Ryzen 9000: Quality problems force AMD to postpone launch
AMD delays Ryzen 9000 processors to August 8 and 15 due to quality issues.
In a short announcement, processor manufacturer AMD has just announced that the market launch and thus the start of sales of the Ryzen 9000 processors will be postponed by two weeks. Originally scheduled for July 31, 2024, the new first day of sale for the six- and eight-core Ryzen 5 9600X and Ryzen 7 9700X is now set for August 8, while the twelve- and sixteen-core Ryzen 9 9900X and 9950X will be released on August 15
AMD had already announced the Ryzen 9000 at this year's Computex, which, despite the new Zen 5 architecture, will fit into existing motherboards with the AM5 version and should be able to run with a current BIOS version without any problems. A few weeks later, the company organized a so-called Techday in Los Angeles, California, at which further details on the Zen 5 architecture, the overclocking options and the integrated graphics and AI unit were revealed. On Monday, this information was summarized again along with a few details and clarifications.
The announcement of the postponement came as something of a surprise today. The announcement briefly states that quality problems had been identified 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 had been 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). Ryzen 7 9800X and Ryzen 5 9600X now have a TDP of 65 instead of 105 watts compared to Ryzen 7 7700X and Ryzen 5 7600X.
| Ryzen-9000-Prozessoren für AM5 | |||||
| CPU | Kerne/Threads | Turbotakt | Basistakt | L3-Cache | TDP |
| Ryzen 9 9950X | 16/32 | 5,7 GHz | 4,3 GHz | 64 MByte | 170 W |
| Ryzen 9 9900X | 12/24 | 5,6 GHz | 4,4 GHz | 64 MByte | 120 W |
| Ryzen 7 9700X | 8/16 | 5,5 GHz | 3,8 GHz | 32 MByte | 65 W |
| Ryzen 5 9600X | 6/12 | 5,4 GHz | 3,9 GHz | 32 MByte | 65 W |
The Ryzen AI 300 processors, which are also new, are already being sold in the first notebook models and are apparently not affected by the problem.
(csp)
