A few months into a 9800X3D on an ASRock Taichi and the failure threads got under my skin

Question

I put together my build a few months back with a 9800X3D on an ASRock X870E Taichi and I was really happy with it. Then I started seeing all these stories about X3D chips dying on ASRock boards specifically, and now I can't stop thinking about it. I'm not usually a worrier but this one got under my skin. What is the actual current state here? Is it as bad as the threads make it sound, and is there anything I should be doing beyond fretting?

jamesm · Accepted Answer

The cluster was real. GamersNexus compiled around 42 failure reports and over 80% were on ASRock boards. But that's against an install base of 20,000+ from one retailer, so the actual rate is tiny. Cause was ASRock's aggressive default PBO voltage, not the chips, and BIOS updates retuned it to AMD spec. Update to the latest BIOS, leave PBO at stock, stop worrying

burninWorrier · Answer

From what I read it's largely fixed but not completely closed. There were still isolated failure reports on updated BIOS into mid-2025. Largely fixed isn't the same as solved, right?

tangled_cables · Answer

Flashing the latest BIOS takes five minutes (do it before you even seat the chip) and it's the cheapest insurance you'll ever get.