2 DIY PC Builders Post Photos of Burned AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPUs

A couple of burned CPUs are stirring up a fuss in Ryzen world today. It's well-known that processors can overheat for several reasons (often user error during the installation—that might just be the main reason). But the CPU in question is none other than the vaunted AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D . It appears that two different users lost their CPUs to burnout. In both cases, they were using an MSI motherboard.

Pictures of the burned chips appeared on Reddit and QuasarZone in the past couple of days. Both CPUs are Ryzen 7 9800X3Ds, the model that has been rocking the CPU landscape with its out-of-the-gate performance and overclock ability. Although the burns on the two CPUs are different shapes, there are some similarities. In both cases, much of the burned area is near the center of the CPU's pin side. And in both cases, the burns are on both sides of the center line that Zen 5 CPUs feature.

The Redditor posted their photo in the r/pcmasterrace community, noting that the system they were building failed POST. Readers quickly brought up a common reason for CPU damage: User error during installation. The poster noted that they weren't assigning blame or denying that they could have caused the damage, but the comments section quickly devolved into blaming the poster. It's worth noting that the poster pointed out that they've built about a dozen rigs and didn't notice any problems while locking the CPU into its socket.

Credit: MSI

Both users said they put the Ryzen 7 9800X3D into MSI Mag X870 Tomahawk WiFi motherboards. MSI appears to be taking the reports seriously. It released a statement this morning saying it's on the case. "Recently, we received a user report indicating damage to an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor on an MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI motherboard," MSI stated. "At MSI, we are fully committed to the quality of our products and have begun investigating this incident."

"Additionally, we are working closely with AMD and are in contact with GamersNexus, which is independently investigating this incident."

MSI went on to say that it will provide updates.

This isn't the first time Ryzen 7 processors have appeared with burns. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D made a stir when several appeared online after burning out. That led to AMD developing a fix that involved BIOS updates . It's too early to know what's causing the burns to the 9800X3D CPUs, but the Reddit poster says they're sending the dead board and processor to Gamers Nexus for further investigation.