Yesterday, MSI announced a series of firmware updates designed to address and mitigate potential issues for AM5 users using AMD’s Ryzen 7000X3D processors with 3D V-Cache. . One of the major changes in MSI’s latest UEFI firmware for AM5 is the voltage limitation when using the Ryzen 7000X3D series CPUs. In addition to recent reports of a user using an AMD Ryzen 7000X3D processor suffering damage to the chip and motherboard in his socket, we reached out to AMD this morning for clarification. AMD has released an official statement regarding the current issue.
Here’s a direct statement from AMD:
“We are aware of a limited number of online reports claiming that excessive voltages during overclocking may have damaged motherboard sockets and pin pads. We are working with our partners to ensure that voltage is applied to the Ryzen 7000X3D CPU through the motherboard.The BIOS settings are within product specifications.For anyone whose CPU may have been affected by this issue, Please contact AMD Customer Support.”
As the statement clarifies, AMD itself is investigating the issues users are experiencing and this has been reported through various channels such as social media and Reddit. This follows on from MSI which released new firmware yesterday and ASUS today announced new firmware for those using AMD Ryzen 7000X3D processors such as the Ryzen 9 7950X3D and Ryzen 7 7800X3D. The new firmware specifically limits the applicable SoC voltages so that users will not violate these critical limits when enabling the AMD EXPO memory profile with supported DRAM.
AMD has not officially confirmed any issues with burnt pads and burnt pins in the motherboard socket on the Ryzen 7000X3D series processors, but AMD is actively working to resolve the issue. One theory so far is that the issue is occurring when users have the AMD EXPO memory profile enabled. This, like Intel’s XMP, is technically a form of overclocking and officially voids the product warranty. Given the new firmware rollout that targets SoC voltages and limits them, it all points to overclocking voltages and processors with multipliers and CPU VCore locked by default.
AMD is actively working with motherboard vendors such as MSI, ASUS, GIGABYTE and ASRock to roll out new firmware. AMD has also specified that users with Ryzen 7000X3D processors affected by this issue should contact AMD Customer Support directly.
Image source: Speed Rookie/Reddit
