Bryan from Tech Yes City recently conducted an insightful investigation into the performance of Ryzen 7000/9000 processors on various motherboards, highlighting a significant variation in SoC voltage delivery, particularly with ASRock boards.
Current concerns about Ryzen 9000 CPUs, such as the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, experiencing unexpected failures have lacked clear explanations. This analysis provides an essential piece of the puzzle, potentially clarifying why these CPU issues occur.
Tech enthusiast Bryan shared an alarming experience when his Ryzen 9 9950X died while using an ASRock X870 Steel Legend motherboard. This instance is far from isolated, with nearly 200 similar cases reported, predominantly on Reddit.
Bryan’s research focused on determining why ASRock motherboards might cause more problems compared to others. He discovered a discrepancy in how these boards manage the SoC voltage requests from CPUs. The System on Chip (SoC) voltage is crucial for CPU operations and is typically stable. However, with ASRock models like the X870E Taichi Lite combined with a Ryzen 9800X3D, the SoC voltage was constantly fluctuating.
Although these fluctuations seem minor, they sometimes reach levels above the accepted maximum limit. For instance, SoC voltages with Ryzen 7 7700 and Ryzen 9800X3D can surpass 1.250V, nearing 1.270V, whereas other brands’ motherboards generally maintain around 1.20V. An exception is the ASUS X870E Crosshair Hero, which adds an extra 50 mV for more stability, yet it remains consistent as opposed to ASRock’s variable range.
This inconsistency could lead to permanent CPU damage, as previously observed. It’s important to note that CPUs determine the necessary SoC voltage, suggesting that both the CPU and motherboard’s handling methods might contribute to these failures.
The issue warrants further investigation, though ASRock may need to resolve it via a BIOS update. In the meantime, users concerned about potential damage can opt to “enable” the Uncore Voltage from the BIOS settings as a precaution.
