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AMD

AMD Says Ryzen Threadripper 7000 Overclocking Triggers Hidden Fuse, Warranty Unaffected 45

Posted by msmash from the peace-of-mind dept.
Overclocking AMD's Ryzen Threadripper 7000 series blows a fuse, indicating modification. However, AMD has told Tom's Hardware that this does not automatically invalidate the warranty of these top-tier workstation CPUs. From the report: "Threadripper 7000 Series processors do contain a fuse that is blown when overclocking is enabled. To be clear, blowing this fuse does not void your warranty. Statements that enabling an overclocking/overvolting feature will 'void' the processor warranty are not correct. Per AMD's standard Terms of Sale, the warranty excludes any damage that results from overclocking/overvolting the processor. However, other unrelated issues could still qualify for warranty repair/replacement," an AMD representative told Tom's Hardware.

In summation, overclocking your Ryzen Threadripper Pro 7000 or non-Pro processor will not void the warranty -- only damages directly resulting from overclocking will. As always, AMD isn't against overclocking. If it was, the chipmaker wouldn't advertise overclocking support as one of the features of the WRX90 and TRX50 platforms. Only OEM systems lack overclocking support.
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AMD Says Ryzen Threadripper 7000 Overclocking Triggers Hidden Fuse, Warranty Unaffected More

AMD Says Ryzen Threadripper 7000 Overclocking Triggers Hidden Fuse, Warranty Unaffected

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  • "Fuse" is the wrong word here. (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    It's more like a "tip sensor". "Fuse" implies protection from something. Shuts off something. Not the case here.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Literally a fuse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

      • Literally a fuse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

        Here's a quote from that link. Specifically from the fourth section (#3), a.k.a., where id=Descriptive_term.
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

        "eFuses are perhaps more commonly used as a one-time programmable ROM or write-restricted memory, and not actual physical electric fuses."

        • Yes, that's the use. It's not protecting anything and it's in a place where the value can be read easily after programming. However it actually works like a real fuse - metal moves from one place to another, breaking a circuit irreparably when there's more current than a set limit.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      It's more like a "tip sensor". "Fuse" implies protection from something. Shuts off something. Not the case here.

      No it's a fuse. It's not protecting anything, but it's blown by sending a large current through it that melts it.

      It's also known as one-time-programmable memory, which is generally implemented as an array of fusible elements that get blown. You can then read back whether the fuse is blown or not.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by rjmx ( 233228 )

        Sorry, but if it's designed to be blown when a large enough current passes through it, it's a fuse. Whether it protects anything or not is irrelevant.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by EvilSS ( 557649 )
      And yet, that is what they, the people who make the chips, refer to it as. If you wish to attend the next meeting of whatever professional or standards organization is in charge of chip industry jargon and argue your case, please feel free.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by grimr ( 88927 )

      It's the correct word. You are assuming fuse always implies a protection device.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

      • It's the correct word. You are assuming fuse always implies a protection device.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

        Maybe the correct word, but lacking critical context.

        When I read "it blows a fuse" I take it to mean the same thing a blown fuse would be in a fuse-box. The fuse blew to protect against greater damage, and things won't fully work again until a physical component is replaced (which seems weird for a chip, but whatever).

        FTA:

        Enabling overclocking will permanently blow the fuse, meaning AMD will know that, at some point, the user has overclocked the processor.

        At a glance I'd call that "trip" (not tip) sensor, t

        • Those are your assumptions. A fuse is nothing more that a part that becomes open circuit when exposed to over current. This makes it useful in protection circuits, but that's not the exclusive application - internal fuses have been common in semiconductors for a long time as one time programmable indicators of state.

          • Those are your assumptions. A fuse is nothing more that a part that becomes open circuit when exposed to over current. This makes it useful in protection circuits, but that's not the exclusive application - internal fuses have been common in semiconductors for a long time as one time programmable indicators of state.

            Sure, but a big part of communication is understanding what assumptions a reader might have, and I think a lot of readers would only have exposure to fuses in the context of protection circuits. So the summary should have clarified that this was being used as a flag and not immediately transition to talk of warranty claims and processor damage.

            • except that your version is that its when you specifically have the erroneous assumptions...

              because you still wont accept that your definition of a fuse is simply wrong and is not representative of people in general

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by jvkjvk ( 102057 )

              >Sure, but a big part of communication is understanding what assumptions a reader might have, and I think a lot of readers would only have exposure to fuses in the context of protection circuits

              And yet, in that article, as you pointed out yourself:

              "Enabling overclocking will permanently blow the fuse, meaning AMD will know that, at some point, the user has overclocked the processor."

              And then you go on to correctly assess what that means.

              So it really doesn't matter that you don't think it's a fuse, or tha

              • >Sure, but a big part of communication is understanding what assumptions a reader might have, and I think a lot of readers would only have exposure to fuses in the context of protection circuits

                And yet, in that article, as you pointed out yourself:

                "Enabling overclocking will permanently blow the fuse, meaning AMD will know that, at some point, the user has overclocked the processor."

                And then you go on to correctly assess what that means.

                So it really doesn't matter that you don't think it's a fuse, or that it doesn't meet what you think a fuse should do. The article should disabuse your assumptions if you read it, because it did that.

                My issue was never with the article, I read the article and it makes sure to inform the reader that the fuse is there as a flag both in the title and the first sentence. They did a good job of subtly informing the user of exactly what this kind of fuse was for.

                My issue was with the /. summary, if one reads the summary with what I suspect to be the commonly understood definition of a fuse (protection circuit) the summary does very little to correct that misconception and instead confuses the reader. It's not

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by jvkjvk ( 102057 )

                  >My issue was with the /. summary, if one reads the summary with what I suspect to be the commonly understood definition of a fuse (protection circuit) the summary does very little to correct that misconception and instead confuses the reader.

                  Lol. Been around Slashdot much? I agree with you, it reads as "if you overclock your system this fuse protects the system and lets other people know that you overclocked". Well, while it would be nice for everything to be spelled out properly in Slashdot summaries,

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by batkiwi ( 137781 )

          It's an industry term being used correctly.

          When bakers talk about oven spring they don't mean a metal coil has "boinged" the bread, just because that's what someone might think of.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mjwx ( 966435 )

      It's more like a "tip sensor". "Fuse" implies protection from something. Shuts off something. Not the case here.

      Fuse specifically refers to a device with a wire or fusible metal that created a physical break in a circuit when the current reaches a certain amperage. If you're going to be pedantic at least be accurate.

      Colloquially, fuse has come to mean any safety device, such as RCDs which do not have any fusible materials and can be reset. In the colloquial sense fuse is not inaccurate. Maybe not the best, but probably a good simile for people who are not electrical engineers.

  • Cool! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Tablizer ( 95088 ) on Wednesday December 13, 2023 @02:55PM (#64079551) Journal

    Make it smoke and catch fire, I want drama! Bring back Trek O.S. exploding consoles. That's how space travel should be.

    • It still occasionally happens, but I haven't personally seen it in 20 years. The odour is very easy to identify if there isn't a big enough puff of smoke to see.

      Burnt electronics reek.

  • I am soooo glad to hear that no one ever will hear from AMD support - "I'm sorry but the overclocking fuse had been blown". That will never, ever, happen.

  • Should be great for the used market (Score:5, Interesting)

    by t0qer ( 230538 ) on Wednesday December 13, 2023 @03:02PM (#64079575) Homepage Journal

    I always see ads for stuff like, "Was not used in a crypto rig" or "Was never overclocked" This is great, it gives consumers buying these systems second hand a way to check if the CPU was overclocked. Now if they do the same for the graphics card, that'd be a win.

    • I always thought the Dunning-Krugerrand miners underclock their rigs because the lower power consumption offsets the lower output easily?

      • Thats true for Etherium miners at least, but isn't necessarily the case for all crypto. Even though Etherium didn't benefit from core clocks, miners might have tried to OC the memory. Even if it's not being overclocked, it was likely still being run 24/7 and in an environment where it may have been running hotter due to poor cooling. There have also been some reports of people getting cards that were damaged when a miner tried to "refurbish" them to make them look new or at least like they hadn't been worke

        • Depends on if it's a pro mining shop in a data center or my nephew who hand built a box and stuffed it in a closet.

          You don't want my nephew's equipment. I helped him with some of the setup when he got stuck. It was his first build, ever. The box is a shit show and he's lucky he got it to boot at all.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by a5y ( 938871 )

      This is how I see it. Anyone wanting to "drive it like a rental" can expect to have to admit it and accept selling it at a discount or else discover that auction sites and payment processes have been dealing with deceptive sales for decades and don't stand for that shit.

    • I always see ads for stuff like, "Was not used in a crypto rig" or "Was never overclocked" This is great, it gives consumers buying these systems second hand a way to check if the CPU was overclocked. Now if they do the same for the graphics card, that'd be a win.

      Yeah I'd definitely buy the blown fuse one. These days where CPU/GPUs dynamically ramp themselves up to a thermal or power limits it's the overclockers who likely put very high end cooling on their devices. Mum and pop's computer on the other hand is the one hitting Tj_Max with a blocked fan in a case with no airflow getting hit by varying loads causing constant temperature spiking around.

      Give me an overclocker's well treated CPU any day. Hell give me a crypto miner's GPU. Those guys have a tendency to unde

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mjwx ( 966435 )

      I always see ads for stuff like, "Was not used in a crypto rig" or "Was never overclocked" This is great, it gives consumers buying these systems second hand a way to check if the CPU was overclocked. Now if they do the same for the graphics card, that'd be a win.

      The crypto nonsense is why you can't buy a used GPU unless you know the person who's owned it from new.

      PC components are relatively cheap anyway that buying used is rarely worth it.

      Also with Crypto farms, the issue wasn't that most cards were OC'd, rather that they were running at full power 24/7 with nothing but stock coolers in an open air room (so crappy cooling conditions to begin with).

  • Try overvoltaging, and enjoy the fireworks!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by EvilSS ( 557649 )
      It's called overvolting, and it's actually a thing that sometimes gets done, intentionally, in the overclocking world.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Dwedit ( 232252 )

      Undervolting is where it's at. Same clock speed, same performance, less heat, less power consumption.

  • With Zen4 based Ryzen, clock speeds will automatically go up based on the temperature of the CCD, which was 95 degrees C on the Ryzen 7000X processors. So, the better your cooling, the higher the clock speed is. This is not "overclocking" in the normal sense of the word, and does not trigger the warning about potential damage due to MANUALLY changing settings. Now, if Threadripper works the same way, you would not trigger that "you have overclocked" mechanism, unless you go into the BIOS and try to ma

    • With Zen4 based Ryzen

      All Ryzens have operated like this. Zen 2 was just the ones that started pushing the envelope really hard. Yes Threadrippers do it too.

  • Does the CPU keep working, and can it remain overclocked? Is this just so a service technician can detect it has been overclocked? Normally I assume a fuse needs to be replaced.

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