Wednesday, April 2nd 2025
GPU Die Defects Found in PowerColor RX 9070 XT Graphics Card
Surface defects on the GPU die of a PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 XT Hellhound have been linked to excessive thermal hotspots, according to analysis following Igor's Lab's investigation. Microscopic examination revealed 1,934 pits across the silicon die surface despite proper thermal interface material application. The defects affect over one percent of the chip's surface area, with the largest measuring 12.59 µm in depth and 212.36 µm in diameter—significantly exceeding industry tolerances. These imperfections impede heat transfer, causing localized temperatures to reach 113°C, exceeding the 110°C threshold for RDNA GPUs and triggering thermal throttling. The defects appear to stem from flaws in the backgrinding process that thins silicon wafers for packaging. Improper process control creates surface irregularities that compromise thermal conductivity and structural integrity.
The discovery raises questions about the effectiveness of automated optical inspection systems in detecting subtle surface abnormalities. TSMC, the maker of these chips, uses optical recognition tools to see if any defects occurred. AMD stated: "We are aware of the reported issue and believe this to be an isolated incident. We are working with our partners and internal teams to understand the issue." The company maintains this is an isolated case, though the findings suggest potential gaps in quality control protocols. Users experiencing thermal issues with affected RX 9070 XT units should initiate the RMA process for replacement while AMD and PowerColor investigate whether these defects exist beyond the identified sample. We hope no further issues are present, and so far, PowerColor hasn't received any customer complaints. We are on the lookout for further situation development. We reviewed PowerColor's Radeon RX 9070 Hellhound, and found no issues on our unit, so this indeed remains an isolated case so far.
Source:
Igor's Lab
The discovery raises questions about the effectiveness of automated optical inspection systems in detecting subtle surface abnormalities. TSMC, the maker of these chips, uses optical recognition tools to see if any defects occurred. AMD stated: "We are aware of the reported issue and believe this to be an isolated incident. We are working with our partners and internal teams to understand the issue." The company maintains this is an isolated case, though the findings suggest potential gaps in quality control protocols. Users experiencing thermal issues with affected RX 9070 XT units should initiate the RMA process for replacement while AMD and PowerColor investigate whether these defects exist beyond the identified sample. We hope no further issues are present, and so far, PowerColor hasn't received any customer complaints. We are on the lookout for further situation development. We reviewed PowerColor's Radeon RX 9070 Hellhound, and found no issues on our unit, so this indeed remains an isolated case so far.
39 Comments on GPU Die Defects Found in PowerColor RX 9070 XT Graphics Card
We’re talking about 100ths of a mm ffs, the majority of surfaces are not flat, and the sole purpose of TIM is to account and or make up for that fact.
Article seems slapped together to get views without thorough testing.
Conspiracy successfully planted.
Steve is not the only drama queen apparently, many tech outlets exercise their unhinged love for this kind of a publicity. Shocking, disturbing, scam! They need to give their "precise lab testing equipment" a run for the money sometimes. I can understand that.
People that follow this space know very well that the industry (all of them) cost cutting trend had to show its disadvantages, one way or another. Faulty samples or even whole product series is nothing new, and we can only expect more of it in the future. Boo hoo.
I think a mishap during assembly is more likely.
BTW, 200 micrometers is huge in silicon surface finishing.
Looks like one of the photo's shows a crack developped at the edge of a pit.
In my own words what I remember. I will not cross check now.
Igor was notified about a graphic card which got very hot.
IGOR clearly stated this is a special case. And not to make big ballon out of this one card he analysed.
It's the usual igor piece. I fast read it. I did not read in details about his thoughts about how waffers are made and such. If I read it, I'll read it again and than read it very carefully and than I'll write my thoughts there. It's the usual Igor about his viewpoint how things are made, quality process and such. and also criticism why such card went to the market. And criticism why it was not detected from powercolor.I see it from the viewpoint. A customer had problems with the graphic card and asked Igor for help.
edit: cleanup of text a bit
Well Thermal paste topics = 50 / 50
Power supply units = cybernetics guy = 50 / 50 (I dislike all the praise for Corsair psu. I had personally a dead corsair PSU)
Cpu cases - as good as anyone else - why not
monitors = additional information's
newspieces = a lot of copy and paste most of the time
tech basics / electronics basics = read and criticise as I see it differently. I appreciate the motivation to write such articles. It's not very easy to do that.
Fan topic: Gamers nexus for example bought big machine. Which they hardly got in use yet. I think fan testing is complicated. Very complicated.
I mean, heat transfer can be significantly impeded around pits 200 um in diameter if the thickness is roughly the same 200 um or less, so heat from certain areas (above the center of any large pit) travels a significantly longer distance, sideways and up, through the silicon.
It could be mishandling of the chips at any point or some other reason, we just don't know enough at this point