MSI is rolling out new UEFI BIOS firmware for its AM5 motherboards that limit the overvoltage of AMD's Ryzen 7000X3D-series processors. The company says that the release is a response to reports concerning Ryzen 7000X3D CPUs overheating, bulging, and damaging motherboards.
"Recently, there have been reports of the 7000X3D series CPUs being damaged, which may have been caused by abnormal voltage issues," a statement by MSI on Reddit reads. "It is important to note that the Ryzen 7000X3D-series CPUs do not support manual voltage and frequency adjustments, but only support PBO (Precision Boost Overdrive) overclocking. In order to prevent over-voltage and reduce the risk of damage to the Ryzen 7000X3D-series CPUs, MSI has added some restrictions in both the AM5 series BIOS and the MSI Center."
Over the weekend, it was reported that some AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3Ds, one of the best CPUs for gaming, are facing overheating issues that cause physical bulges on the CPU pad, leading to premature CPU failures. Reddit users have reported experiencing this problem with motherboards from Asus and MSI. While there is not enough data to draw any conclusions yet, it is believed that motherboards might be attempting to boost CPU voltages and clocks too high, resulting in insufficient cooling.
Formally, MSI has not admitted that BIOS settings were causing the issue, but the changes to the BIOS are designed to prevent it. In particular, MSI's BIOS will no longer allow overvolting for AMD's Ryzen 7000X3D processors.
"The BIOS now only supports negative offset voltage settings, which can reduce the CPU voltage only," the representative from MSI said. "MSI Center also restricts any direct voltage and frequency adjustments, ensuring that the CPU won't be damaged due to over-voltage."
Meanwhile, there is still a way for owners of AMD's Ryzen 7000X3D-series processors to automatically and temporarily enhance the performance of their CPUs by enabling Enhanced Mode Boost in BIOS.
"For those looking to enhance the performance of their 7000X3D CPUs, an option called Enhanced Mode Boost is offered in BIOS," the MSI spokesperson explained. "This option optimizes the PBO settings, allowing the 7000X3D series CPUs to achieve better performance without any manual voltage adjustments."
The list of BIOS with CPU voltage restriction is as follows:
