Towards the end of October, just a few days before AMD is set to announce its RX 7000 series, we published a report regarding a leaked cooler design for these RDNA 3-based cards. While it would have been nice to see the traditional 8-pin power connectors instead of the 12-pin new ones on Nvidia cards, due to reports of melting and even burning, however, we didn't take into account the possible failure of the cooler design on AMD bits.
However, shortly after the reference RX 7900 XTX was released, users began reporting very high temperatures in hotspots of up to 110°C. These reference cards are called "MBA" or "Made By AMD" and aftermarket partner models of AIBs such as Sapphire and PowerColor are not affected. However, any MBA card sold by these partners will be affected.
However, AMD adds that not all users will see this issue because it is limited. AMD recently issued a statement to Tom's Hardware saying that it was aware of the thermal throttling issues:
- We are aware that a limited number of users are experiencing unexpected thermal throttling on AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics cards (AMD reference models). Users experiencing unexpected thermal throttling in an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX should contact AMD Support.
After this and more testing by overclocking expert and popular YouTuber der8auer, AMD has confirmed that the problem is indeed related to its cooler design, possibly to the vapor chamber. In a statement to Hardwareluxx's Andreas Schilling, AMD said:
- We're working to determine why the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics cards have unexpectedly limited performance. Based on our observations so far, we believe that the issue is related to the thermal solution used in the AMD reference design and occurs in a limited number of cards sold. We are working to resolve this issue for affected cards. Customers who encounter this unexpected limitation should contact AMD Support.
AMD again stated that the problem is limited and that not all RX 7900 XTX cards should be affected. However, it is a good idea to monitor hotspot temperatures while gaming with utilities such as MSI Afterburner. In case you are seeing high temperatures of nearly 110°C or thermal throttling issues, AMD encourages users to contact its support team. You can find this information on this page on the official AMD website.
While the Nvidia 12-pin problem is due in part to user error and the new uncomfortable design, the 7900 XTX hotspot heating issue is entirely on AMD because it's the affected reference card. In general, the latest generation of cards from both AMD and Nvidia have outperformed in terms of price and quality.