After mounting numbers of reports of CPUs in Socket AM5 boards, AMD has issued advice to users of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D after a joint investigation with ASRock into the cause of the issue.

Reports have been steadily piling up regarding the failure of Ryzen processors in Socket AM5 motherboards. Affected processors included even high-end components such as the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, and many users have shown what appeared to be burn damage to the pins.

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AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D

5 /5

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Specifications

• Cores: 8
• Threads: 16
• Boost clock speed: 5.2GHz
• Base clock speed: 4.7GHz
• L3 cache: 96MB
• TDP: 120W
• Platform: AM5

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Not all of these reports have been as dire as burned CPUs. Many of these reports simply involve a failure to POST. The majority of reports seem to be connected to ASRock motherboards, so AMD is working with ASRock to conduct a thorough investigation into the issue.

Failure to POST a BIOS issue?

Though the problem with scorched CPUs has yet to be directly addressed, AMD issued a statement, via Club386, regarding the CPUs failing to POST, which said:

“We are aware of a limited number of user reports involving ASRock AM5 motherboards failing to complete POST. Following a joint investigation, AMD and ASRock identified a memory compatibility issue present in earlier BIOS versions, which has been rectified in the latest BIOS. ASRock has already issued guidance on this behavior and addressed a single report of a damaged CPU.

It’s worth noting that a failure to POST can be caused by a range of factors and does not necessarily indicate a non-functional CPU. We recommend users start by updating their BIOS to the latest version available for their specific motherboard model. If the issue persists, we encourage users to contact our customer support team for further assistance and diagnostics.”

AMD

A Reddit user called u/Natty_Overlord collected all the reports of damaged or non-functioning processors into a report. This showed a total of 120 cases, with 108 of those involving the Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU.

While this is a small number relative to the number of chips shipped, it is still concerning for many customers, and a definitive answer on the cause has not yet emerged.

About the Author

Rebecca Hills-Duty

Writing and journalism experience at VRFocus, UploadVR, The Escapist, HTC, PC Gamer, Tech Radar+ and Dexerto. Can sometimes be found playing with retro tech.