The ASRock motherboard situation with AMD's Ryzen 9000 CPUs might have taken a new turn, as it is now related to how Team Red deals with overclocking.
ASRock Motherboards Are Burning AMD's Ryzen 9000 CPUs, As Power Figures Are Reported To Be Way Too High
If you are still unaware of the "burning" incident with AMD's Ryzen 9000 series CPUs, especially on ASRock motherboards, a good way to sum it up is that ASRock motherboards have become the graveyard for Ryzen 9000 CPUs. Based on the total count of "reported" cases, we now know that over 200 users have been affected, with expensive SKUs such as the Ryzen 7 9800X3D burning out while running under ASRock motherboards. This fiasco has been ongoing for several months, and it particularly took the spotlight when Tech Yes City faced the problem. Fortunately, we now have a clue as to the potential reason for this.
Last time we talked about the problem, it was reported that the issue might be related to fluctuating SoC voltages, similar to what we saw with the Ryzen 7000 series two years ago. The voltage limits were way off from what AMD had recommended initially, and this was said to be a potential factor behind all the burning incidents. On the visit to Computex, Tech Yes City sat down with guys at ASRock, where they "unofficially" disclosed the actual reason behind CPU burning, especially with their motherboards.
Well, when I sat down with the ASRock motherboard team, they told me it <strong>had to do with the EDC and TDC, which is the electric design current as well as the thermal design current. Essentially, they’re saying it’s an rampage problem that exists with the precision boost overdrive settings. In particular, these mid-range and high-end motherboards — say for instance a B650E or an X670E Taichi or even a B850 Steel Legend — have the ability to run Ryzen 9000 series CPUs at their maximum PBO settings out of the box.
- Tech Yes City
The ASRock problem is mainly about how motherboards overly adjust PBO settings, which led to Ryzen 9000 CPU failures. Higher EDC and TDC limits above AMD’s recommended values put additional electrical stress on CPUs, causing burnouts, especially in systems equipped with decent cooling solutions. The higher power limits allow the CPU internals to damage much longer. However, AMD's PBO configuration is also said to be automatically enabled for users when they start up AMD's Ryzen Master.
It's worse than that. I was told by an engineer that simply installing certain versions of Ryzen Master will put your CPU in PBO mode automatically, but tell you/tell the software/tell the BIOS it's not in PBO. It also can't be blocked by a bios setting. https://t.co/2TJje5AB2k
— 𝐷𝑟. 𝐼𝑎𝑛 𝐶𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 (@IanCutress) May 27, 2025
In a post by @IanCutress, it is revealed that AMD CPUs operate under PBO mode automatically once Ryzen Master is opened, and the only way to disable it is by enabling the option and then disabling it again. Interestingly, PBO activation cannot be blocked by any BIOS setting, meaning that users cannot stop Ryzen Master from enabling PBO unless they take specific actions within the software itself. This makes debugging and performance adjustments a significant issue, and when you combine it with ASRock's BIOS settings (with overly high EDC and TDC limits), AMD is a culprit here.
Now, as a consumer, what should you do? Well, ASRock recommends setting up their latest BIOS versions, which will solve the voltage limit issues. However, neither AMD nor ASRock has yet given an official statement, suggesting that there's still uncertainty about what is actually happening behind the scenes. We'll keep you guys updated in case any more information is received regarding the problem.
About the author: Muhammad Zuhair is a hardware and technology reporter for Wccftech, specializing in the semiconductor industry and the complex interplay between technology, manufacturing, and geopolitics. His coverage focuses on the corporate strategies and technological roadmaps of industry giants like TSMC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Intel. Zuhair's expertise lies in deconstructing complex topics such as fabrication nodes (e.g., 2nm process), the economic impact of policies like the CHIPS Act, and the strategic development of AI infrastructure from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
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