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I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata
Employee
11,957 Views

So i just purchased the sandy bridge i7 1155 and know im finding out their is a recall

One page says sandy bridge is not affected, but another page uses the terminology that the cougar point with sandy bridge is being recalled

I am really CORNFUSED, PLEASE Help

Do I send it back or not????

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109 Replies
idata
Employee
1,716 Views

HI!

I´M THINKING OF BUYING A COMPUTER FOR RENDERING WITH:

  • Intel® Core™ i7-2600 processor - Dell - Studio XPS

     

    Features an 8MB cache and 3.4GHz processor speed.

     

  • Features 8-way processing for ultimate smart performance. Intel® Turbo Boost Technology automatically speeds up your processor when your PC needs extra performance.ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics ETC

     

  • WHAT I´D LIKE TO KNOW IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE I7-2600? I´M BUYING IN USA AND SINCE I´M GOING TO BRING IT TO BRAZIL I´LL LOST THE WARRANTY SO I CAN´T MAKE A MISTAKE....THANKS!

     

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idata
Employee
1,496 Views

Well, I had placed an order with HP for a computer with the i7 2600 in it and since have had my order Cancelled by HP - so I would hold off on buying your computer till you hear more about the processor problem.

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idata
Employee
1,716 Views

Hi...One site called ZDnet has a little bit more information regarding the chipsets like the core i7 mobile extreme,core i7 mobile,core i5 mobile,core i7 vPro and the core i5 vPro...They also say OEM systems carrying these products...On HotHardware,there is an article by Marco Chiapetto regarding this call back also and it says pretty much the same,but below that article in a forum there is mention a one person asking it their Asrock mainboard is affected and Marco's reply was pretty much yes or that it is also affected...That is all I can help you with,but all or most other sites mention OEM systems...

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DSilv11
Valued Contributor III
1,716 Views

Couger Point is the chipset, Sandy Bridge is the processor.

No problems with the processors, just the new H67/P67 chipset.

It is really a very minor issue for most applications, but Intel is going beyond doing the right think and making sure the ODM's can fix it.

This is the best write up I have seen on it.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4143/the-source-of-intels-cougar-point-sata-bug http://www.anandtech.com/show/4143/the-source-of-intels-cougar-point-sata-bug

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idata
Employee
1,716 Views

Hi once again to all those will read my posts again...Yes it is true what you say,not the Sandy Bridge processor with LGA 1155 pinset number,but only with the Cougar Chipsets for the mainboards with LGA 1155 pinset number...We have to under stand is which one's are affected since they mention the manufacture date of the 9th,January,2011 and onwards have the affected chipsets...Also does it affect Intels OEM systems only or is it going to affect all mainboards with the cougar chipset...Also it is only affecting Sata 2 (3GB/s) ports and not the Sata 3 (6GB/s) ports...I forgot the exact percentage,but I think that it is either 5% or 20% of the affected chipsets...I read sites like ZDnet,HotHardware,PCworld,Bloombergs and others,but can not remember the site that had the sata 2 affected only ports write up...

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idata
Employee
1,716 Views

Hi once again...It is Bloomberg's site that says 5% of the cougar point chipsets are affected...After doing some stress tests they found the fault...You will not find the part about Sata 2 being affected only and not the Sata 3,since they only mention the sata chipset issue... Also some other site that is too hard for me to find again had the up to 20% of chips affected out of the Cougar Point chipset that was shipped from the 9th,January,2011 and not manufactured on that date like I wrote up earlier,a mistake I wrote up on previous post...I also can not find write up which says that Sata 3 is O.K.,I will return after a while for a further search and I will this make bookmarks or add to windows explorer favourites list...

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idata
Employee
1,716 Views

Hi once again...After searching for a while longer anantechs write up seems to be the best so far with the Sata 2 port issue stated clearly...The other write up that I seen before I can not find at all,so it is hidden deep down somewhere I do not know...Anyway they all mention the chipsets,but anantech goes that little bit further like the other site that I can not remember...To me it seems that I and others that bought the couger point chipset P67 & H67 mainboards will have to get them replaced if you want to use the sata 2 ports...I have not put my computer together yet,so I will try to return the Asus P8P67 Deluxe mainboard rather then putting it together and waiting for a fix or to have to return it for repair...I would advise people to try to return before they put their computer together...If you do try to keep it and only use the Sata 3 ports,you will lose the use of the sata 2 ports and they will become a waste...Remember the Core i7 and Core i5 processors are all good and nothing wrong with them at all...

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idata
Employee
1,716 Views

Hi once again...I forgot to mention that if you have not put your computer together yet,try returning the mainboard/motherboard to the PC shop,dealer or what ever for a refund rather then wait for them to get in contact with you to send your mainboard back to get fixed or for them to advise you about using the Sata 3 ports instead...In the case that you are lucky enough to get a refund,this will solve your problem and you can keep the processor and other parts for when you think it will be safe enough to buy again and put a LGA 1155 based computer together...Beware though I am thinking of waiting longer so I can get a totally new mainboard rather then a returned for use as new fix up...

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idata
Employee
1,716 Views

George, although Intel is admitting there are potential problems with the H67 and P67 chipsets, it seems that you are saying that they are now or will soon be completely worthless. That is not what Intel is saying. They are saying that over time (years) and with many or all of the SATA 2 ports in use, a small percentage of these chips SATA 2 ports might fail. Intel discovered this while stress testing 'boards with these chips, in "hot boxes" at higher temperatures than most users will have in their PCs. We shouldn't be rushing into "the sky is falling" mode.

BTW, thumbs up to Intel for their action here, considering the cost and grief this "recall" will cause them. Imagine all the mother boards that I doubt can be simply fixed, replacing chips of that kind that, once soldered to the 'boards, are there rather permanently, since any removal and replacement is difficult and labor intensive with LBGA type chips, AFAIK. You cannot just attack it with a solder iron, as these chips were not soldered in place by hand in the first place. Even if they could be removed, attaching a new one to an otherwise fully assembled 'board will not be easy, if even possible. Above all this, the labor and cost of replacing these chips, including the retesting of the 'boards, is likely more than it is worth to do it.

According to the AnandTech article, replacement boards will not be available until March. So you can't even get a "fixed" 'board yet. It remains to be seen what the replacement procedure will be. Rushing to return these mother boards will serve no purpose, beyond having your new Sandy Bridge CPU in it's box on a shelf. There is no mention of damage to 'drives connected to these chipsets, but of course if your data is irreplaceable and the PCs data storage function critical, there is some potential danger there if the port fails during a write operations. Apparently, Intel discovered this problem themselves, not from reports from owners or manufactures, which means problems "in the field" are not what triggered this.

If I owned one of the affected mother boards, I would make sure my PCs case is well ventilated, use only a fraction of the SATA 2 ports, use the SATA 3 ports, and wait and see what the procedure for replacements will be. Those steps are insurance against failure and will likely help in keeping any problem from occurring, which seems unlikely given the information we now have.

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idata
Employee
1,716 Views

Unfortunately, for HTPC users like myself who bought a board specifically for the number of sata ports on it, the answer you provide of using a limited number of ports is not a viable option.

I have 6 sata devices and need them all running for my movie collection. While I do realize the risk is minimal, I need a viable solution now, not a month from now.

I also object to you giving a "thumbs up" to intel for coming forward here. Trust me, any major corporation would not do this out of sheer good will. They have anticipated many issues that will come as a result of these deffective chips and have weighed that against the losses they will receive by issuing a recall and have decided it is cheaper to do the recall. They didn't do it out of some "moral obligation" as you suggest.

This situation is a result of not thoroughly testing their product prior to sending it out to the masses. It is a situation created by them and is being resolved by them, however it should have never occurred in the first place, hence the recall.

Let's all be honest about the current situation here.

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idata
Employee
1,716 Views

Is parsec an intel plant? He certainly seems to be pooh poohing the issue. The system i just built three days ago has this 'defective' chipset and not only myself but many enhusiasts who chose 'Intel' are not feeling all warm and fuzxy about this.

IMHO intel needs to advance replace these boards once the workaround has been implemented.

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idata
Employee
1,716 Views

Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not an Intel plant (dang, I should be getting paid for this!)

I have criticized Intel in this forum many times, my Intel DG45ID mother board with it's flaky BIOS and associated weird functioning being the main cause of that. Actually, there are several Intel employees that post in this forum that are not identified as such, or are moderators, but I am not one of them. As with other manufacture's forums I have experience with, the standard policy regarding discussing or defending their products problems seems to be this; Say nothing whatsoever.

Unfortunately, I cannot take credit for the suggestion to use the two SATA 3 ports, that was done in one or both of the AnandTech articles on this topic, one of which is linked at the top of this thread. Of course that does not solve this problem, and is just a simple, partial workaround, that will not satisfy all users as redneckcowboy points out.

He also wrote the following:

"I also object to you giving a "thumbs up" to intel for coming forward here. ... They didn't do it out of some "moral obligation" as you suggest." 

Which apparently was inspired by this:

BTW, thumbs up to Intel for their action here, considering the cost and grief this "recall" will cause them.

Talk about reading between the lines, where did I ever suggest that? My point is that when these ports fail, how would the user know it was the chipset that failed? They would just think, "... bad mother board, RMA time...", the end. Can anyone tell me who could diagnose or identify the exact problem besides "bad H67 chip" other than Intel? Even if we could determine the cause is the H67 chip. Not to mention prove that the mother board manufacture did not do something wrong in their use of the chip? In short, this would be an easy flaw to hide, IMO. But they admitted it, on their own, without being forced to do so, and are planning compensation to the customer. I felt that this earned them an, "Ok, good", not a "You !@# $%^&*!".

My comments are based entirely on the information in the AnandTech articles. So are the suggestions, I am simply paraphrasing statements from the articles. Have you read them? If not, please do so, if only to possibly alleviate some of your concern over this problem. Given some of the comments by my detractors, it seems the articles were not read.

I never said it didn't exist. I never said it doesn't matter. All I'm saying is given the information we have right now, it does not sound like a huge and immediate disaster that will never be fixed, we know how to keep your affected PC running if you choose to do so, and we already know that those affected will be compensated.

I see plenty of honesty in this, all this information from day one, and this is day two. I could quote Intel's statement in the AnandTech article regarding the chances of this occurring in the affected PCs, but I imagine that will be dismissed as a lie. You'll need to forgive me for not immediatetly jumping on the anger and hate bandwagon. Burn the witch!!

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idata
Employee
1,716 Views

parsec...I am posting this reply to you...First of all,their stress tests gave them an accelerated time period for when they expect problems to occur...Fortunately most of us know too well that when problems do arise due to different conditions,uses and circumstances that the syndrome of the wrong time at the wrong place can occur...Which could cause us too much trouble at that time and place...Also there are the normal manufacturing faults that occur from time to time that could accelerate problems even sooner then expected...So I will disagree with you totally...As such I have done what I posted to do and that was to phone up the PC Hardware store in Sydney,Australia...Over the phone the man said that I could not only return the LGA 1155 Asus P8P67 Deluxe mainboard,but also the boxed core i7 2600 processor also...I told him that I would most likely keep this processor as I could use it in the future...So it is now written up by me and posted that I have done what I told others to do in my last post...I also bought online from the U.S.A. another boxed core i7 2600k for overclocking use when I feel like it and I have it already safe in my own abode and do not intend to return it either...So "BAD LUCK" parsec...

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idata
Employee
1,716 Views

Hey parsec...Come back,rednekcowboy is a good man and read the post that I posted up above this post...

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idata
Employee
1,716 Views

Well George, you mention the stress tests that brought this to Intel's attention in the first place. But you left out a few bits of information, those being that under normal use, the stress causes the problem to occur after three years, and in approximately five% of the chipsets. Then again, Intel said this so it must be a lie, and in your experience lightning always strikes you.

You may disagree with me totally, which only means you are disagreeing with the facts as we presently know them. That is only what I have presented in my posts. I suggest you visit AnandTech, and post a comment in one of their articles on this and tell them that they are wrong. My defense of Intel, as you see it, is in my mind simply a defense of reality. Your reality seems to be the imminent and inevitable failure of your PC. That is to bad if it happens, which would be bad luck for you.

BTW, what in the world do you mean by "So BAD LUCK parsec..." ? That I am so absolutely, terribly wrong? What will I ever do!? What is it that you are totally disagreeing with?

Listy mentioned a few facts (how dare he!) such as are the affected PCs broken now... apparently not. Might you be using your doomed PC to write these posts?

The real bad news according to the AnandTech article on Gigabyte's offering to their affected customers, is that they won't be getting good chipsets until April. Which means no new mother boards available until May, according to the article, and in fact likely much longer.

I assume in your mind I should be rallying everyone to storm Intel headquarters and... do what? Beat them up? That'll show 'em, and be really useful too.

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idata
Employee
1,497 Views

Once again we through a post...Now listen here parsec,I did not say to storm the Intel Head Office or any other office at all...Just the opposite and that was to take advantage of a bit of a helping hand by Intel in telling us about the cougar chipset issue and return all items for repair,before you actually load up your operating system or if you have already,load any important data or memories onto the SSD or HHD you can get your mainboard fixed...Why not do it that way,surely you must still have your old computer lying around with all of your precious gear on it...

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idata
Employee
1,497 Views

Just returning to say what I forgot to mention parsec...That is I would have posted earlier,but I had a faulty connection somewhere which I could not diagnose...

 

The ISP and even the PC Tools (spyware doctor) staff that are based in Nth.Sydney could not even help me much at all get back online...One thing is good but and that is instead of replying to your post earlier I actually went back and returned that Asus P8P67 Deluxe mainboard and got a refund instead of just having to wait for a new one to be given to me...Hey boy,I am really excited now that you got upset and I got my cash back,yeah...
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idata
Employee
1,494 Views

I personally completely agree with parsec and doc. The way Intel found out about the issue was through stress testing very heavy loads and temps , as it says over at anand, as it also says, there is very little chance that a 'normal' user would see this issue in the lifetime of their motherboard. I do think that some people are over reacting, the chances of it happening are slim, the chances of you actually loosing data are also slim (let alone that if your data is so important you should ALWAYS). If they are saying that there is about 5% chance that you will see the issue in 3 years time, then there is a very small chance that you will see the issue in 2 or 3 months. And then you get your new board replace it and done. Although I can also understand people being a bit freaked out and not wanting to risk it, specially as it is new and all.

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idata
Employee
1,497 Views

I have lost no fewer than eight drives (OS corrupted/not recognised) from my 2600K/Asus P8P67 WS Revolution. My question is the chipset failure on the Sata 3 Gb/s ports responsible for this? I must tell you that this rig is used for benching and is constantly clocked to 5.2GHz and above. It seems the 3 Gb/s ports are nearly inoperable now, but the 6 Gb/s ports are functioning normal. Did the high clocks accelerate the issue with the chipset?

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