topic Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall in Mobile and Desktop Processors

I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 03:15:18 GMT

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????

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 03:34:03 GMT

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!

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 05:23:27 GMT

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...

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

DSilv11 — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 06:19:14 GMT

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

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 07:20:42 GMT

Here is another article which seems to be factual as well:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/mainboards/display/20110131121736_Intel_Discovers_Errata_in_Latest_Core_Logic_Set_for_Sandy_Bridge_Processors.html http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/mainboards/display/20110131121736_Intel_Discovers_Errata_in_Latest_Core_Logic_Set_for_Sandy_Bridge_Processors.html

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 07:24:16 GMT

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...

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 08:12:03 GMT

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...

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 09:43:39 GMT

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...

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 10:00:30 GMT

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...

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:05:56 GMT

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.

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:34:16 GMT

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.

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 23:55:39 GMT

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.

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

SAdco — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 00:05:45 GMT

For the latest information, go to: http://blogs.intel.com/technology/ http://blogs.intel.com/technology/

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 00:46:51 GMT

Hopefully Intel comes up with the solution to send out advanced replacement boards when they are ready. Right now they are referring you to an automated support article on troubleshooting issues that don't petain to the chipset problem.

Of course the other option right now is to direct you to open a chat session which is always busy or asks you non-sensical questions and then suggets you contact the supplier where you bought the board. Well, Intel, the board and processor go hand and hand and neither can be used without the other !!!

Having put the system together already, I don't think the retailer will also accept a perfectly fine but otherwise useless processor (can't use it with anything else) as they would now lose out on a motherboard and prcoessor RMA.

So, even If I get a refund on the board then i'm stuck looking at a processor that i can do sh** with and have no computer for my business in the meantime.

Ugh.

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 07:02:33 GMT

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!!

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 09:33:40 GMT

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...

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 09:41:03 GMT

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

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 10:19:30 GMT

There are no recorded cases yet. How bad is the problem. Is it definatly going to happen to your system given time? Is there any point of waiting until something happens. Don't fix it unless it's broken, as my Dad use to say I've got a pre-order of the G73-SW waiting for pick up. I can't wait two months for this laptop. This has really stuffed me work wise. I'm going to read a bit more about it. If it ony effects SATA 2-5 that would be the Blue Ray player? No?? Don't really want to pick up a system with a bug. If it starts to play up down the track Asus said today it would be covered in the warranty. As I understand it, it may never play up or is it just a matter of time?

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 14:52:05 GMT

Hi...A bit of advice,if you are going to wait for around two more months for this to be delivered,you'll will most probably be safe...By that time the new chipset would have been out for around a month or more and I doubt whether they will still sell you that mobile that you ordered based on the old chipset that is supposedly going to be fixed up and Intel are now making new cougar point chipsets anyway...Although I do believe that some people in the busines of PC system makers may not care and just give you an old mainboard with the old faulty chipset not repaired and you could be one of those people that only use your mobile for a year or so and just be unlucky enough not to notice any faults with your new product...Also some people may blame themselves for no good reason when a fault does occur,because of what other information people have told them in the past...

Re: I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 18:38:59 GMT

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.