Reports emerge of AMD 9800X3D CPUs burning out in MSI motherboards and a batch of bad CPU sockets could be to blame

Is AMD's hot new Ryzen 7 9800X3D gaming CPU going into meltdown? Two reports from gamers experiencing dramatic CPU "burn outs" involving AMD's new wonder chip have emerged in recent days (via Videocardz). However, early indications are that user error or a narrow manufacturing error are the likely explanations.

The 9800X3D aside, common to both burn outs is MSI's MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi motherboard, prompting the company to put out a brief statement. "Recently, we received a user report indicating damage to an AMD Ryzen™ 7 9800X3D processor on an MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI motherboard. At MSI, we are fully committed to the quality of our products and have begun investigating this incident."

So, what exactly is going on? For now, nothing is certain. The two incidents, one reported on Reddit, and the other on Quasarrzone forums, appear to be very similar. In both cases, the 9800X3D chip suffered from what appears to be shorting out, resulting in substantial burn marks on the bottom of the CPU and also on the CPU socket pins and, shall we say, a failure to operate.

Perhaps more intriguing is visual evidence of fracturing or damage to the border of the CPU socket. Again, this is apparent to some degree in both cases and also appears to have occurred at the same or similar points on the socket border.

The implication, therefore, is that the CPU was not correctly seated when the socket bracket was levered down, leading the CPU to be incorrectly aligned. From there, it's not hard to imagine how various pins and pads could have shorted out, leading to burn marks and damage.

What's less certain, for now at least, is whether that misalignment was down to user error. That's certainly a possibility. Another option is that there could be a bad batch of AM5 sockets with manufacturing errors afflicting the socket border, in turn causing the socket misalignment.

One of the afflicted Ryzen 7 9800X3D owners commented, "At first, I thought I did it wrong, but there are more unnecessary parts that are not in the normal socket guide. I've assembled hundreds or thousands of units at my current job, but this is the first time I've encountered a guide injection defect like this."

If that's the case, it's possible that other motherboard models and indeed motherboards from other manufacturers could be impacted. You would also expect the problem to impact not just the 9800X3D, but other CPU models too were that the case.

If there is a large batch of bad sockets out there, it's likely we'll know soon enough, as reports of similar failures and burn outs will surely emerge. But based on the limited number thus far, we don't think message boards are about to be hit with an epidemic of burned-out AMD CPUs. And there's little reason, for now, to think the problem is specific to the 9800X3D.