AMD may have delayed Ryzen 9000 launch due to a typo — mislabeled Ryzen 7 chip emerges, Ryzen 5 9600X impacted, too [Updated]

AMD recently announced it was delaying the launch of its Zen 5-powered Ryzen 9000 processors for several weeks due to an issue with “our packaged product testing process for Ryzen 9000 series processors,” and a new picture of a mislabeled Ryzen processor hints at one of the primary reasons why AMD may have delayed the chips — a simple one-digit typo.

An unsanctioned review posted to BiliBili (h/t @995Pro) shows AMD’s Ryzen 7 9700X mismarked as a Ryzen 9 9700X processor, an obvious error that would need to be corrected. We’ve confirmed the 9700X mismarkings and also learned that mismarked Ryzen 5 9600X models have also been shipped to retail outlets — these processors were also labeled as Ryzen 9, too. 

It’s also rational to assume that the labeling on AMD’s retail boxes could be impacted, too. In either case, while it may seem a minor issue, AMD would obviously have to pull back all of its shipped processors to correct the erroneous markings. The process of recalling the chips is exactly what the company has said delayed the launch of its processors — AMD tells us it has pulled back all Ryzen 9000 units it has delivered to retailers and OEMs worldwide. AMD says those chips will be returned to retailers after a screening process.

AMD’s official statement earlier this week said, “We identified an issue with our packaged product testing process for Ryzen 9000 series processors that could result in a small number of parts reaching the market that do not meet our quality standards,” so it’s possible that the mismarking may not be the only issue. However, it is undoubtedly a contributing factor. 

We have contacted the company for remarks on the reports of mismarked chips, but a company representative has said the company cannot comment beyond its previous announcement yet. This discovery has popped up outside business hours, so it’s possible we could get further comments on Monday.

The company will now launch the Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 5 9600X processors on August 8, while the higher-end Ryzen 9 9950X and Ryzen 9 9900X will be delayed until August 15. 

We haven’t confirmed mismarked Ryzen 9 9900X and 9950X models yet. However, those chips are delayed longer than the mismarked Ryzen 7 and 5 models.

It would be comforting to learn that mislabeled chips are the only reason AMD has delayed its launch, as opposed to a manufacturing issue, but we do have to caution this might not be the only reason. However, if a chip typo does turn out to be the sole reason, one has to wonder why AMD didn’t divulge the nature of the issue rather than issuing a nebulous statement that could potentially call into question the quality of both its chips and chip inspection process.

We’ll update as we learn more. Stay tuned.