AMD resolves the issue burning out Ryzen 7000 X3D CPUs
AMD says it has resolved the voltage issues that have apparently been causing the company’s new 7000X3D series processors to randomly burn out, killing both the CPU and motherboard. The company has now distributed a BIOS firmware update to its board partners that place voltage restrictions on the AM5 socket motherboards they ran in, which should prevent the affected CPUs from operating beyond their intended limits.
“We have root caused the issue and have already distributed a new [AMD Generic Encapsulated Software Architecture] that puts measures in place on certain power rails on AM5 motherboards to prevent the CPU from operating beyond its specification limits, including a cap on SOC voltage at 1.3V,” AMD spokesperson Matthew Hurwitz tells The Verge.
AMD Ryzen customers took to social media to post images of their burnt-out 7000X3D series processors
Reports from 7950X3D and 7800X3D owners started appearing across social media earlier this week that revealed burn damage and, in some instances, visible bulges. The chip giant acknowledged the reports in an official statement on Tuesday and confirmed it was investigating the issue. AMD hasn’t actually confirmed what was causing the processors to burn out despite rolling out a fix, though it’s suspected to be related to manual overclocking.
Overclocking has already been disabled on Ryzen X3D chips as they utilize a 3D V-cache, which requires a hard-coded voltage limit. Running them at a higher voltage or frequency provides few performance benefits and makes the processors unstable and susceptible to temperature variations, so it’s better not to try and work around that restriction. This fix apparently won’t prevent users from overclocking memory using EXPO or XMP profiles, though, nor should it prevent users from using AMD’s Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO) technology to boost performance.
AMD said that it’s expecting its various partners to roll out a new BIOS update for their AM5 socket motherboards “over the next few days” and recommends that customers running any of the affected CPUs check their motherboard manufacturer’s website to ensure their system is running the most up-to-date software for their processor.
Both MSI and Asus have already issued BIOS updates that restrict CPU voltage options within safe limits. Regardless of the impending fix, AMD is still encouraging all customers affected by the issue to contact its customer support service. These cases will apparently be prioritized.
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