ASRock Explains Ryzen 9800X3D Crashes: Foreign Objects in AM5 Socket Are to Blame

Company ASRock Conducted an Internal Investigation regarding numerous reports about processor failure Ryzen 7 9800X3D on platforms with socket AM5, especially on their motherboards. The analysis revealed that The problem was caused by foreign objects in the socket, and not design defects or damage to the VRM.

The problem made a lot of noise after users started posting photos of damaged CPUs and complaining about startup failures. Although similar cases were noted with other manufacturers (MSI, ASUS, Gigabyte), most of the complaints were about ASRock. The company said it had collected the problematic boards from users, and after cleaning the socket of foreign particles, the device started working normally without repairs and successfully passed stress tests.

ASRock provided a before and after photo showing the socket being dirty and its condition after cleaning. no damage was found in the processor power supply area, and all measurements were within specifications. It was previously thought that the memory or BIOS firmware could be the cause, but the latest data does not confirm this hypothesis.

Despite the identified causes, the question remains open: what was the source of the contamination, and are the sockets themselves vulnerable to such cases? Considering that the processors actually burned out, AMD's broader involvement in the investigation is needed. ASRock has already released BIOS updates for its boards, but there is no definitive clarity on the issue yet.