The large image: As Intel prepares a patch to handle crashing points in its Thirteenth and 14th-generation Raptor Lake CPUs, extra details about the processors’ failure charges is rising. Some corporations have opted to modify to AMD, and a retailer just lately disclosed that Intel CPU return charges have risen dramatically in recent times.
An unnamed main European on-line PC retailer just lately knowledgeable the French outlet Les Numeriques that it receives roughly 4 occasions as many returns of Raptor Lake processors in comparison with Alder Lake (Twelfth-gen Intel Core). This implies that Intel’s current RMA charges could also be considerably increased than AMD’s.
The retailer reported that return charges for the Thirteenth-gen Core i9 13900KF, 13900KS, and 13900K are quadruple these of the Twelfth-generation CPUs. In the meantime, the 14th-gen Core i9 14900KF, 14900KS, and 14900K at the moment have triple the RMA charges of Alder Lake.
The distinction is probably going resulting from age. The retailer confirmed that the Thirteenth-gen processors skilled related return charges after they had been available on the market for so long as the 14th-gen chips have been now. This means that Intel CPUs could degrade over time and means that returns for the corporate’s most up-to-date lineup might improve.
Estimates from Les Numeriques are seemingly conservative. The numbers from one retailer do not account for failing processors that weren’t returned, had been returned to different retailers, or had been despatched instantly again to Intel.
Nonetheless, extrapolating from Mindfactory’s 2020 RMA charge reviews for Espresso Lake Refresh (Ninth-gen Intel Core) and AMD’s Zen 2, would put Intel’s Thirteenth-gen chips between 4 and 7 p.c and the 14th-gen processors between three and 5.25 p.c. Absolutely the variety of failing Raptor Lake CPUs stays unclear, however the information means that one thing is flawed.
Customers have reported instability with Intel’s final two desktop CPU generations all year long. A recreation developer and a VFX studio reported disastrous failure charges for Thirteenth and 14th-gen i9s, prompting each emigrate to AMD.
Intel traced the issue to a microcode algorithm error that resulted in incorrect energy supply values. The corporate plans to launch a patch in mid-August, however it won’t repair CPUs which might be already failing.
Customers with processors at the moment experiencing crashes or instability might want to RMA them. These with high-end Raptor Lake CPUs which might be nonetheless functioning effectively ought to hold their BIOS up to date, keep Intel’s default voltage settings, and obtain the corporate’s replace as quickly because it turns into out there from OEMs.
