AMD GPUs have been overclocking PCs without permission

Overclocking, the process of pushing a computer to work faster than normal, is a common thing for PC enthusiasts, but it’s usually done carefully and precisely — and willingly. It turns out AMD GPUs have been initiating the process without permission from the user, which is no good.

An AMD representative confirmed as much to Tom’s Hardware. “We are aware of an issue in the AMD software suite that is adjusting certain AMD processor settings for some users,” the rep said. “We are investigating the issue, and we’ll share more information as soon as we’re able.” The culprit is the Ryzer Master module included in the Radeon Adrenalin GPU drivers. This feature is intended to make overclocking easier for those interested, but it was unintentionally making changes automatically, without the user’s permission.

To be clear, this is nothing malicious on AMD’s part — it’s a bug that needs squashing. In the meantime, some PC owners have used Radeon Software Slimmer to delete Ryzen Master. That’s not an official solution from AMD, so use caution if you’re not well-versed in such practices. Fortunately, AMD’s chips have built-in protections to prevent damage from overclocking.

AMD has been busy with work outside of PCs too. FSR 2.0, the company’s latest venture in upscaling, is now supported on Xbox development kits.