ASUS blames AMD for high temperatures on the ROG Strix Radeon RX 5700 GPUs

Note: This article was first published on 19 Feb 2020.

ASUS has identified what's making its ROG Strix Radeon RX 5700 series graphics cards run so hot. As it turns out, it may just be AMD's fault, at least according to ASUS. 

AMD typically shares documents with engineers during the design phase that outlines specifications and tolerances to ensure performance and reliability. In this particular case, the mounting pressure of the cooler was set between 30 and 40 PSI, but ASUS says its own testing found the optimal range to be between 50 and 70 PSI. In short, the screws holding the cooler in place were not tight enough.

Initial batches of the ROG Strix Radeon 5700 series cards were built according to AMD's guidelines, but following user reports of temperature issues, cards shipped from January 2020 onwards will use new screws that increase cooler mounting pressure to between 50 and 60 PSI. This should improve heat transfer from the GPU to the heatsink and hopefully resolve the temperature woes. 

Current owners of the cards will be able to bring them to their local ASUS service centre starting in March 2020, and ASUS will replace the screws with the new ones.

Source: ASUS