Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

This is how you can accidentally kill AMD’s best CPU for gaming

Monica J. White
By

It turns out that one of AMD’s best gaming CPUs, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, can accidentally be killed if you try to overclock it, and it’s all because there are no limitations as to how far you can push the processor.

Igor Wallossek of Igor’s Lab found that the software used for overclocking and overvolting Ryzen CPUs currently doesn’t impose any limits when you try to ramp up the voltage. And that’s a recipe for turning a fun performance boost into an overclocking nightmare.

Related Videos
Someone holding the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in a red light.
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800X3D is still among the fastest gaming processors to date. While it’s no longer the only chip sporting AMD’s proprietary 3D V-Cache, it’s a powerhouse that can run the most demanding games seamlessly. The CPU has a massive 96MB of L3 cache combined with eight cores and 16 threads. The boost clock goes as far as 4.5GHz.

Related

Newer 3D V-Cache chips, such as the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, allow some degree of overclocking through Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO). However, AMD has previously stated that the Ryzen 7 5800X3D was not fit to be overclocked. Doing so will most likely void your warranty. Of course, people have been overclocking the CPU anyway and increasing its maximum clock speed, but messing with the voltage can end badly, as has been proven by Igor’s Lab.

If the CPU is not meant to go beyond a certain voltage, it makes sense that any supporting software would block the user from trying it. However, Wallossek discovered that this is not the case, and it appears you can overvolt the chip to your heart’s content.

Having found this out, Igor managed to adjust the voltage once before finally pushing the chip beyond 1.3v and killing it for good. The computer immediately shut down and the chip is beyond repair. “Rest in peace, and let this be a reminder that there is now one more keychain in this world,” he said in his report.

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D.

If this was a problem with just MSI Center, it might have been less significant, although not any less perilous for the chip that paid the price. However, it has now been discovered that ASRock, Asus, and Gigabyte all allow this kind of overvolting in their respective software, meaning that the whole platform might be affected by this problem.

What does this mean for those who own the Ryzen 7 5800X3D? Not much beyond what AMD already said, which is that you shouldn’t mess with the voltage on that particular chip. It’s unclear when this might be fixed. Until then, many Ryzen 7 5800X3D owners can still kill their CPU at any given time, and it’s easier than ever.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
AMD 7000X3D V-Cache CPUs could challenge Intel at CES 2023
AMD 3D V-Cache chip is shown over a coppery background.

New AMD 7000X3D V-Cache CPUs could be shown as early as January 2023 at next year’s CES, promising big gaming performance gains and potentially wrestling the title of best gaming chip from Intel once more.

The latest news comes from a supposedly leaked internal road map that reveals AMD is planning to unveil its next-generation 3D V-Cache CPUs based on the Zen 4 architecture at CES 2023. This information comes from Wccftech which has a good track record of uncovering insider information. The report goes on to suggest that there will be two 3D V-Cache chips announced at the event, which is notable.

Read more
You probably can’t hit max clock speeds on AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X
The Ryzen 9 7900X sitting against a box.

As we inch closer and closer to the launch of AMD Ryzen 7000, we are learning more about the flagship Ryzen 9 7950X. Equipped with an impressive set of specifications, the CPU will undoubtedly become one of the best AMD processors on the market.

However, we've just heard of a little-known fact about the new Zen 4 CPU: its maximum clock speed will rely on temperatures, and the threshold is set so low that most people won't be able to achieve it.

Read more
AMD might deal a huge blow to Intel with new 3D V-Cache CPUs
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D.

According to a new leak, AMD may be readying up some truly powerful Ryzen 7000 processors equipped with its 3D V-Cache technology.

The rumor suggests that this time around, at least three CPUs are in the works, and they're the top-of-the-line models, including the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, Ryzen 9 7900X3D, and Ryzen 7 7800XD. Equipping the already powerful flagships with 3D V-Cache would pose a real threat to Intel's top Raptor Lake CPUs. What can we expect from these gaming beasts?

Read more