Chinese GPU manufacturer Zephyr confirms dead RDNA 2 GPU chips due to cracking, bulging, or shorting — Company says it has replaced several dead Navi 21 cores under warranty

In 2023, reports of dead Navi 21 GPUs began to surface, raising questions about the cause of the surge. While this was essentially a contained, isolated event that has since been put to bed, we've now received an update to the story more than a year later. Zephyr, a GPU brand from China, has just revealed that it has replaced numerous high-end RDNA 2 GPUs under warranty to date, all of which had dead cores. The company also displayed GPU dies that had died due to cracking, bulging, or shorting, saying there was "a 1% chance of it exploding every year" in reference to the odds of this occurring to users.

The company posted pictures of a tray of these seemingly dead GPUs, all from the RX 6000 family, that it has RMA'd so far. It stated that while other vendors often deny warranty coverage under these circumstances, Zephyr has always honored it and will continue to do so. The post was quite earnest, admitting the brand has taken missteps in customer service while highlighting the good it has done.

There were also two videos showing these cores up close, with various deformities. Most are short-circuited; some are visibly bulging ("growing muscles," as titled on Bilibili); and some have cracked dies. All these dead GPUs sit in Zephyr's offices as a reminder of the customers they've helped, regardless of the severity of the damage.

At the time when the terminal RX 6000 series fiasco was unfolding, a German retailer had already attributed their death to a combo of the crypto boom and high-humidity storage. However, no manufacturer had come forward to make a statement, as this wasn't a large-scale issue that ever took precedent. Therefore, it's interesting to see a vendor-side corroboration so many years later.

We can argue that the primary goal of Zephyr's post was to flex its muscles as the only brand that will take on warranty claims for dead GPU cores. However, we finally learn that AIBs may have received various fatal Navi 21 cards at the time, making this incident more widespread than previously imagined. Many people still rock RDNA 2 GPUs for their incredible value proposition, so don't let this turn you away from them.

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