AMD announced today that it has delayed the launch of the Zen 5 Ryzen 9000 due to an unspecified quality issue. As a result, AMD has informed us that it has recalled all Ryzen 9000 units that it has shipped to retailers and OEMs worldwide. The company will now launch the Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 5 9600X processors on August 8, while the launch of the higher-end Ryzen 9 9950X and Ryzen 9 9900X will be delayed until August 15. AMD’s official statement is below, but we’ve also learned some additional crucial details.
This is an unprecedented move for AMD, at least in recent history. During final checks of the processors, AMD discovered an unspecified quality issue with Ryzen 9000 processors that had escaped internal inspection processes. Chips with the issue were shipped in the first wave of retail products.
AMD says that out of an abundance of caution, and to ensure that no chips with a quality defect are delivered to customers, it is now recalling all Ryzen 9000 chips it has shipped worldwide to replace them with up-to-date units. The Ryzen AI 300 mobile processors are on track to launch by the end of the month.
A company representative said Tom’s Equipment that the issue does not require a redesign or reboot of the Ryzen 9000 chip and will not result in changes to the already defined specifications of the various models. AMD will reanalyze the recalled chips to identify those that may have potential issues, and then return the unaffected models to retail channels. This means that not all chips are affected by this issue.
AMD told us that the company “has identified an issue with our Ryzen 9000 series processor packaging testing process that may result in a small number of products being released that do not meet our quality standards.” AMD specifically cited the packaging testing process, implying that the issue lies with the packaging implementation. AMD declined to elaborate on the specific nature of the quality issue, however.
AMD is working diligently to ensure that no customer receives the first wave of Ryzen 9000 processors it ships — a tough task given the global supply chain. We know that at least two processors have already been sold to customers in various countries, and it’s possible that several more could slip through. Out of an abundance of caution, AMD is also recalling samples that were shipped to OEM/ODM partners.
It’s unclear whether pre-orders will be canceled or delayed, but it’s logical that it will depend on the retailer. As you can imagine, reviews are also delayed — AMD doesn’t risk sending faulty units anywhere.
All chip manufacturers have a hearty inspection process that checks processors for errors at multiple stages of the manufacturing process. This includes inspections of the die on the wafer before it is attached to the package to ensure that it is a known good die (KGD), and then inspections of the completed processor after the packaging process (where the die is bonded to the circuit board that holds the processor) to ensure that the chip is functioning as expected. Final inspections often involve running automated software routines that test the processors in as many ways as possible, including even loading operating systems, to eliminate problems. This final step in the process can occur as part of the packaging test process or after packaging test. Therefore, a problem found in the packaging test flow may or may not be directly related to the packaging implementation.
AMD’s problem comes as rival Intel has come under increasing criticism for allowing crash issues to fester for months before announcing a fix a few days ago. AMD clearly doesn’t want to make the same mistake.
While we await additional details, here is AMD’s official statement on the matter:
“We appreciate the excitement surrounding the Ryzen 9000 series processors. During final inspections, we discovered that 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 experience for every Ryzen user, we are working with our channel partners to replace the initial production units with new units. As a result, there will be a short delay in retail availability. The Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 5 9600X processors will go on sale on August 8, and the Ryzen 9 9950X and Ryzen 9 9900X processors will go on sale on August 15. We pride ourselves on delivering a high-quality experience to every Ryzen user and can’t wait for our fans to have a great experience with the new Ryzen 9000 series.” Jack Huynh, senior vice president and general manager, Computing and Graphics, AMD.
