AMD responds to reports of ‘exploded’ Ryzen 7000X3D processors due to overvolting

AMD has responded to reports of ‘exploded’ AMD Ryzen 7000X3D CPUs. The company says the problem is related to over-voltage, which is applied when overclocking. AMD is asking affected customers to contact customer service.

“We are aware of a limited number of reports online claiming that excessive voltage during overclocking may have damaged the motherboard socket and CPU pads,” says AMD. in a statement to Anandtech. “We are actively investigating the situation and working with our ODM partners to ensure that voltages applied to Ryzen 7000X3D CPUs through the bios settings remain within product specifications.” The company is urging affected users to contact customer service.

Problems with burnt out Ryzen 7000X3D processors came to light recently. Several users reported on social media that their CPUs stopped working. Upon disassembly, they discovered that the socket on the motherboard was burnt. At the bottom of the CPUs, a bulge can be seen on the pads that make contact with the socket.

Motherboard manufacturers ASUS and MSI previously issued a statement. They also reported this week that the problem was related to applying too high a voltage when overclocking the CPUs. Manually adjusting the voltage is not possible on the Ryzen 7000X3D series, due to the higher sensitivity of the 3D V-Cache on the processors. Overvolting was possible in a roundabout way, by setting higher power limits in Precision Boost Overdrive 2. ASUS also talked about using AMD EXPO. That is AMD’s alternative to the Intel XMP memory overclocking profiles, which uses a higher Vsoc voltage. Professional overclocker der8auer observed in a video that all users reporting similar issues were using EXPO.

MSI has now released a bios update that limits the voltages and ASUS is doing the same. ASUS already said the company is working with AMD on “new rules” for EXPO and Vsoc voltages. The manufacturers also called on users to update to the latest bios version and wait for further communication.

A photo of the broken Ryzen 7 7800X3D processor from Reddit user Speedrookie