Ryzen 9000: Quality problems force AMD to postpone launch

Due to recently discovered quality problems, AMD is postponing the Ryzen 9000 processors, which were originally expected to be launched at the end of July, to August 8 and 15 respectively.

The announcement of the postponement came as something of a surprise today. The announcement briefly states that quality problems had been discovered with some of the first Ryzen 9000 processors – at the last minute, so to speak – and that deliveries had therefore been stopped and processors that had already been delivered to retailers recalled.

“We appreciate the excitement around Ryzen 9000 series processors. During final checks, we found the initial production units that were shipped to our channel partners did not meet our full quality expectations. Out of an abundance of caution and to maintain the highest quality experiences for every Ryzen user, we are working with our channel partners to replace the initial production units with fresh units. As a result, there will be a short delay in retail availability. The Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 5 9600X processors will now go on sale on August 8th and the Ryzen 9 9950X and Ryzen 9 9900X processors will go on sale on August 15th. We pride ourselves in providing a high-quality experience for every Ryzen user, and we look forward to our fans having a great experience with the new Ryzen 9000 series.”

These will no longer go on sale and to ensure this, AMD has pulled the virtual ripcord. The postponement of up to two weeks is intended to give the company enough time to ensure that none of the defective processors are sold to end customers.

AMD initially left open the exact nature of these defects, as well as whether all Ryzen 9000 models are equally affected or whether only individual SKUs have the errors. However, a corresponding request from c’t brought a few more details despite the late night hour:

AMD explains the different launch dates with the longer production time of the twelve and sixteen cores.

“Dual CCD parts, like the 12 core and 16 core, take a little longer to complete the production flow process. […]”

The cause was a problem that came to light during testing and validation of the packaging and could have led to a small number of Ryzen 9000 processors not meeting AMD’s desired standards.

“[…] During our continuous validation of the initial production material an issue was discovered in our packaging test and validation system which could result in a small number of Ryzen 9000 processors not meeting our standards.”

Problems with the silicon, i.e. the chips as such, can therefore be ruled out as the cause. These would also have meant a much longer delay.

In addition to the top model Ryzen 9 9950X with 16 cores, AMD also presented three other Ryzen 9000X processors: Thus, with Ryzen 9 9900X, Ryzen 7 9800X and Ryzen 5 9600X, there is one twelve-, eight- and six-core each. In contrast to the predecessors of the Ryzen 7000X series, the company has lowered the thermal design power for these. The twelve-core processor operates with 120 watts instead of 170 watts (Ryzen 7 7900X). Compared to the Ryzen 7 7700X and Ryzen 5 7600X, the Ryzen 7 9800X and Ryzen 5 9600X now have a TDP of 65 instead of 105 watts.

Ryzen 9000 processors for AM5

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