[German]Can a driver update bricks AMD graphics cards (AMD 6800/6900 GPUs) from AMD? There are hints from users that exactly this might have happened after a driver update – whereby we are talking about WHQL Windows drivers certified by Microsoft. Here is some information about this issue.
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The issue has been brought to my attention by readers – but I had also seen it on Twitter and at neowin.net. The message: beware of updating the Windows WHQL driver for AMD graphics cards (AMD 6800/6900 GPUs) – they can be bricked.
The background is a video from krisfixgermany on YouTube, and a Facebook post. The YouTuber deals with the repair of graphics cards (see krisfix.de). The YouTuber states that he received 61 graphics cards of the Radeon RX 6800 and 6900 series, 48 of which were completely dead and basically could not be repaired.
(Source: YouTube)
When checking the electronics via multimeter, KrisFix-Germany found that the traces for the SoC, the memory and the memory controller were all shorted. As the cause for the short-circuit, he suspects that the chips themselves broke and damaged the metal layers of the PCB. KrisFix-Germany wrote about this:
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I decided to disassemble the card again after several people mentioned in the comments that they noticed a crack in the processor.
He shared the photos o Facebook –
the surface of the GPU chips show discolorations that indicate thermal overload.
There were then a number of user comments on reddit.com that reported hints of the same problems in connection with driver updates to AMD's Windows WHQL driver 22.11.2. User Intencities92 writes:
This is crazy. My RX 6900xt recently died. About a day after I installed the newest driver.
Another comment sounds similar:
It is crazy to see this because my 6900xt bought directly from amd died around the 20th of december. I luckily was still within warranty and AMD gave me my money back since they said that they couldn't replace my card.
Count mine in. I had to replace my 6900 xt a month ago. I upgraded to the newest drivers at the time.i also used the auto undervolt feature in adrenaline software. then, I played Black Mesa with every setting on ultra at 144hz 4k for an hour. I shut the PC down. The GPU never came back on the next day.
Edit – my GPU is a reference 6900 xt model. GPU died after I updated to 22.11.2 recommended whql. Never mined with it. Just benchmarking/gaming/productivity
Currently, it is difficult to assess whether it is simply early failures of the graphics cards, or whether the Windows WHQL driver 22.11.2 from AMD plays a role. Thus, those who use an AMD graphics card should perhaps keep an eye on the issue.
