ASRock's X670 Motherboards Have Numerous Issues... With DRAM Stickers

[Raevenlord]

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.



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[K1DNEY_THIEF]

Why are stickers necessary? It's in the manual

 

[Udyr]

Why are stickers necessary? It's in the manual

Agreed. And if they want to be so cheap they can't include a better quality sticker, then just drop the piece of paper in the box or stick it to the front of the manual.

 

[neatfeatguy]

Oh hell no!

It always pissed me off to no end when I purchased a PC game (yep, back in the glory days of physical copies!) when the price sticker wouldn't peel nicely off the box. Especially those stupid fucking price stickers that Best Buy used that doubled as a security tag for the "theft prevention" alarms at the entrances. I spent hours, sometimes, painstakingly try to remove some stickers off boxes because I didn't want them to be a blemish on the boxes. Sadly, thought, those anti-theft price stickers from Best Buy had to stay on because they'd only come off by tearing the box.....I still hate Best Buy for using those price stickers from all those years ago.

If I picked up an ASRock board and the sticker wouldn't peel off and left residue and paper all over everything, I might just break the damn thing in half....well, I would have in my younger days. These days I'd be pissed if I had to drive back to the store I was just at to return for another one or a different board......or worse, have to spend money to return it to an e-tailer to exchange it and then wait days/weeks for the item to get returned, processed and a replacement shipped out.

They could have just made some cheap plastic insert for the DIMMS that had a sticker on the plastic piece - then you just pull the plastic piece out. Or, as already mentioned, people could just consult the user manual.

 

[EatingDirt]

..it seems that the company shouldn't have skimped on the sticker quality itself

Or put the sticker on the M.2 heatsink directly to the right of the slots. Or not used a sticker at all and just use a paper wrap around the M.2 slot, or slotted a piece of paper into the RAM slots.

So many options and they decided to go with the worst one.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Just use a hairdryer and heat up the sticker and remove... not like it is the first time.

 

[Airisom]

I mean, it's an unecessary step people will have to take, but it isn't the end of the world. Just heat it up and pull it off. Clean with isopropyl and air dry. 5min job and you don't have to complain anymore.

 

[ixi]

Why are stickers necessary? It's in the manual

What is manual? Maybe you are thinking of jibberish texts?

Jokes aside. Everyone loves stickers.

 

[bonehead123]

"cheap is as cheap does"

Stupid friggin ASSruk, tryin to save a 1/16 of a cent or so on crapper hole quality stickers...

sooo glad I've neva bought any of their junk

 

[zlobby]

This begs for an Elon meme!

"cheap is as cheap does"

Stupid friggin ASSruk, tryin to save a 1/16 of a cent or so on crapper hole quality stickers...

sooo glad I've neva bought any of their junk

Ironically, their BIOS releases are one of the more solid and frequent now.

 

[ir_cow]

Just buy DDR5-5600. 6000+ is iffy right now until more BIOS updates roll out.

 

[Space Lynx]

im glad i decided to wait after all. damn, sorry to see this. was hoping for asrock to make a come back.

 

[HTC]

Instead of using stickers, perhaps they could have used something that emulates the DIMMs in the connection aspect using a material that can't damage the contacts (plastic, other?), having it connect to the 1st and last DIMM slots only: that material could THEN have a sticker on top of it, so no direct contact between the sticker and the DIMM slots.

To remove said material, simply do it just like removing a DIMM from the 1st and last slots.

That said, if the board's manual already has that info, why is there a need for this in the 1st place?

 

[thewan]

Why are stickers necessary? It's in the manual

if you have been on TPU long enough, you would know that many, as in MANY, people have the aversion to read anything properly, or at all, especially manuals. Including many of the staff here doing reviews or news posts. If a human is forced to take action on it, which is trying their best to cleanly peel off stickers as everyone knows can take a lot of effort and patience, it is most likely they notice it enough to read it and commit it into their head whether they like it or not. It also serves to reduce support calls and requests for refund or RMA because the people above would also usually instantly make a call to Asrock or email Amazon just to rant about their "defective" purchase without bothering to read manuals or read online posts and news.

I guess it backfired and now everyone is calling Asrock and emailing Amazon about disgusting leftover sticker and adhesive instead.

 

[windwhirl]

That said, if the board's manual already has that info, why is there a need for this in the 1st place?

Because apparently people can't be bothered to read a manual or otherwise inform themselves.

 

[Super Firm Tofu]

Just buy DDR5-5600. 6000+ is iffy right now until more BIOS updates roll out.

Have you tested any EXPO kits yet? I haven't had any issues with the one I bought (6000 CL30), other than EXPO/MSI sets SoC voltage at 1.35 (!) when enabled. Dropped back down to 1.02 and haven't seen any problems yet.

Kit and board for reference:

G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo Series AMD EXPO 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR5 6000 (PC5 48000) Desktop memory Model F5-6000J3038F16GX2-TZ5N - Newegg.com

Buy G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo Series AMD EXPO 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR5 6000 (PC5 48000) Desktop memory Model F5-6000J3038F16GX2-TZ5N with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

MSI PRO PRO X670-P WIFI AM5 ATX Motherboards - AMD - Newegg.com

Buy MSI PRO PRO X670-P WIFI DDR5 AM5 AMD Ryzen™ 7000 Series SATA 6Gb/s ATX Motherboards, Wi-Fi 6E, 2.5G Network Solution, Frozr AI Cooling. with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

 

[TheDeeGee]

Paper stickers are a nightmare everywhere.

 

[zlobby]

if you have been on TPU long enough, you would know that many, as in MANY, people have the aversion to read anything properly, or at all, especially manuals. Including many of the staff here doing reviews or news posts. If a human is forced to take action on it, which is trying their best to cleanly peel off stickers as everyone knows can take a lot of effort and patience, it is most likely they notice it enough to read it and commit it into their head whether they like it or not. It also serves to reduce support calls and requests for refund or RMA because the people above would also usually instantly make a call to Asrock or email Amazon just to rant about their "defective" purchase without bothering to read manuals or read online posts and news.

I guess it backfired and now everyone is calling Asrock and emailing Amazon about disgusting leftover sticker and adhesive instead.

Hey, play stupid games, win stupid prizes? I'm sure not reading the manual and screwing up an expensive mobo will teach many people a *very* valuable lesson. One that they will remeber for a lifetime and even teach their grandkids to.

Paper stickers are a nightmare everywhere.

Right! But many companies will skimp even 0.01c/pcs to switch to a proper label. Tells us quite a story, eh?

 

[InVasMani]

AMD glued together chiplets with ASRock glued together memory slots technology. Intel excecutives outside listening in.

 

[Tek-Check]

This issue with stickers is nuts! What a blunder...

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

A sticky mess for sure. there was a pic or two on reddit with the poor peel results.

 

[A Computer Guy]

I guess you can say those boards don't have much appeal in the consumer space right now.

 

[zlobby]

AMD glued together chiplets with ASRock glued together memory slots technology. Intel excecutives outside listening in.

They are more like:

And yet they decide to glue the IHS to the CPU, with toothpaste, nonetheless!

 

[ir_cow]

Have you tested any EXPO kits yet? I haven't had any issues with the one I bought (6000 CL30), other than EXPO/MSI sets SoC voltage at 1.35 (!) when enabled. Dropped back down to 1.02 and haven't seen any problems yet.

I have 4 kits right now. Only played with two of them. Still need to test them on more motherboards. So far I noticed, that after a lockup, 6000 will go into 2:2:1 mode. Sometimes 6000 isn't stable for whatever reason too. If you run memory tests, it throws errors. It has to do with the auto voltages I'm pretty sure. Like mem_s3 (IMC) or SoC isn't high enough on auto, or you can manually set it. But a few resets and the voltages seemly go back up. Welcome to early days of Zen4 DDR5 . I few BIOS updates will fix this I'm sure. for now though, 5600 is hassle free.

 

[Octavean]

Why are stickers necessary? It's in the manual

You know there is always someone who refuses to RTFM,.....