History has a way of coming full circle. At the launch of the Ryzen 7000X3D, a worrying number of CPUs began to die or even burn out for no apparent reason. After investigation, the problem was linked to a VDDCR_SoC voltage that was too high. One theory is that this problem is happening again, but this time with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D.
Ryzen 7 9800X3D: another VDDCR_SoC voltage problem?
What really sets things off here are the clearly excessively high voltages found on the CPU. As can be seen in the above screenshot, one of the processors was found to have a voltage that was clearly too high. Here, the VDDCR_SoC voltage reaches 1.9V, which is clearly too high. Officially, this voltage should be between 0.9V and 1.2V. We’re talking about an increase of between 38% and 52%! Remember that this voltage is used to power several key elements of the CPU. These include the IMC (memory controller), the PCIe controller, the iGPU and the Infinity Frabric.
While for the time being the problem seemed to focus more on ASRock hardware, other reports involving MSI and ASUS hardware are starting to surface. It now remains to be seen what is causing the problem, as the CPU doesn’t just magically start running at such high voltages.
There are several theories here, one of which is that it’s linked to an AGESA code bug. Others point to problems with accurate readings of voltage peaks, or physical problems with the SoC, which would have the familiar consequences when coupled with the new AGESA. Finally, the last theory relates to memory with certain X870(E) chipsets. Some would complain about 6800 MT/s frequencies running at a 1:2 ratio. Disabling GearDown would result in an increase in voltages, and then pow!
In short, there is still no consensus on the root of the problem. In the meantime, ASRock has already released a patch to tackle the memory issue. Stay tuned.