An AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D owner posted images of what seems to be a physically damaged or burned-out motherboard socket and processor on Reddit. It’s difficult to overlook the historical baggage AMD Socket AM5 processors have accumulated since 2023, even if this is a one-off occurrence due to a user’s bad luck with the motherboard or CPU, or even a case of human error during processor installation. Inappropriate voltage control led to a number of instances last year where Ryzen 7000 series socket AM5 processors displayed socket burnout close to particular land-grid power-delivery pins. This would manifest as a physical deformation brought on by the fiberglass substrate melting close to the damaged pins.

There is charring of multiple pins close to the center of the land-grid, but no actual deformation of the substrate is seen in the photographs that the Reddit user shared. Notably, the pins of the motherboard’s CPU socket exhibit some deformation and charring, which is consistent with shorting and arcing. On Saturday, November 16, MSI released a statement regarding the motherboard in question, which is an MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi. The business stated that it is looking into what happened.