New BIOS updates try to keep Ryzen 7000X3D processors from frying themselves [Updated]

Replace, 4/25/2023: An AMD consultant advised Ars that the corporate was investigating the studies of burned-out Ryzen 7000X3D processors and mentioned that anybody affected by the issue ought to contact AMD buyer assist. The total assertion:

“We’re conscious of a restricted variety of studies on-line claiming that extra voltage whereas overclocking might have broken the motherboard socket and pin pads. We’re actively investigating the state of affairs and are working with our ODM companions to make sure voltages utilized to Ryzen 7000X3D CPUs through motherboard BIOS settings are inside product specs. Anybody whose CPU might have been impacted by this concern ought to contact AMD buyer assist.”

Authentic story: Over the weekend, customers on Reddit and YouTube began posting about issues with AMD’s newest Ryzen 7000X3D processors. In some instances, the methods merely stopped booting. However in at least one instance, a Ryzen 7800X3D turned bodily deformed, bulging out beneath and bending the pins on the motherboard’s processor socket.

In a separate put up, motherboard maker MSI indicated that the injury “might have been brought on by irregular voltage points.” Ryzen 7000X3D processors already impose limits on overclocking and energy settings, however new BIOS updates from MSI particularly disallow any type of “overvolting” options that might give the CPUs extra energy than they had been constructed to deal with. You possibly can nonetheless undervolt your CPU to aim to scale back temperatures and power utilization by giving the CPU a bit much less energy than it was designed for.

The Ryzen 7000X3D processors are set to a decrease voltage than common Ryzen 7000 CPUs by default as a result of the additional L3 cache layered on high of the processor die can elevate temperatures and make the CPU harder to chill. This has additionally made the chips way more power-efficient than the usual Ryzen chips, however that effectivity comes at the price of overclocking settings and different options that some fanatics use to squeeze extra efficiency out of their PCs.

The customers reporting the problems largely appear to be utilizing Asus or MSI motherboards based mostly on the X670 chipset, and plenty of indicated that they had been utilizing the default settings for his or her CPUs. However the pattern measurement is so small that we might keep away from drawing conclusions about any specific chipset or motherboard maker.

The person whose processor turned bodily broken additionally indicated that they had been not using the most recent BIOS update for their Asus motherboard when the injury occurred, which may even have resulted in an excessive amount of energy being delivered to the CPU. As is often the case with hardware failures like this, it could take a while earlier than we all know whether or not accountable a design flaw, person error, or some mixture of the 2. Present Ryzen 7000X3D CPU customers ought to make certain they set up the latest BIOS replace for his or her motherboards and preserve a watch out for brand spanking new variations that particularly try to handle this drawback.