AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX overheating issue could be caused by a faulty vapor chamber

[midian182]

A (very) hot potato Are AMD's Radeon RX 7900 XTX reference graphics cards heading for a recall? That's the nightmare scenario team red could be facing after legendary overclocker Roman 'der8auer' Hartung discovered a potential reason for the cards' overheating issues: a faulty vapor chamber.

As a recap, we heard a couple of weeks ago that some AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX MBA (Made By AMD) reference models are experiencing thermal issues involving GPU hotspot temperatures, or the maximum temperature read by the sensor, reaching as high as 110C.

der8auer hoped to uncover the cause of the high temps, so he purchased four Radeon RX 7900 XTX cards to perform some tests. It was discovered that the installation orientation made a difference, with horizontal setups improving temps by 20 degrees, but the overhearing issue still reared its head after just one minute once the burn-in test started.

The overclocker also investigated factors such as cooler weight and gravity to see if they were influencing the high temps. He used a specially designed stand to confirm these were not part of the problem. Mounting pressure was also ruled out as a cause by dismantling the cooler, removing the support bracket, and shortening the standoffs by 1.5mm.

That left one theory remaining: a problem with the vapor chamber, which could be related to the choice of material or a design flaw, possibly preventing the water from traveling back after condensing. der8auer said he is certain this is where the issue lies. He didn't have time to take the chamber apart for further investigation but may do so in a future video.

Stay safe this holiday season. @amdradeon pic.twitter.com/DOpg0f2qaP

— Sasa Marinkovic (@SasaMarinkovic) November 17, 2022

The overheating isn't affecting every Radeon RX 7900 XTX reference card: the one we used in our review didn't show any unusually high temps. However, a defect within the vapor chamber likely means the problem is more widespread than first realized and likely impacts a higher number of users than Nvidia's melting 16-pin 12VHPWR adapter issue, which AMD gleefully mocked in a tweet.

AMD last week said that it was aware of the problem with its RX 7900 XTX reference cards. It advised users experiencing unexpected thermal throttling to contact AMD support.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/97131-amd-radeon-rx-7900-xtx-overheating-issue-could.html

 

[nodfor]

I honestly don't understand why this video is distributed this much. All this "testing" and no def answer, installing a waterblock would have taken a fraction of the time and be way more informative.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Fun fact:
After mocking Nvidia with their "4GB means 4GB" marketing, AMD lost 20% market share the following year. AMD should literally stfu and let their products speak for themselves - assuming they aren't trash....

Oh... that's why they do it....

 

[VariableSpike]

At the end of the day, it's an issue with the reference cards only, and while a **** up, it's happened before and will happen again, and at the end of the day, most people buy AIB cards anyway, because they need all the sparkly lights......

 

[Jrfeimst2]

I honestly don't understand why this video is distributed this much. All this "testing" and no def answer, installing a waterblock would have taken a fraction of the time and be way more informative.

Yes he did get an answer because he eliminated all other scenarios. By process of elimination he proved that there is something wrong with the valor chamber. Yes, he could have just put a water block on but that would not have eliminated the vapor chamber unless he did all the other situations.

 

[Jrfeimst2]

AMD needs to take care of their own house before they start mocking other companies for using 16 pin adapters. I don’t care if it’s just reference coolers. People still bought them since well they are sold out and AMD needs to fix the situation and stop running their mouths about other companies. This was a disaster launch honestly. No where near the performance they promised, no where near the efficiency they promised, throttling cards, supposedly poor launch drivers… Take care of your own house AMD!

 

[bviktor]

Fun fact:
After mocking Nvidia with their "4GB means 4GB" marketing, AMD lost 20% market share the following year. AMD should literally stfu and let their products speak for themselves - assuming they aren't trash....

Oh... that's why they do it....

Myabe, just maybe, correlation doesn't mean causation, especially when we're talking about a sample of ONE.

 

[Beerfloat]

I honestly don't understand why this video is distributed this much. All this "testing" and no def answer, installing a waterblock would have taken a fraction of the time and be way more informative.

How would replacing the cooling help narrow down what is going wrong with the cooling?

 

[Beerfloat]

Myabe, just maybe, correlation doesn't mean causation, especially when we're talking about a sample of ONE.

The mounting orientation being a factor in reaching these absurd 'AMD normal' temperatures is rather widely reported.

It seems a heck of a lot easier to actually find people who are affected by this than, say, the 50-odd globally who melted their 12VHPWR connectors by not plugging them in properly.

 

[waclark]

Myabe, just maybe, correlation doesn't mean causation, especially when we're talking about a sample of ONE.

Not sure what you mean by a sample of one. der8auer tested 4 cards and was easily able to reproduce the problem. From what I saw he pretty much eliminated most of the other suspected causes. This will require additional analysis of the vapor chamber design. It's possible, I suppose, that it could be a manufacturing defect. Maybe some debris in the VC is prohibiting the water from circulating properly limiting the heat transfer.

 

[DSirius]

Let s make a fuss noise about 7900XTX maybe people will forget about Nvidia burning in flame (literally) their computers.
Pitiful that some youtubers are clickbaiting to increase their subs. It worked for Nexus guy, der8auer is following.
How unforgiving they are with AMD and how merciful they are with all Nvidia wrongdoings. It is easy for them to trash AMD for wrongdoings while in the same time avoiding biting the Nvidia hand which feed and pay them behind the scenes. And if some dare to talk about Nvidia wrongdoings, Nvidia just showed them how easily they can blackmail them whenever they want. Der8auer guy did not even make an English video about 4090 burning 16 pin connector. How rightfully of him, though it is understandable, he did not get the Nvidia approval, so he just ignored the 16 pin power connector melting entirely.
We do not forget, and between 4090 and 7900XTX, Nvidia melting power connector is definitely the worst.
Nvidia, hand in hand with these 'famous' youtubers just told to all 4090 customers that they are too stupid and do not know how to plug the great 16 pin power connector, which by the way was perfectly designed and promoted by Nvidia.
And because the 16 pin power connector is so perfect, than Nvidia should offer an extinguisher to all 4090 buyers to avoid a class action lawsuit.
In the red team garden, AMD should lower their prices, improve their drivers and let OEM make their cards instead.
In fact both AMD and Nvidia should stop making this nonsense reference card design only to fool customers with a 'lower' price which is a blatant lie.

 

[McMurdeR]

Let s make a fuss noise about 7900XTX maybe people will forget about Nvidia burning in flame (literally) their computers.
Pitiful that some youtubers are clickbaiting to increase their subs. It worked for Nexus guy, der8auer is following.
How unforgiving they are with AMD and how merciful they are with all Nvidia wrongdoings. It is easy for them to trash AMD for wrongdoings .

It's not about flaming one company or another, it's about the people who have paid money for this stuff. If reporting on these issues is how Gamersnexus and der8auer are making their bread, then more power to them. Gamersnexus in particular has done sterling work in PC tech consumer advocacy.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Myabe, just maybe, correlation doesn't mean causation, especially when we're talking about a sample of ONE.

I'm just aware of a trend.

 

[Rdmetz]

Let s make a fuss noise about 7900XTX maybe people will forget about Nvidia burning in flame (literally) their computers.
Pitiful that some youtubers are clickbaiting to increase their subs. It worked for Nexus guy, der8auer is following.
How unforgiving they are with AMD and how merciful they are with all Nvidia wrongdoings. It is easy for them to trash AMD for wrongdoings while in the same time avoiding biting the Nvidia hand which feed and pay them behind the scenes. And if some dare to talk about Nvidia wrongdoings, Nvidia just showed them how easily they can blackmail them whenever they want. Der8auer guy did not even make an English video about 4090 burning 16 pin connector. How rightfully of him, though it is understandable, he did not get the Nvidia approval, so he just ignored the 16 pin power connector melting entirely.
We do not forget, and between 4090 and 7900XTX, Nvidia melting power connector is definitely the worst.
Nvidia, hand in hand with these 'famous' youtubers just told to all 4090 customers that they are too stupid and do not know how to plug the great 16 pin power connector, which by the way was perfectly designed and promoted by Nvidia.
And because the 16 pin power connector is so perfect, than Nvidia should offer an extinguisher to all 4090 buyers to avoid a class action lawsuit.
In the red team garden, AMD should lower their prices, improve their drivers and let OEM make their cards instead.
In fact both AMD and Nvidia should stop making this nonsense reference card design only to fool customers with a 'lower' price which is a blatant lie.

Calm down friend AMD is still all the (cheap) people's favorite "hero" and the influencers still know that the real wins is pushing amd to all those viewers who (somehow) still think they will come out on top of Nvidia.

You know that is if AMD doesn't just become another Nvidia charging insane prices for what they deliver and naming products up a tier to make them SEEM like they are better suited than they really are..... Oh wait....

 

[Rdmetz]

It's not about flaming one company or another, it's about the people who have paid money for this stuff. If reporting on these issues is how Gamersnexus and der8auer are making their bread, then more power to them. Gamersnexus in particular has done sterling work in PC tech consumer advocacy.

Yea GN Steve makes some pretty dumb jokes (or jabs) as he calls them but typically he is PRETTY fair in dishing them and when it comes to actual reviews and their methodology as well as what they cover.... They are absolutely impartial and one of the few review teams I still have respect for.... Some of the other guys (or Steve's).... Not so much.

To give some credit to HUB though no matter how I feel about many of their choices in "balancing" review coverage...They haven't held back on AMD and many of their failures recently....

They are kinda hard to ignore so it's likley just them reading the room but still good to hear....

Or maybe it's just good to hear that "the room" has finally opened their eyes a bit and the shine they saw on amd has somewhat dimmed...

So maybe HUB is just doing like they always do... Saying whatever "the room" wants to hear... Lol

 

[Arbie]

So maybe HUB is just doing like they always do... Saying whatever "the room" wants to hear... Lol

That's a scurrilous remark. The HUB guys explain and defend every conclusion they come to. Backed by more testing than you'll find anywhere else - herculean amounts of work reported for free. They are entirely consumer / viewer-focused.

 

[loki1944]

Well I meanthis lack of qc is not just AMD; look at the detonating Nvidia cards with that Amazon MMO: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/amazon-new-world-gpu-deaths-caused-by-hardware-not-game