AMD Blames Motherboard Makers For Burnt-Out CPUs (arstechnica.com)
- Reference: 0178860156
- News link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/08/25/2013208/amd-blames-motherboard-makers-for-burnt-out-cpus
- Source link: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/08/like-intel-before-it-amd-blames-motherboard-makers-for-burnt-out-cpus/
> AMD's X3D-series Ryzen chips have become popular with PC gamers because games in particular happen to benefit disproportionately from the chips' extra 64MB of L3 cache memory. But that extra memory occasionally comes with extra headaches. Not long after they were released earlier this year, some early adopters started having problems with their CPUs, ranging from failure to boot to actual physical scorching and burnout -- the problems were particularly common for users of the 9800X3D processor in ASRock motherboards, and one Reddit thread [1]currently records 157 incidents of failure for that CPU model across various ASRock boards.
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> In an interview with the Korean language website [2]Quasar Zone (via [3]Tom's Hardware ), AMD executives David McAfee and Travis Kirsch acknowledged the problems and pointed to the most likely culprit: [4]motherboard makers who don't follow AMD's recommended specifications . Some manufacturers have historically shipped their AMD and Intel motherboards with elevated default power settings in the interest of squeezing a bit more performance out of the chips -- but those adjustments can also cause problems in some cases, especially for higher-end CPUs.
[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/ASRock/comments/1i5iy9a/update_and_summary_on_the_dead_9800x3ds/
[2] https://quasarzone.com/bbs/qn_report/views/471810
[3] https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/amd-comments-on-burning-am5-socket-chipmaker-blames-motherboard-vendors-for-not-following-official-bios-guidelines
[4] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/08/like-intel-before-it-amd-blames-motherboard-makers-for-burnt-out-cpus/
Hmmm (Score:3)
Could this be the reason why my 9950X3D with ASRock motherboard sometimes takes 5 minutes of constant retrying before it manages to properly boot? It doesn't happen every time, however. Sometimes it manages to boot immediately with no issues.
Re: (Score:3)
Have you tried a slight decrease in voltage to see if that "cures" the problem?
Re: (Score:1)
Sounds like DDR5 training. Is the kit you are using on the QVL list for the motherboard that you have?
I learned this after many years of just slapping whatever kit I liked in whatever board I liked. The QVL is the qualified vendor list, and it has a list of validated ram models that will work well. You can find it on the support section for your motherboard.
A great way to tell is if your system memory is no longer using the XMP/EXPO timing/frequency. Like, if you bought 5600 and set the EXPO profile, and no
Re: (Score:2)
The QVL list is a comfort blanket. Most vendors publish lists so specific that it's actually hard to get the RAM even if you're looking for it. The reality though is vendors are limited in what they can comfortably and quickly test, and often limited to baseline performance devices rather than any cutting edge stuff. "Slapping whatever kit" is still a valid way of building a PC.
But you are right in that it may be the cause, the solution though is to try different RAM, not necessarily run back to the QVL lis
Re: (Score:1)
Oh, well that's a nice to know. I had heard that the best way was QVL. Maybe sticking with vendors that are commonly QVL'd is valid, but you could write a book with all the stuff I don't know.
Most of the time the QVL is a distant afterthought. There really is something to be said about boutique PC vendors, systems integrators, and even apple, beyond, oww my wallet! As I get older, I really AM starting to get why people want to buy and not build. I been building for 25+ years. Sometimes you just want somethi
ASRock ? (Score:2)
Really? People still buy their garbage? Back when I was still building systems for myself and customers, I quickly learned to stay away from this brand. I see they haven't changed.
Re: (Score:2)
My ASRock motherboard is doing just fine. But I am not a gamer. I don't even have a video card. The Ryzen 4600G does just fine.
Re: (Score:2)
What brand do you recommend? The thing is, people with experience on a brand will literally all be able to cite bad experiences. In my experience precisely zero companies are immune from producing rubbish.
MSI has horrendous BIOS implementation. It's just shitty all around to the point where I remember core features of the original Zen processor not being implemented. Even now they suck when it comes to pushing RAM timings.
I've sent multiple Gigabyte boards through RMA (but still use Gigabyte now personally)
Re: (Score:2)
I use Asrock Rack motherboards for a lot of home NAS setups I have built for myself and others. They are rock solid for what I use them for, having said that I would not buy their gaming motherboards, still I would get an ASRock gaming board before I would touch a gigabyte or ASUS one.
"makers who don't follow AMD's recommendations" (Score:2)
You mean they didn't read the manual?
"disproportionately"? (Score:2)
Making the CPU attractive to gamers by juicing up the level 3 cache was probably an intentional design + marketing decision.
Re:"disproportionately"? (Score:4, Interesting)
My understanding was that in the case of Intel, their own imprecise specifications were what led to the problem (problematic MoBos were still within specification); whereas in this case the MoBo maker wasn't following the specification. Someone more knowledgeable can correct me if I am wrong.
Re:"disproportionately"? (Score:4, Informative)
This is a false equivalence, Intel's problems were with all motherboard manufacturers, AMDs have only been with ASRock barring some users with bent pins.
Re: (Score:2)
Exactly. Intel entirely at fault for their part - and repeatedly alternating between deflecting and providing multiple downgrading "fixes" while somehow managing to avoid false advertising blowback.
Re: (Score:2)
Those type of gamers are likely going to tweak the voltage regardless. So perhaps the slightly higher default voltage plus an additional tweak is sometimes enough to tip things over.