AMD is expected to release a statement. System integrators have already returned hundreds of Radeon RX 7900 XTX MBA cards
German investigative journalism continues. Igor Wallosek from Igor’s laboratory has a long article explaining the current situation with AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics cards and their thermal issues.
Design AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX MBA
As stated at the beginning of the article, AMD was to issue a statement yesterday, which Igor was expecting. However, that didn’t happen, which forced him to share the latest findings. The thermal throttling issue of the reference XTX cards has now been localized to the vapor chamber. In an email received from AMD by one of the affected customers (system integrator), we learn that an official statement from AMD was to be made yesterday:
The problem has already been known for more than two weeks and is communicated between AMD and distributors (internally), the exact way the problem will be communicated to the end customer has not yet been definitively decided. … AMD’s statement was originally scheduled to be made on January 3, 2023 at 6 p.m. CET, but has been postponed.
[..] As assumed, the cause is the evaporator chamber…several batches are involved. Currently 4-6 bundles and thousands of graphics cards are assumed. Only MBA cards are concerned.
— AMD system integrator email quote
As mentioned, integrators have already returned hundreds of boards, including those that were already assembled into complete systems. Returned cards included all cards from AMD card partners (but only MBA cards).
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX vapor chamber, source: AMD
It is very important to note that the issue only affects the RX 7900 XTX model and only the AMD reference design (manufactured by AMD/MBA). This issue does not affect any custom cards that use non-referenced cooling solutions. Additionally, the RX 7900 XT reference model with reduced Navi 31 GPU is also unaffected.
[…] only the RX 7900 XTX’s functionally limited vapor chamber is such a critical issue that it requires an RMA. Indeed, it is not only the temperature of the hot spot, but also of the storage tank, which can reach 110°C and therefore operate well above the permitted temperature limit.
—Igor Wallossek
It should be noted that AMD tends to prioritize production of reference cards over partner designs in the first few weeks of every Radeon launch. This is mainly why we see so few custom maps available and even fewer models announced. By introducing thousands of reference cards to the market, AMD finds itself in a difficult position to manage this situation, especially since the reference designs have also been sold by card partners.
AMD is now offering an exchange or refund to affected customers, presumably individuals and channel partners, the issue is now said to affect “multiple bundles”, which could include thousands of cards. Hopefully AMD will explain the situation soon and if these boards really need a replacement, it will be provided as soon as possible.
Update: AMD released a short statement, finally admitting that there is a problem with the design of the reference cooling:
We are working to determine the cause of the unexpected performance limitation of AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics cards. Based on our observations to date, we believe the issue is related to the thermal solution used in AMD’s reference design and occurs in a limited number of cards sold. We are working to resolve this issue for the affected cards. Customers experiencing this unexpected limitation should contact AMD Support.
Source: Igor’s laboratory
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