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I7 Sandy Bridge Recall

idata
Employee
11,969 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
1,666 Views

Hi Giti, Sorry to hear about your problems getting your board replaced. I don't understand who "they" are, that have your mother board. Is that a retailer, the manufacture, Intel in India? In the US, the replacement board situation is complete as far as I know. I haven't seen any complaints about this for a long time. Your problem is the first I have heard about in a long time. I'm not saying it is not true, but right now I am wondering who is not providing an updated board for you.

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SAdco
New Contributor I
1,900 Views
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idata
Employee
1,900 Views

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.

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idata
Employee
1,671 Views

This is why it's so fu---- up. You're buying a CPU that you can't use for several months. Don't expect to get the best Sandy Bridge motherboards by April as it won't happened. When Sandy Bridge was launched last month, all you can get were mid end motherboards for the core processor. All the high end motherboards you can only purchased online in limited stock. My conservative estimate is summer to fall. By that time, all second generation Sandy Bridge core processors are obsolete. AMD's Bulldozer will reigned supreme.

This deffective chipset fiasco is massive. Every computer retailers been pulling all Sandy Bridge motherboards. I talked to a PC retailer the other day & I saw him shaking his head then said "Intel really fuc--- things up. They failed to deliver the goods & it's the consumers that's suffering". He pointed out as an example a guy who purchased (4) Core i7 2600K last month. He felt so sorry as he was the one who sold the guy the (4) CPUs.

Sandy Bridge is a failed endeavour for Intel. Going that route is a total disaster.

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idata
Employee
1,671 Views

Someone should initiate a class action lawsuit against Intel for this faulty chipset fiasco.

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DSilv11
Valued Contributor III
1,671 Views

So, return your processors and pick up a Bulldozzzzzer. It due out mid 2010 er sometime in 2011.

And yes, all the retailers are pulling their couger point chipset boards because if they sell them knowing that 5% will have SATA II issue, some one would be screaming lawsuit....

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idata
Employee
1,671 Views

I totally agree with everything you have said and so have all retailers and anyone with a reasonable mind that's not a complete intel fanboy.

The retailer that I deal with has been awesome and had no quams about me switching out the intel setup for an AMD one. I have been a life-long intel user and never once have I built or owned an amd setup--until now and I will not be switching back anytime soon.

What concerns me is not the issue that they are stating, but what they are not saying. I don't know if that really makes any sense, but let me try to explain. I believe that Intel came out with this story, not because of some moral obligation to do so, but because there is something bigger involved here. Please keep in mind that NO ONE outside of Intel can duplicate this failure and many are trying, and trying extremely hard.

That does not give me peace of mind that Intel is overstating the issue, it makes me extremely nervous that this is, in fact, not the issue at all and they are using it as a cover story to hide the real reason behind this recall. It may be the paranoia in me coming out, but I think there is something much larger at stake here. Too many things just don't add up.

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idata
Employee
1,671 Views

Cheaptrick, for a different take on this situation, you might want to read this article:

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2011/02/08/fixed-sandy-bridge-chip-sets-to-be-in-the-c/1 http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2011/02/08/fixed-sandy-bridge-chip-sets-to-be-in-the-c/1

Regarding the Sandy Bridge CPUs not being useable for several months, that is simply false.

So Sandy Bridge CPUs are a "failed endeavor" (apparently because the supporting chipset has a problem, which BTW has been identified and will be fixed) Ooh-kay...

Given your notion of "obsolete", your car would become obsolete every time the new models are introduced each year. To each their own...

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idata
Employee
1,671 Views

The Sandy Bridge Processor is not usable in my opinion. The only way you can justify it to say that it is usable is to use it with a knowingly deffective product, which renders it useless in my opinion and a whole slew of other people's minds as well.

The only way to stay safe is to not use the Sata 2.0GB/s ports, which, with many people, is not only unacceptable, but it is also not feasable to do so. It therefore goes that if you want to be 100% protected, then you have to abstain from using the board altogether, which makes the CPU absolutely uselss as it cannot be paired with any board at the moment that does not use the Cougarpoint chipset, nor will one be available for the next 2 to 3 months. This is only if you buy the whole story from Intel that this is all that is wrong with these boards to begin with, which I don't.

I don't know how you can argue against that and basically call someone a liar when those are the facts.

Seeing as you like to use car analogies, would you buy a brand new car if you were told you can't use the radio because it would overheat and burn out? That is only a minor defect that would not affect the operation of the vehicle. Here we are talking a major component of the board itself.

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idata
Employee
1,671 Views

I totally agree with you rednekcowboy. What Intel did is no moral obligation. There's a bigger issue involved here. The main reason is really that Intel (or any other business in particular) is bound by law to disclose what is described as deffective & to provide a replacement of the deffective product.

It's a common knowledge that only SATA2 ports are affected (SATA3 ports are OK). Hence most Sandy Bridge motherboards have at least 4 SATA3 ports (the high end motherboards have at least 6 SATA3 ports), the problem would have been solved by not using the SATA2 ports. Even if you run on RAID 10 with 4 HDDs & 2 SATA optical drives, you still have enough SATA3 ports to use. It's no big deal having a deffective Intel chipset when it only affects the SATA2 ports. But why did Intel pulled a massive recall? The answer is - it's of best interest for Intel to do so or risk losing several hundred millions or even a billion more replacing most of the deffective chipsets in circulation. In this case, the product warranty doesn't end, let's say in 2 years. The consumer is guaranteed by law, a replacement of the deffective product with a lifetime warranty.

Replacing a deffective chipset is not like replacing a CPU were you can just pull out the CPU from its socket to replace it. To replace it, the motherboard in circulation has to be returned to where you purchased it for them (the reseller) to ship it to the motherboard manufacturer for them (the motherboard manufacturer) to replace the deffective chipset. The shipping cost alone is staggering. Intel will be responsible in covering the shipping cost as well as to pay the motherboard manufacturer doing the repair (replacement) of the deffective chipset.

I didn't see any changes in intel's Sandy Bridge's roadmap. So expect by fall that the hexagonal core Sandy Bridge core processor will be released. It will then be followed by the octagonal core Sandy Bridge core processor by year's end or perhaps early next year. So what will happen to the second generation Sandy Bridge core processor? For PC enthusiasts out there, don't expect the high end Sandy Bridge motherboards to come rolling at full speed this April (only the mid end ones) as it would be impossible. It didn't even happened last month when the 2nd generation Sandy Bridge core processor line up first came out. By the time you got to hold of what you think is the high end Sandy Bridge motherboard for the 2nd generation Sandy Bridge core processor, it's no longer cutting edge as AMD's Bulldozer core processor is out as well as the hexagonal core Sandy Bridge core processor.

Intel really fuc--- up the whole situation. I think the best route if you wanna start now or later this year is to go with AMD. Buying a Sandy Bridge CPU now (which you can't use as there's no motherboard that you can use with it) & use it later (by April or by summer end) doesn't make any sense.

We been lied upon by Intel for sure.

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idata
Employee
1,671 Views

Intel could just have made a PCIe SATA controller & provide it free of charge to those with deffective chipset.

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idata
Employee
1,671 Views

... why oh why am I doing this... it's not a discussion, or even an argument, just a flame-fest... but there might be some people reading this thread that will get the wrong impression, and the obfuscation is annoying, so...

Cowboy, you ought to stick with your own statements at least within the same post.

First you say: "The Sandy Bridge Processor is not usable in my opinion."

Fine, we are all entitled to our opinions. When the facts regarding a situation are not absolute and open to some interpretation, we have opinions. Quite normal.

You then explain the motivations for your opinion, again just fine, that is what is done in a debate in order to sway opinions and state one's case. Perfectly reasonable.

Then you state: " I don't know how you can argue against that and basically call someone a liar when those are the facts."

No one can state an opinion is a lie or the truth, since it can be neither. Also, your opinion has then seemingly become fact after one paragraph. Regardless, accusing me of calling you a liar does not make sense, if you statement is an opinion.

If you claim your statement is a fact, that PCs with this chipset are unusable, well, we know that even in the potential worst case situation, they would still be useable, since any SATA device could be connected to the SATA 6Gb/s ports, thus rendering the PC useable. Do you deny this?

Your style of argument will capture the minds of those who do not apply critical thinking to the arguments themselves, including the attempt to dishonor those that debate in opposition to yourself.

Your analogy about the car radio actually reveals, and attempts to pass as fact, what you use as the basis of your argument. That is, the radio (Cougar Point chipset) will absolutely fail, that is a given. I'll stay objective here and say, given the information we have, no one can claim that they will absolutely fail. No one knows that, or can prove it. That is what I claim to be false, that we know, a priori, that these chipsets will absolutely fail. That is the crux of your argument, without which it falls apart.

Then we have this statement: "This is only if you buy the whole story from Intel that this is all that is wrong with these boards to begin with, which I don't."

This statement attempts to use innuendo and over generalization to create concern and fear that any mother board touched by the accursed Cougar Point chipset will be fraught with misery and failure. Again, some critical thinking quickly reveals it is baseless. Intel makes CPUs and Chipsets for use specifically with PC mother boards. They make few, if any of the other components. The only component that we know has a potential failure issue is the Cougar Point chipset, and nothing else. How does that have anything to do with other things being wrong with the mother boards?

Intel manufactures PC mother boards, but is only one of many companies that do so, and is not the major purveyor of them in the world. Consider that of all the mother board manufactures, some of which have been in business for decades, with all their experience in design, manufacture, and testing, not one of them found an issue with these chipsets that stopped them from bringing them to the marketplace.

I certainly cannot say that I know more about this then they do, can you?

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idata
Employee
1,671 Views

This is your statement and the one that I have the objection to, one that you state to refut someone else's statement that the CPU is unusable:

Regarding the Sandy Bridge CPUs not being useable for several months, that is simply false.

Basically, you called the person that said the CPU is unusable a liar with this statement. The fact of the matter is that by Intels own admission, you are not to use the sata 2.0GB/s under any circumstances and if you must, only to use those ports with your least important devices. On many of these boards, that leaves only two ports available. With many people and retailers, this in fact, makes the board useless as we have multiple devices which requires, in some cases, all 6 sata ports on the board. If the board is useless to us, then that makes the CPU useless as well. The replacement boards won't be available until April sometime, at the earliest, which makes the CPU useless for several months.

That is not opinion, that is fact.

Another little tid bit for you. If Intel did not think there was a good possibility of failure, they would not have issued this massive recall that will cost them millions of dollars. My car analogy still stands. Maybe I'll re-word it for you if it makes you feel more comfortable. Would you buy a brand new car if you were told not to use the radio because it may overheat and burn out?

And no, I don't believe what we are being told about the cougar point chipset is, in fact, the whole story. It makes no sense for Intel to issue a recall that may happen in less than 5% of cases that no one but them has been able to replicate. It doesn't make any sense that they would spend millions on something like this rather than to make a statement saying "If this happens to you, do this." If they were really not worried about something going wrong with the majority, they would not be pulling these boards. That is just common sense, you don't spend millions "just in case," you spend millions on certainties.

Then again, like you, I could chose to deflect, deny and manipulate, however I would rather just tell it like it is.

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idata
Employee
1,707 Views

... and yet another example of poor rhetorical technique, to completely ignore your opponents statements that refute yours, and restate your arguments as if nothing was stated in opposition to them. There's a term for that, tautology.

As I implied earlier, I was afraid your debate would go no where, as you continue to circle back to the same statements endlessly. I have no interest in participating in a "... no it isn't... yes it is..." stubborn school yard debate, if that's the best you can do.

Your intent is clear, to simply flame away at Intel and run them down as much as possible. Enjoy!

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idata
Employee
1,707 Views

And you, rather than refute anything I say, you rather go on the attack. Proves my points perfectly.

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SAdco
New Contributor I
1,707 Views

Admin Note to all: This forum is to help solve technical questions. Please stay on topic. This is not the place for personal conversations, conflict or banter. Thank You.

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idata
Employee
1,707 Views

Alright... I read this forum. I understand it. I can't order the Intel Sandy chipset motherboard. Because they've put removed all brand motherboard of Sandy Chipset from Online order, today After since, I seen it on last week. Bugger me....

I will waiting for update correct 2nd edition of Sandy chipset or next generation "Bad Sandy" chipset. LOL...Kind joke !

Cheers

Mike

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idata
Employee
1,707 Views

"The Sandy Bridge CPU is not usable." - This is a fact.

How can you use a CPU when there's no available motherboard for it? Unless you can use a CPU without needing a motherboard then it's not usable.

It's like in my situation right now. I bought a Sandy Bridge Core i7 2600K last month. The motherboard then stopped working just after the recall. I can't have it replace by the retailer I purchased it from 'cuz they pulled out all their Sandy Bridge motherboards from their stock as a result of the recall. You can't purchased a Sandy Bridge motherboard 'cuz there's no retailer selling it. Even those in Europe that sell Sandy Bridge motherboards priced like gold doesn't have it either. Yet you can purchase a Sandy Bridge CPU. If you buy a Sandy Bridge CPU now it would be like "buy it now & use it after several months".

I have a Sandy Bridge CPU now but no motherboard 'cuz I can't find any for sale. If the CPU is usable then it means that I can have a motherboard for it. For now there's no motherboard 'cuz it's been pulled out in the market.

The CPU is not usable. I don't know why someone will say that it's usable when it's not.

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DSilv11
Valued Contributor III
1,707 Views

There are a handful of platforms still shipping, but these are in systems which do not use the legecy SATA II connections.

Latest info is here: http://www.intel.com/consumer/products/processors/chipset.htm http://www.intel.com/consumer/products/processors/chipset.htm

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idata
Employee
1,707 Views

There's none really. Newegg, Micro Center, Tigerdirect, Fry's, etc all pulled out their Sandy Bridge motherboards. There's some that still advertised Sandy Bridge motherboards as "For Sale" but if you really look at it closely it's out of stock, will deliver when available or pulled out due to the recall. I've been to a computer store here in Illinois that advertised their Sandy Bridge motherboards online as for sale only to find out that they pulled their Sandy Bridge motherboards off the market due to the recall. If you'll purchase it now you have to wait until April (the earliest) for them to deliver it to you (I'm talking of low to mid end motherboards). Those PC enthusiasts who purchased Sandy Bridge CPU for overclocking will have to wait longer.

Why would someone sells a motheroboard with a faulty chipset? Those retailers that sell those motherboards know the risk that the motherboards they're selling will eventually get returned for replacement motherboards with working chipsets. It's costly for retailers as they'll be forced to accept returns several months &/or even longer after those motherboards were purchased.

If you really think that there's still Sandy Bridge motherboard for sale, why don't you help me find an Asus Maximus IV Extreme motherboard here in the US. If you can find any, I will retract my earlier statement that the CPU is not usable.

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DSilv11
Valued Contributor III
1,707 Views

Asus Maximus IV Extreme has and uses the SATA II ports so the limit availability would not apply.

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