Briefly: Intel generously prolonged the warranties for Thirteenth and 14th-generation Raptor Lake CPUs following an epidemic of crashes earlier this 12 months. Nonetheless, the corporate’s customer support has confirmed considerably chaotic, with dwindling inventory resulting in fortunate outcomes for some customers and unlucky outcomes for others.
Customers requesting replacements or refunds for Intel Raptor Lake processors is perhaps stunned. Current experiences point out that prospects are receiving dramatically diversified responses from the corporate, presumably because of a strained provide of CPUs.
Normally, when customers ship Intel broken processors, the corporate checks them to substantiate reported points earlier than sending both a refund or a substitute of the identical mannequin. Nonetheless, one person on Twitter reported receiving a full refund for a Core i9-13900K that had labored completely, indicating that Intel would not at all times test the RMAs it receives.
Nicely, it is 100% official. I obtained a test for $599 from Intel at the moment for my totally purposeful, by no means gave me a problem, virtually 2yrs previous 13900k. They required zero proof of instability and even paid for the transport. I want this occurred each era!!! Lol.
– Pk1 (@Pk_419) September 10, 2024
Moreover, the shopper obtained the $600 they probably paid for the CPU in 2022. Right this moment, a 13900K goes for nearer to $400. Technically, that $600 refund might pay for an improve to a next-generation i9-14900K with a number of {dollars} to spare.
In the meantime, a Reddit person shared photographs of a free 14900K improve they obtained after mailing of their faulty Thirteenth-gen chip. Related instances have occurred earlier than, with some prospects receiving downgraded CPUs or nothing in any respect.
Customers reported that Intel was working low on substitute elements earlier this month. Though some secured refunds, others have been despatched completely different variations of their previous processor that did not assist overclocking or embody built-in graphics.
Simply obtained 14900K because the substitute for my previous Thirteenth Gen!
byu/SomeOrdinary_Indian inintel
Whereas it stays unclear what number of RMA requests Intel has obtained since increasing its warranties, the quantity is probably going huge. The corporate is sending refunds and replacements to handle an issue that impacted a good portion of models from its two most up-to-date desktop CPU lineups.
A microcode error resulted in improper voltage requests, completely damaging many Thirteenth and 14th-generation chips and dramatically growing their failure charges. Though a latest BIOS replace resolved the problem for customers who hadn’t but noticed the signs, many others are nonetheless malfunctioning and wish changing.
Those that buy new Raptor Lake CPUs or present customers who have not encountered crashes ought to verify with their motherboard producer that their BIOS is up-to-date. Intel claims that its upcoming lineups, Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake, do not endure from the microcode error.