ASUS Blames AMD For Overheating ROG RX 5700 Cards!

ASUS is blaming AMD for the overheating problems affecting their ROG Strix Radeon RX 5700 and ROG Strix Radeon RX 5700 XT cards!

Find out what’s going on, and whether ASUS was right to blame AMD for the overheating ROG graphics cards!

 

Overheating ASUS ROG RX 5700 Cards : What’s Going On?

The ASUS ROG Strix Radeon RX 5700 XT and Radeon RX 5700 are two of the more premium and expensive RX 5700 series graphics cards in the market.

Instead of using the reference AMD design, both ASUS ROG cards use premium alloy chokes, solid polymer capacitors, triple fans with axial fan blades, and a large and heavy heatsink.

They also feature the ASUS MaxContact Technology, which allows for TWICE the contact surface with the GPU for maximum thermal transfer.

Despite such an impressive list of premium power and cooling capabilities, users noticed that their expensive ASUS ROG RX 5700 cards keep overheating.

Some even pointed out that the screws mounting the cooler were “loose”, and that this overheating problem could be resolved by tightening those screws, or adding washers.

Recommended : ASUS TUF RX 5700 Cards Are Also Overheating, Remember?

 

Overheating ASUS ROG RX 5700 Cards : ASUS Blames AMD

ASUS offered BIOS updates to fix the issue, but that failed because the problem wasn’t firmware in nature.

They finally folded on 14 February 2020, admitting that their cooler (with MaxContact Technology) was not secured tightly enough.

However, ASUS blamed AMD for that mistake, claiming that AMD recommended a mounting pressure that was much too low.

They actually penned an article, and created this pressure vs temperature chart to prove that they were not at fault, and users should blame AMD.

We’d like to address user concerns related to the thermal performance and cooler mounting pressure we use on ROG Strix Radeon RX 5700-series graphics cards.

During the design phase, AMD shares documents with our engineers that outline specifications and tolerances to ensure performance and reliability margins are maintained. For the Radeon RX 5700 series of GPUs, AMD recommends the following mounting pressure range for coolers:

Initial batches of ROG Strix 5700-series graphics cards were built following AMD’s guidelines. After receiving user reports regarding temperature issues, we performed extended R&D testing to find the optimal PSI range for our graphics cards without compromising GPU reliability. 

As a result, all ROG Strix Radeon RX 5700-series graphics cards shipped from January 2020 forward feature new screws that increase cooler mounting pressure to 50-60 PSI, resulting in improved heat transfer from the GPU to the heatsink.

Of course, we are committed to supporting our customers. We would like to offer the same benefits of the new mounting screws to users that have already purchased an ROG Strix Radeon RX 5700-series graphics card. If you already have one of these cards and would like it modified to use the new mounting screws, please contact your nearest ASUS service center starting in March of 2020* and we’ll happily perform the upgrade for you.

To determine whether your graphics card is eligible for this free upgrade, please consult the following table of model numbers. For further assistance or information, please contact your local ASUS customer support team.

ROG Strix Radeon RX 5700 XT series ROG Strix Radeon RX 5700 series
90YV0D90-M0NA00 (Universal)
90YV0D90-M0TA00 (Taiwan)
90YV0D90-M0CA00 (China)
90YV0D90-M0IA00 (India)
90YV0D90-MTAA00 (North America)
90YV0D90-M0AA00 (North America)
90YV0D90-M0NB00 (Bulk pack)
90YV0DD0-M0NA00 (Universal)
90YV0DD0-M0TA00 (Taiwan)
90YV0DD0-M0CA00 (China)
90YV0DD0-M0IA00 (India)
90YV0DD0-MTAA00 (North America)
90YV0DD0-M0AA00 (North America)
90YV0DD0-M0NB00 (Bulk pack)

We’d like to apologize for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your continued loyalty and trust in ROG.

 

Overheating ASUS ROG RX 5700 Cards : Was It AMD’s Fault?

Now, we are not in the business of casting aspersions at ASUS’ claims. But let’s consider what they said logically.

AMD Recommended A Mounting Pressure Of 30-40 PSI

We do not have access to AMD’s engineering specifications, but it would be logical that the mounting pressure they recommended in those specifications would be for their reference design.

The ASUS ROG Strix cards use a custom 2.7-slot cooler design, with triple fans, and the ASUS MaxContact Technology. They even come with a reinforced frame, presumably to support higher mounting pressures.

So it would not be logical for the brilliant engineers at ASUS to simply use whatever mounting pressure AMD recommended for the reference design.

Initial ROG Strix Batches Were Built Following AMD Guidelines

ASUS also offers a reference design model like many other brands, but that card which is based on the AMD reference design and guidelines do NOT have an overheating problem.

It would be really odd for ASUS to apply reference design guidelines to the radically-different design used for the ROG Strix Radeon RX 5700 and ROG Strix Radeon RX 5700 XT models…

ASUS Performed Extended Testing To Find The Optimal PSI Range After User Complaints

This is a puzzling statement, because it suggests that they shipped their ROG Strix cards without performing enough tests to determine the optimal PSI range for their custom cooler.

One would also expect ASUS to perform stress tests on these premium card designs, to make sure they work properly… before they are qualified for production.

While it is possible for any product to have bugs, overheating due to loose screws seem hard to miss…

New ASUS ROG Strix Cards Shipped With Higher Mounting Pressure Since January 2020

If the ASUS engineering team were already aware that the mounting pressure was much too low by November or December 2019, why did they wait until 14 February 2020 to announce it?

It is unlikely that they were preparing to distribute replacement mounting screws to their customer support teams worldwide, because they announced that those new mounting screws will NOT be available until sometime in March 2020.

But AMD will be glad to know that they are not being blamed for the delay, just COVID-19. LOL!

 

Overheating RX 5700 Cards : Are Other Brands Affected?

This overheating issue does not seem to be a problem with other brands with custom coolers.

And as far as we can tell, reference designs from ASUS and other brands do not have overheating issues.

So it would be interesting to see ASUS explain why only their ROG Strix RX 5700 and ROG Strix RX 5700 XT cards are overheating…

 

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