.  I've got loads of shit I can't even run on 7, I still use 98SE and XP on occasion to play something really fuckin old.  Older operating systems are a necessity for many, it doesn't change just because you don't mind being forced to upgrade to 10 whether you want to or not.

With 8.1 none of that even matters, it's still supported, period.  Any bullshit they pull in opposition to that doesn't get a pass because it's easier to update one version.  If they want to get away with that crap, they should stop selling us operating systems that come with 10-15 year support cycles and tell us up front that they plan on bricking it when they release a new one.  People that bought 8 are owed those updates, they paid for them, not the version on the disk.

My problem with Windows 10 is not only related to the OS. It's related to Microsoft and can be easily explained:

Lack of trust. (And not wanting to be in a abusive relationship).

Microsoft has always been criticized. During the XP era it was mostly about money. MS was seen a greedy corporation with too much power (monopoly). There was even talk about breaking up Microsoft into smaller parts. A monopoly is a bad thing, but as long as the government keeps it in check, there can be a semblance of balance.

Microsoft during the Windows 10 era is a different beast. Money isn't prime motivator. They have made so many unpopular decisions that would never have been made if the company was focused on money.

I would say Microsoft went from a capitalist corporation to a tool for dark forces. These dark forces can be described as governments of the Western world. Notice that not a single government has raised concerns over privacy in Windows 10 (or Android for that matter).

The global surveillance state is here. Android, Chrome OS and Windows 10 are cornerstones. Not even Linux is spared and very questionable technologies have been introduced (actually forced on users).

The powers that be have spy capabilities that Stasi in East Germany could only dream of. It's not about targeted surveillance, it's about bulk surveillance.

For now it might be a fun "game" for intelligence agencies. But when you have a detailed profile of every person on Earth and currency has become all digital, then it will be easy to wipe out "the useless".

The leading banker families (who own money machine Federal Reserve) don't believe in any freedom whatsoever. Microsoft's decision regarding Ryzen is just the latest in a long string of decisions showing that the company doesn't care about freedom. On the contrary they are actively blocking updates from reaching supported versions of their OSes.

If you see Microsoft as an isolated company making bad decisions, it's bad enough. If you see Microsoft as a tool deeply connected to leading bankers and governments then the picture becomes a lot scarier.

It will be interesting to see how the trump card plays out. But Microsoft needs to save themselves. They might have near monopoly, but that doesn't guarantee survival in a changing technological landscape. Microsoft will likely never lack money (because of powerful friends), but Microsoft might run out of steam without a thriving third party eco-system.

I think this world is in a downward spiral and it's sad. Super sad in fact.