AMD delays Ryzen 9000 launch to August “out of an abundance of caution”

Enlarge (credit: AMD)

AMD had planned to launch its first round of Ryzen 9000-series desktop processors by the end of July, but those plans have changed thanks to a very non-specific problem found with the first batch of processors that AMD sent out to its partners. The six- and eight-core Ryzen 9600X and 9700X are now slated to launch on August 8, and the 12- and 16-core Ryzen 9900X and 9950X will launch on August 15.

AMD's full statement is below:

We appreciate the excitement around Ryzen 9000 series processors. During final checks, we found the initial production units that were shipped to our channel partners did not meet our full quality expectations. Out of an abundance of caution and to maintain the highest quality experiences for every Ryzen user, we are working with our channel partners to replace the initial production units with fresh units. As a result, there will be a short delay in retail availability. The Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 5 9600X processors will now go on sale on August 8th and the Ryzen 9 9950X and Ryzen 9 9900X processors will go on-sale on August 15th. We pride ourselves in providing a high-quality experience for every Ryzen user, and we look forward to our fans having a great experience with the new Ryzen 9000 series.

When asked for details about the specific problem and what the fix was, AMD Public Relations Manager Matthew Hurwitz told Ars that AMD had implemented additional screening for the Ryzen 9000 CPUs but couldn't share specifics about what AMD is screening for.