MSI has launched a wave of new BIOS updates for its AM5 motherboards (e.g., MEG X670E GODLIKE) that only support negative offset voltage settings, allowing users to reduce the voltage of the CPU only, as well as a new version of MSI Center that prevents any direct voltage and frequency adjustments. The release of the new firmware and software was prompted by a number of Ryzen 7000X3D Series users who took to reddit and other social media over the past few days to claim that their motherboards were spontaneously “burning out” and killing their CPUs, with one highly upvoted post on r/AMD demonstrating what a Ryzen 7800X3D that “killed itself” might look like, bulges and all. MSI says that the restrictions have been implemented to “prevent over-voltage and reduce the risk of damage to the 7000X3D series CPUs,” while a complementary article from Igor’s Lab has provided insight on what parts of the chip are actually being damaged.
From an r/MSI_Gaming post:
Recently, there have been reports of the 7000X3D series CPUs being damaged, which may have been caused by abnormal voltage issues. It’s important to note that the 7000X3D series CPUs do not support manual voltage and frequency adjustments, but only support PBO (Precision Boost Overdrive) overclocking. In order to prevent over-voltage and reduce the risk of damage to the 7000X3D series CPUs, MSI has added some restrictions in both the AM5 series BIOS and the MSI Center.
The BIOS now only supports negative offset voltage settings, which can reduce the CPU voltage only. MSI Center also restricts any direct voltage and frequency adjustments, ensuring that the CPU won’t be damaged due to over-voltage.
For those looking to enhance the performance of their 7000X3D CPUs, an option called Enhanced Mode Boost is offered in BIOS. This option optimizes the PBO settings, allowing the 7000X3D series CPUs to achieve better performance without any manual voltage adjustments.