ASRock links Ryzen CPU failures to aggressive PBO settings in its motherboards

There have been reports of Ryzen 9000 desktop CPUs failing, most notably the current gaming chip champ, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. In several cases, the common denominator was that the affected CPUs were all paired with ASRock motherboards. The company is now updating its firmware and BIOS for its boards to mitigate the risk of more Ryzen 9000 Series CPUs failing.

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This video by Tech Yes City went through the latest BIOS update from ASRock (version 3.25), which changes Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO) settings, namely lowering power and voltage-related settings to rectify the issue. In a follow-up video by Gamers Nexus, ASRock sat down with the channel to confirm that the problem was motherboard-related and not due to AMD's Ryzen chip design.

In the video, ASRock apologizes and notes that it will cover all shipping and related costs for damaged hardware. However, it notes that it has yet to see a damaged motherboard, as the damage is limited to CPUs.

ASRock recommends that all Ryzen 9000 Series owners with the company's motherboards check to see if BIOS version 3.25 is installed, as not all retail units will have the new firmware already loaded. Also, time will tell if the latest BIOS update and changes made by ASRock will fix the issue.

For the latest on this story, be sure to follow the "9800X3D Failures/Deaths Megathread" on Reddit. This thread has been tracking these issues for a few months now and regularly posts updates from vendors and media with the latest status of the problem. It also features several Ryzen CPU owners providing first-hand accounts of their CPUs failing.