AM5 CPU Failure Thread
Printed From: ASRock.com
Category: Technical Support
Forum Name: AMD Motherboards
Forum Description: Question about ASRock AMD motherboards
URL: https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=113460
Printed Date: 17 Oct 2026 at 11:04am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.08 - https://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: AM5 CPU Failure Thread
Posted By: Xaltar
Subject: AM5 CPU Failure Thread
Date Posted: 26 Feb 2026 at 2:54am
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First of all, I would like to ask anyone with a dead AM5 CPU that has found this thread to report their issue in the unofficial r/ASRock redit using the very helpful https://www.reddit.com/r/ASRock/comments/1q3ff0t/9000series_cpu_failures_deaths_megathread_4/" rel="nofollow - 9000-Series CPU Failures / Deaths Megathread and follow the instructions in the thread. The moderators there have done an excellent job correlating all the data from user reports on the redit platform. Secondly, for those not experiencing an issue with their AM5 ASRock system, please bare in mind that, as much attention as this issue has garnered, failure reports are still rare. In addition, even if you were to experience an issue both AMD and ASRock have been doing everything they can to take care of those effected. Thirdly, If your system is failing to POST with a 00 code (or DRAM/CPU POST LED errors) then try using BIOS flashback to update your system to the latest BIOS version, 4.10 at the time of writing this. Before updating, clear CMOS and follow the steps listed https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=630&title=how-to-clear-cmos-via-battery-removal" rel="nofollow - here . More experienced builders may skip some of the steps listed in the linked thread but for new/inexperienced users please follow them as closely as possible to rule out missing something. After that use BIOS flashback to update to BIOS 4.10 or later. In some situations this may revive a CPU that is stuck in a failsafe state. Once done with redit it would be great if you could additionally report your situation here. I am not very active on redit with most of my time taken up here and with other responsibilities. I would like this forum to serve in the capacity it was intended, as a resource for both our community and ASRock itself to work together to create a healthy and beneficial environment for ASRock to learn and understand the needs and wants of it's users. There is no need for the level of detail listed in the redit thread, just the CPU and board model, how long the system worked before the issue/issues began and what the system was doing at the time of the failure. Thank you everyone and good luck to those of you effected by this issue. ------------- 
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Replies:
Posted By: Xelarch
Date Posted: 27 Apr 2026 at 3:16am
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Hi there - I suppose you meant that we should just reply to this thread with any issues regarding failing CPUs. Today I've submitted my info to the reddit megathread google form. My CPU was a 9950X3D, it worked for almost a year before it stopped working. I can see I bought it on April 1st 2025 and it died on the 4th of April 2026. Probably received it about 2-3 days later, and then assembled my new build. So it might have been exactly a year that it lived, but I can't remember for sure. The board is a X870E Nova WiFi. The CPU worked fine in the morning, where I used it for light browsing, YouTube, watching the news, then I shut down the computer, and when I came home from work and turned it on again. It wouldn't boot cleanly the first time. I then rebooted it, but a few minutes later it would freeze, afterwards it would get progressively worse, freezing in the BIOS, not being able to complete POST. The board arrived with BIOS version 3.0, I believe. The CPU died while the BIOS was on version 3.50, using BIOS Flashback to 4.10 did not revive the CPU. The day after I replaced it with a 9850X3D, because it was the only thing I could get on a short notice, and then it booted fine, and I am still using it. The retailer I bought the CPU from has replaced the CPU, but now I am not confident in using the 9950X3D again in my system, having less than a year of its warranty left, I don't want a repeat of what has happened. |
Posted By: Xaltar
Date Posted: 27 Apr 2026 at 3:23am
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Thanks for the info Xelarch and sorry to hear about your troubles. Given you have already gotten a replacement there isn't any possibility of troubleshooting further but at this point you did the right thing RMAing it. I believe the warranty should reset if you received a replacement, unless that isn't your retailer's policy. I suspect you may still be entitled to AMD's 3 year warranty however. It may be worth enquiring with AMD about it. They will likely want proof of purchase/replacement and the serial number of the CPU. -------------
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Posted By: Xelarch
Date Posted: 27 Apr 2026 at 3:56am
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The law in Denmark is pretty simple, everyone gets a 2 year warranty on all consumer purchases, and I've just read the retailer's terms, they follow this law and don't grant any further warranty period. You are probably on to something with AMD though. It seems that their warranty period is reset to cover a full year, if there was less than 1 year left on my warranty when it happened, and that their warranty for "boxed" processors is 3 years. At least according to the LLM that I used to check. As for troubleshooting, I already tried all that I could try, taking out every part, swapping the RAM around. It seemed more stable when I only had RAM in the A2 slot, but only for a little while. The retailer first tried sending the CPU to an external repair shop, and I was wondering "How would they even repair this thing?", I remember when I filled out the RMA form I was asked if I wanted a repair if possible and I replied "If you can repair it in some magical way then sure go ahead", and as it turned out they reported back "Repair: Unit replaced" in their report. I tried asking the retailer if it was possible to get any information from the repair technicians as to what they suspect was the cause, but the retailer said that they don't get this information from them, and of course closed the conversation there. Most likely I will buy a new board and use the new 9950X3D with that, and use the 9850X3D that I've got alongside my current board for a game server as I've been wanting to do that for a while, alternatively, I could just build a dedicated gaming machine so I can fully separate my work from my gaming. But unfortunately the prices of both RAM and NVME drives is sky high, so I'll probably wait with that. At any rate that should in time test if the 4.10 BIOS has improved the situation. |
Posted By: Xaltar
Date Posted: 27 Apr 2026 at 6:19am
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I hear you on the RAM and NVME prices. They will hopefully come down fairly soon. I was planning on upgrading my NVMe a while ago and made the mistake of thinking I should wait for prices to drop a little. They are now more than 5x what they were then. The serial number on your CPU should be searchable, you should be able to see if it is an OEM (Tray) or boxed part. If it's a boxed replacement, even if you don't have the box, you can claim the 3 year warranty. Let me know how 4.10 (and later) go for you on the ASRock board. -------------
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Posted By: pafin
Date Posted: 28 Sep 2026 at 4:46am
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I bought a b850 steel legend wifi a week ago, together with the 9950x3d and immediatly flashed the bios to 4.43 Are there reports of dead cpus with the new bios £ I am kind of scared and dont want to return and buy a new board. |
Posted By: Xaltar
Date Posted: 28 Sep 2026 at 5:43am
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Hi pafin, you have come to the right place. Failure rates on ASRock boards are in line with all other brands now so you have nothing to worry about. You are no more or less likely to have a problem with your board than any other. Also, even if you were to be unlucky and have a bad CPU, AMD is being very good with their RMA policy on Ryzen 9k series CPUs so you don't need to live in fear. If anything, the issues with the 9k series have more or less ensured smooth RMAs from AMD witch makes your investment even safer than usual. Don't let fear mongering get to you. As for reported failures on 4.43, that isn't something I have access to as a community moderator. The information would be useless anyway, a CPU that was run for a year+ on an earlier BIOS (3.xx and earlier) would already be degraded by the time 4.43 was released. That CPU dying now would have absolutely nothing to do with the latest BIOS version. In fact, 4.03 had already addressed the major issues and drastically reduced failure rates on newly built systems. 4.43 is mostly just refinement and optimization. TLDR, you should be just fine. Your odds of a CPU dying on you are no worse than anyone else on any other brand board. -------------
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Posted By: pafin
Date Posted: 30 Sep 2026 at 1:35am
Thanks for the clarification |
Xaltar wrote:Posted By: Xaltar
Date Posted: 02 Oct 2026 at 2:29am
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No problem, enjoy your new build and feel free to drop in here any time if you have any questions or need help. -------------
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Posted By: pcmoon
Date Posted: 07 Oct 2026 at 4:57pm
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X870E Taichi White in the EU & will it fry my 9850X3D£ Hey @Xaltar, I want to get the X870E Taichi White for my 9850X3D but I need to know two things before I buy it. First, with all the AM5 failure threads: are those issues actually fixed£ If I update to the latest BIOS via flashback before booting, can you confirm I won't fry my 9850X3D£ Second, is this board ever coming to Europe£ The black Taichi is available everywhere here, but the White one is completely missing. Is there an ETA for the EU, or should I just import it from the US£ Thanks. 
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Posted By: Xaltar
Date Posted: 07 Oct 2026 at 6:53pm
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Hi pcmoon, as I said in your reply to the Taichi White thread, I am afraid I don't have availability info. If your country has a localization on the ASRock website you can check the "where to buy" section specific to your country. There is a small spherical icon at the top right of the website that allows you to pick your region. Select the region nearest you and then click the "where to buy" link and see if the board you are looking for is listed by any of them. For what it's worth, the X870e Taichi White edition is not available in Greece, Bulgaria or Romania yet at the time of writing this, 7th October 2026. I suspect it will show up in local EU stores but I have no idea when I am afraid. As for AM5 CPU failures, that is tough to answer satisfactorily. Will your CPU die on you£ That I can't answer, it will depend on the CPU you get. Will your ASRock board kill it, that I can answer, no, it won't. Current failures are happening across all manufacturers at more or less an equal rate. Talking about failures in this way makes it sound incredibly common, it isn't. AM5 9k CPUs have a higher than normal failure rate yes but according to the available data, the failure rate is still well within what is considered acceptable. Far more intel 14th gen CPUs died for example. In the end, your warranty is your safety net and AMD is being very good with AM5 CPU RMA requests as a result of the initial issues the 9k series experienced. I hope this answers your questions  -------------
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Posted By: caheer
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2026 at 3:11am
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Hello, I wanted to report the issue I experienced with my motherboard and AM5 CPU. Note: this is not a troubleshooting request. Both the CPU and motherboard have already been replaced under warranty. CPU: Ryzen 9 9950X3D Motherboard: ASRock X870 Steel Legend WiFi PSU: Seasonic Vertex GX-1200 The system worked normally for several months. It was used from November to February and again from June to September; I was away for about four months in spring, so the PC was not used during that period. It was stable under heavy load and gaming. The failure happened after the PC had been left in sleep/standby. When I returned, it would no longer POST. There was no display, the keyboard was not initialized, and the red CPU diagnostic LED remained lit. Clearing CMOS, BIOS Flashback, reseating/changing the RAM configuration, and checking the CPU/EPS power connections did not change the symptoms. The motherboard and CPU were both sent for warranty diagnosis. The retailer/service tested my motherboard with another CPU, and the board still would not POST. The motherboard was therefore considered defective. My original 9950X3D was also found to be defective and was replaced. In the end, both the motherboard and CPU were replaced under warranty. Unfortunately, I do not know the exact BIOS version. I bought the board in November 2025 and do not remember updating the BIOS afterward, so it was likely running the factory-installed BIOS from that production batch. I am posting this because most reports seem to involve a failed CPU while the motherboard remains functional, whereas in my case there was evidence that both components had failed. The exact failure mechanism is unknown. |
Posted By: Xaltar
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2026 at 12:58pm
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First of all, sorry to hear about your difficulties. Thanks for the report. It seems a number of failures have been tied to sleep/wake events. I am glad to hear your warranty replacements were processed without issue. Based on your description it sounds like your BIOS version may have been an earlier, vulnerable one. If you never updated it and purchased the parts in around November 2025 then it likely shipped with BIOS 3.40. -------------
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