Friday, September 30th 2022
ASRock's X670 Motherboards Have Numerous Issues... With DRAM Stickers
This one is likely to go down ASRock's internal history as a failure of sticking proportions. Namely, it seems that some ASRock motherboards in the newly-released AM5 X670 / X670E family carry stickers overlaid on the DDR5 slots. The idea was to provide users with a handy, visually informative guide on DDR5 memory stick installations and a warning on abnormally long boot times that were to be expected, according to RAM stick capacity. But it seems that these low-quality stickers are being torn apart as users attempt to remove them, leaving behind remnants that are extremely difficult to clean up and which can block DRAM installation entirely or partially. I, for one, would never install a DDR5 module if I thought there was a chance for some paper bits to have fallen on to the DRAM slots - paper and glue bits within the DRAM slots don't seem particularly conducive to a successful motherboard POST.
In the meantime, the company has already announced that it's not only aware of the problem, it's willing to accept RMAs for motherboards that sport the impossible-to-cleanly-peel stickers (consumers should contact their retailers and e-tailers for the exchange). Information around forums where this issue is being discussed don't seem to point to any instance of actual motherboard damage resulting from the stickers - enough patience or an entire motherboard exchange seem to be two solutions to this problem. The company also announced that its latest motherboard batches on AMD's X670 chipsets no longer carry the stickers themselves, due to several BIOS-level improvements that have brought down the boot times, making the informative stickers unneeded. Still, when one takes into account the consumer and company cost of activating an RMA process, it seems that the company shouldn't have skimped on the sticker quality itself.
Sources:
Reddit, ASRock
In the meantime, the company has already announced that it's not only aware of the problem, it's willing to accept RMAs for motherboards that sport the impossible-to-cleanly-peel stickers (consumers should contact their retailers and e-tailers for the exchange). Information around forums where this issue is being discussed don't seem to point to any instance of actual motherboard damage resulting from the stickers - enough patience or an entire motherboard exchange seem to be two solutions to this problem. The company also announced that its latest motherboard batches on AMD's X670 chipsets no longer carry the stickers themselves, due to several BIOS-level improvements that have brought down the boot times, making the informative stickers unneeded. Still, when one takes into account the consumer and company cost of activating an RMA process, it seems that the company shouldn't have skimped on the sticker quality itself.
75 Comments on ASRock's X670 Motherboards Have Numerous Issues... With DRAM Stickers
Even JayzTwoCents was on the verge of calling customer support when his system boot looped 10 times before memory training was complete.
Almost 7 minutes with 4 modules installed is a long time that many people would not expect so the intention was good - to make sure people were clearly aware how long the first boot may take. The execution was poor though. They should have used vinyl stickers that cost only a tiny amount more but peel off much easier.If a bit of paper or glue makes it's way in to the slots themselves though it is a lot harder to remove.
They really shouldn't have cheaped out on the sticker.I never RTFM as it's not hard to build a PC. The intention was good as many people would scratch their head if they had to wait almost 7 minutes for the first boot.
That said, if it took that long then I would at least consider reading the manual but hey, not everyone is that clever.
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Just look at their websites, especially shopping ones, and compare them with the rest of the world... (Rakuten.co.jp vs Amazon.com, for example)
They should had just throw a piece of printed paper in the motherboard antistatic bag, instead of stickers. I mean, even if the stickers look as a good idea when doing the testing in the labs, who can warranty that the glue will remain in good condition in the box, if that box remains on a shop shelf for 1 year under various room temperatures?
It was a mistake, they are going to fix it and did the right thing with opening RMA for those who are not comfortable dealing with the issue themselves.
I don't know if a story about it was on TPU, but TS had one:
www.techspot.com/news/95935-asrock-creates-new-am5-bios-resolve-previously-reported.html
Sounds like ASRock wanted to make sure product was available as soon as possible before resolving the boot issue, so they put their product out the door with a sticker on the boards that do not have the most up to date BIOS to inform consumers of the issue. This problem should be very limited and hopefully, aside from a pain in the ass annoyance to some that purchased these boards, resolved in any future ASRock board that comes out.
i've used a couple of their boards over the years (including a threadripper board) and have generally been happy with them. but if this happened to me, i'd pack this turd and return it. i wouldn't even try to to clean the residue off. their solution is going to make the problem they set out to solve even worse. this decision was made by pencil pushers with "business" degrees, not engineers.
This was just a careless and thoughtless decision, probably a knee jerk reaction to the bad press over memory training times, it's not like it's their first time doing motherboards or that RAM stick positions is a new thing.
Also rubbing alcohol will take that glue right off btw. Let it soak and get some tweezers.
Ironically it seems the stickers were maybe too good at being stickers!