It appears that a number of users with ASRock AM5 motherboards are still experiencing catastrophic failures with their Zen 5-based CPUs. Reports of “killed” processors have been gathering since the start of the year and have primarily involved AMD’s most popular CPU, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, but it is not the only processor claimed to have been damaged. ASRock has a well-established reputation for offering more budget-friendly products in the PC community, and more than a few folks have stepped up in their defense, stating that these failure numbers fall well within and under acceptable percentages. However, for those who experience said failure, that is likely of little consolation, and it is a challenge to disseminate instances of user error or other configuration issues from full-on failures due to something hardware-related. It is currently estimated that there may’ve been upwards of, and possibly more than, 200 processors that have been damaged thus far.
The latest “victim”, an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, has been reported by Tech YES City’s Bryan Bilowol, who documented using an ASRock X870 Steel Legend with the CPU. The YouTuber, who currently has over 600K subscribers, had lent his rig to a friend who stated they were simply watching movies when the display went dark, and then the system ceased functioning.
Unfortunately for ASRock, this latest incident (via TechPowerUp, who lists multiple sources) does point to a possibly greater issue, as while the majority of instances involve the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, it is becoming evident that other processors may be at risk. In addition, users are reporting issues involving a range of different motherboard models from B850 to X870, including standard and non-standard form factor designs. ASRock rolled out its BIOS 3.20 update in February, which was thought to have addressed issues with the 9800X3D, but this may not have worked out as hoped. AMD, at the time, did its own investigation into the matter, confirming that some problems arose from an older BIOS, which led to memory compatibility issues.
Per Tom’s Hardware:
“We are aware of a limited number of user reports involving ASRock AM5 motherboards failing to complete POST. Following a joint investigation, AMD and ASRock identified a memory capability issue present in earlier BIOS versions, which has been rectified in the latest BIOS, ASRock has already issued guidance on this behavior and addressed a singular report of a damaged CPU.”