There have been several reports of AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPUs refusing to boot on ASRock motherboards. The two companies have been aware of them since February 2025, with ASRock immediately releasing a beta BIOS update to address the problem. After a few weeks of investigation, the cause of the issue has finally been identified as a memory compatibility problem, but it has already been resolved with the latest BIOS release.
“We are aware of a limited number of user reports involving ASRock AM5 motherboards failing to complete POST. Following a joint investigation, AMD and ASRock identified a memory capability issue present in earlier BIOS versions, which has been rectified in the latest BIOS,” AMD told Tom’s Hardware. “ASRock has already issued guidance on this behavior and addressed a singular report of a damaged CPU.”
Even though more than a hundred motherboards failing to post with a 9800X3D chip have been documented, that is still a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands, if not millions, of motherboards and CPUs out there in countless variations. “It’s worth noting that a failure to POST can be caused by a range of factors and does not necessarily indicate a non-functional CPU,” added AMD. “We recommend that users start by updating their BIOS to the latest version available for their specific motherboard model.”
Still, if you have a problem even after updating your BIOS, the company says you should contact customer support. AMD adds, “If the issue persists, we encourage users to contact our customer support team for further assistance and diagnostics.” If the company can’t fix the problem on-site, it will probably tell you to RMA the CPU, which, in most cases, fixes the boot problem.
As for the February report of a burnt-out 9800X3D, AMD said that the motherboard did not have burn marks and that it was just debris that needed some cleaning. Sure enough, the motherboard successfully booted after this procedure and even passed some long-term testing.
The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is one of the best gaming CPUs you can buy today, so both AMD and its motherboard partners are likely vigilant on any problems that might appear on these components. Thankfully, it seems that the issues that do occur are minor and can be easily resolved. However, we're following up with AMD for more details. Stay tuned.
