Ryzen 7 Chips Are Locking Up PCs, AMD Knows Why (Updated)

Update: Since posting this article, AMD have been in touch to clarify the situation and provided PCMag with the following statement:

"We are aware of one instance where a user-built application utilizing FMA3 code could result in a system hang. We have identified the root cause and will soon release BIOS changes to motherboard vendors that will resolve the issue. Please watch for new BIOS updates from your motherboard vendor to incorporate this fix."

AMD also went on to explain that, "this is only observed in a single instance of user-built FMA3 stress test code built for Haswell-generation CPUs. End users have not seen system hangs from this in real applications."

Original story:

AMD threw Intel a curve ball in February when the chip company announced its Ryzen CPUs would launch in early March. They are fast and significantly cheaper than Intel's equivalent Core processors. It even led to some price cuts by Intel.

But with Ryzen chips now making their way into desktop PCs, AMD experienced its first major problem. All variants of the Ryzen 7 desktop processors are locking up PCs. The issue is related to FMA3 code, which are a set of streaming SIMD Extensions (SSE) that can greatly enhance the performance of floating point operations carried out by the chips. FMA3 isn't new. AMD added support for the instruction set back in 2012.

Thankfully for Ryzen chip owners, AMD knows what the problem is but isn't giving out much in the way of details. According to Digital Trends, the fix requires changes to the BIOS on motherboards. AMD is working on those changes, which will then be distributed to motherboard manufacturers who will then issue a patch.

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For anyone experiencing these Ryzen system hangs, it's a case of patiently waiting and checking your motherboard's support page for the required BIOS update.

Although embarrassing for AMD, it's also being viewed as a lucky break for the company. The same FMA3 problem would have been present on its data center processors called Naples. Catching and fixing the bug before Naples ships in the second quarter saves AMD a potential major headache. In other words, desktop PC users are much more forgiving and easier to deal with than data centers who have adopted your tech.