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Some of the Ryzen 7000 series CPUs have reportedly undergone changes on their PCB, where some surface-mount device (SMD) components, such as capacitors, were removed from certain areas.
User Finds Missing Capacitors on Top Half of Ryzen 7800X3D Substrate; Reports Suggest AMD Made the Changes a Few Months Ago, and the Newer Design Doesn’t Affect Operation
A user reported missing capacitors on the top half of their Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU substrate on Chiphell forums. Typically, these capacitors are located in multiple places around the Integrated Heat Spreader (IHS), including the top half. AMD confirmed that they made changes to the substrate design and stated that the new design does not indicate a fake CPU.
Many users in the thread verified this change. One user noted that the changes were implemented several months ago. The newer design with missing capacitors on the top half is now included in CPUs like Ryzen 7 7700, and reports suggest that Ryzen 7600X and Ryzen 7500F may also lack these components. This change helped reduce local heat buildup, allowing the CPU to easily boost to 5.0 GHz across all cores.
Another instance where a Ryzen 7800X3D was seen without capacitors on the top half of the PCB is documented in a Reddit post from two months ago.
These changes are likely aimed at reducing production and testing costs. Since removing the top capacitors did not affect thermal performance or processor performance, AMD may have decided to eliminate them for cost optimization purposes.
When implemented across hundreds of thousands of CPUs, this could save the company a significant amount of money. The new substrate design might also improve reliability by reducing potential solder defects. However, as long as the CPU’s performance and thermals remain unaffected and no irregularities arise from the new substrate, this change should not be a concern.
