Almost a year ago, ASRock found itself at the centre of a worrying problem involving AMD Ryzen 9000 processors.
Some owners reported their CPUs suddenly failing to start their PCs, while others reported processors that appeared to have been permanently damaged.
At the time, ASRock released BIOS updates — the software built into a motherboard that controls how the computer starts and communicates with its hardware — and promised to investigate the issue.
You might therefore expect the problem to have disappeared by now.
Unfortunately, the story isn't quite that simple.
What happened?
The problem first attracted attention because of reports involving AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D, a popular high-performance gaming processor.
Some users with ASRock motherboards found that their computers would suddenly stop starting. In some cases, the motherboard displayed an error code suggesting there was a problem with the CPU.
There were also reports of processors being permanently damaged.
An investigation by Gamers Nexus found that ASRock motherboards appeared unusually frequently among the reported failures it had collected. However, these were user reports rather than a controlled test, so they don't tell us exactly how common the problem was.
Importantly, not every "dead" CPU was actually dead.
Some systems could be brought back to life simply by changing or rolling back the motherboard's BIOS. This suggested that some of the problems were caused by the motherboard's software rather than a physically damaged processor.
ASRock changed its BIOS
ASRock initially pointed towards memory compatibility as one cause of the problems and released BIOS updates to improve compatibility with Ryzen 9000 processors.
However, further investigation raised questions about how some ASRock motherboards were managing the power supplied to Ryzen processors.
ASRock subsequently changed these settings in another BIOS update.
The company also said it would support customers whose motherboards had been affected and cover shipping costs for relevant warranty returns.
This made it clear that the problem was more complicated than simply a faulty batch of CPUs.
So why are we still talking about it?
This is the interesting part.
You might expect the issue to have been resolved after those BIOS updates.
But ASRock was still working on Ryzen 9000-related problems almost a year later.
In February 2026, the company issued another statement saying it was continuing to investigate reports concerning Ryzen 9000 processors and was working with AMD to improve BIOS functionality and system stability.
ASRock then released another BIOS update aimed at improving compatibility and stability, including fixing a problem where some systems could fail to start.
In other words, this wasn't simply a case of one bad BIOS update being released and quickly forgotten.
Does this mean ASRock motherboards are still damaging CPUs?
Not necessarily.
There's an important difference between a computer failing to start and a CPU being physically damaged.
ASRock has not said that its current motherboards are damaging Ryzen processors. In fact, the company previously disputed the idea that its BIOS was directly responsible for physical CPU damage.
At the same time, ASRock has made several changes to its BIOS software and continued releasing updates aimed at Ryzen 9000 compatibility and stability.
There have also been individual reports of Ryzen processors failing on ASRock motherboards, although isolated reports can't tell us how widespread the problem actually is.
What should ASRock owners do?
There's no need to panic if you have an ASRock AM5 motherboard.
However, if you're using a Ryzen 9000-series processor, it's worth checking that your motherboard is running the latest BIOS available for your particular model.
A BIOS update can improve compatibility and fix problems that might otherwise cause crashes or prevent a PC from starting.
If your computer is already working normally, don't start changing settings without a reason. And if your PC suddenly refuses to start, contact the motherboard or PC manufacturer's support team before assuming that your CPU has failed.
The bottom line
The ASRock Ryzen 9000 controversy has lasted considerably longer than many people expected.
What started as reports of PCs refusing to start developed into a wider investigation involving motherboard BIOS software, power settings and reports of damaged processors.
ASRock has released several updates and continues to work with AMD on Ryzen 9000 stability.
That doesn't prove that current ASRock motherboards are "killing" Ryzen CPUs.
But it does show why keeping your motherboard's BIOS up to date can be important — and why the software running inside your motherboard can have just as much impact on your PC as the hardware itself.
Do you have an issue with your computer? Feel free to get in touch with one our friendly support team for help.
