Intel's Biggest Failure in Years: Confirmed Oxidation & Excessive Voltage
Summary
TLDRIntel has acknowledged oxidation and voltage issues with its 13th generation CPUs, leading to instability and potential CPU failure. The company initially downplayed the oxidation problem, only admitting it after public pressure. Tech outlets and users report high failure rates, and Intel's lack of transparency and delayed response have raised concerns. Consumers are advised to update BIOS and microcode, while those experiencing instability should consider RMA. The situation casts doubt on Intel's reliability and requires a clear commitment to customer support.
Takeaways
- 😨 Intel has admitted to oxidation issues with its 13th gen CPUs, which were initially only partially disclosed in a statement focusing on voltage issues.
- 🔍 The oxidation problem was identified during the gate formation process in the CPU manufacturing, potentially leading to corrosion and instability.
- 💻 Intel's initial public statement did not mention oxidation, only addressing voltage and microcode changes, which was seen as misleading by some.
- 🤔 The company's handling of the situation has been criticized for lack of transparency and slow response, raising questions about internal disorganization or calculated obfuscation.
- 🛠️ Intel is planning microcode and BIOS updates to address the instability issues, but the exact impact on performance is yet to be determined.
- 🚫 Intel reportedly rejected some RMAs (Return Merchandise Authorizations) for B2B and B2C CPUs during the period when they were aware of the oxidation issue, which has been deemed inexcusable.
- 📅 The exact date range of affected CPUs has not been clearly specified by Intel, leading to confusion and a call for more transparency in identifying affected products.
- 💡 Consumers are advised to update their BIOS and keep an eye out for Intel microcode changes, especially if experiencing system instability.
- 🚨 There are concerns that affected CPUs might be problematic in the used market, with sellers potentially not disclosing their instability issues.
- 🔎 Ongoing discussions and investigations are happening, with some users reporting high failure rates, indicating the severity of the issue in certain environments.
Q & A
What issue did Intel admit to regarding its 13th gen CPUs?
-Intel admitted to issues with oxidation and voltage problems in its 13th gen CPUs, which could cause instability and potential chip failure.
What is the significance of the oxidation issue mentioned in the script?
-The oxidation issue is significant because it's a physical hardware-level defect that occurs during the fabrication process and could lead to corrosion, instability, and eventual chip failure.
What is the role of microcode changes in addressing the CPU instability issues?
-Microcode changes are part of the solution to address the instability issues caused by elevated operating voltages. These changes aim to correct the algorithm that results in incorrect voltage requests to the processor.
Why is there criticism regarding Intel's communication about the oxidation issue?
-Criticism arises because Intel initially published a statement addressing only voltage issues and later appended information about the oxidation issue to a Reddit post, which seemed less transparent and potentially misleading.
What is the expected impact of the microcode and BIOS updates on affected CPUs?
-The microcode and BIOS updates are expected to resolve the instability issues caused by elevated voltages. However, the long-term impact on CPUs that have been exposed to excessive voltage for a long time is uncertain and may require further evaluation.
What actions should consumers take if they own 13th or 14th gen Intel CPUs?
-Consumers should update their BIOS and keep an eye out for Intel's microcode updates. If they experience any system instability, they should consider applying for an RMA.
What is the potential impact of the CPU issues on business customers like server providers?
-The CPU issues can lead to server instability, which may result in significant financial damages due to players abandoning games or services, thinking the problem lies with the software rather than the hardware.
What is the 'Asus treatment' mentioned in the script referring to?
-The 'Asus treatment' refers to a situation where a company must revisit and reprocess all rejected RMAs, evaluating whether customers were owed replacements based on new information or admissions about product issues.
What does the script suggest about the transparency and communication from Intel regarding the CPU issues?
-The script suggests that Intel's communication has been lacking in transparency, with important information about the oxidation issue not being disclosed promptly or clearly, leading to public pressure and criticism.
What is the script's recommendation for consumers experiencing instability with their Intel CPUs?
-The script recommends that consumers experiencing instability should apply for an RMA, as the potential for irreparable damage from long-term exposure to excessive voltage makes it uncertain whether updates will fully resolve issues.
What steps does Intel need to take to address the concerns raised in the script?
-Intel needs to provide clear information on affected CPU date ranges, offer warranty extensions, commit to supporting customers with affected CPUs, and ensure transparency in communication about the issues and their resolution.
Outlines
😕 Intel's Oxidation and Voltage Issues Acknowledgment
Intel has admitted to oxidation and voltage issues affecting its 13th generation CPUs. Initially, the company only addressed voltage concerns in a public statement, leaving out the oxidation problem which was later mentioned in a Reddit post. This has led to speculations of disorganization or a deliberate attempt to downplay the severity. The oxidation issue is tied to the manufacturing process and cannot be resolved with a software patch, unlike the voltage issue which Intel plans to fix with a microcode update and BIOS changes from vendors. Intel's handling of the situation, including the rejection of some RMAs during the known oxidation period, has been criticized as irresponsible and lacking transparency.
😠 Lack of Transparency and Customer Support from Intel
The video script criticizes Intel for its unclear communication regarding the oxidation issue, which only came to light after significant public pressure. Intel's statements have been inconsistent, initially attributing instability solely to voltage issues, then later acknowledging a connection to oxidation in a Reddit comment. The lack of detailed support plans, such as affected CPU date ranges or warranty extensions, is highlighted as a failure to adequately address customer concerns. The community is calling for transparency, including clear communication of the extent of the issues and concrete steps to support affected customers.
😡 Contradictions and Concerns Over Intel's Oxidation Statement
Intel's statement on the oxidation issue has been criticized for its vagueness and internal contradictions. While the company confirmed a manufacturing issue with via oxidation in 2023, it failed to provide specific date codes or means to identify affected CPUs. The script points out that Intel's claim that the oxidation issue is not related to instability is directly contradicted by its own statement that a small number of instability reports are connected to the manufacturing issue. This has led to further skepticism and calls for a re-evaluation of rejected RMAs from customers who may have been unfairly denied support.
😤 High Failure Rates and the Impact on Business Customers
The script discusses the significant impact of Intel's CPU issues on business customers, such as game developers and server providers, who have reported high failure rates and instability. The potential long-term effects of the oxidation issue, which could cause permanent damage and degrade performance over time, are a major concern. The lack of awareness among users about the need for microcode updates and BIOS changes is also highlighted, emphasizing the need for active outreach from Intel to ensure all customers are informed and protected.
🚫 Recommendations and Precautions for Consumers and Intel
The script offers guidance for consumers on dealing with the Intel CPU issues, advising caution in the secondhand market and urging owners of 13th or 14th gen CPUs to update their BIOS and watch for microcode changes. For those experiencing instability, the recommendation is to apply for an RMA. The script also calls for Intel to provide clear commitments on warranty support and to avoid recommending Intel CPUs until the microcode update is released and the company provides firm assurances on customer support.
🔬 Independent Testing and Future Recommendations
The script outlines plans for independent testing of Intel CPUs under official guidance once the microcode updates are released. It states that the current stance is to avoid recommending Intel's 13th and 14th gen CPUs until the updates are verified and Intel provides clear commitments on warranty and performance. The script also hints at potential issues beyond voltage and oxidation, suggesting that motherboards and other factors may contribute to the instability, and promises to continue following the story and update the community as new information becomes available.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Oxidation
💡Voltage Issues
💡Microcode
💡BIOS
💡Instability
💡RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization)
💡Transparency
💡Manufacturing Defect
💡Overclocking
💡Warranty
💡CPU (Central Processing Unit)
Highlights
Intel admitted to oxidation issues with its 13th gen CPUs, affecting stability.
Initial Intel statement only addressed voltage issues, not oxidation.
Oxidation issue was later confirmed in a Reddit post, indicating a lack of transparency.
Oxidation occurred during the gate formation process in CPU manufacturing.
Microcode changes and motherboard BIOS updates are part of the solution to instability issues.
Intel rejected some RMAs during the period they knew about oxidation issues.
Intel's largest business customers were not made aware of the oxidation issue until 2023.
Thermaltake's Frozen Prism 360 liquid cooler is highlighted for its affordability and performance.
Intel's statement on voltage and microcode changes was criticized for omitting oxidation.
Intel's contradictory statements on oxidation's relation to instability raise concerns.
Intel failed to provide specific date codes or means to identify affected CPUs.
Users are advised to update BIOS and microcode for 13th and 14th gen CPUs.
Consumers are warned about the potential toxicity of affected CPUs in the used market.
Intel's commitment to customer support is questioned due to lack of clarity and action.
The oxidation issue is resolvable at the fabrication level, but the extent of the problem is unknown.
Long-term exposure to excessive voltage can cause irreparable damage to CPUs.
Microcode and BIOS updates may resolve voltage-related instability issues.
Intel's handling of the situation is described as irresponsible and lacking transparency.
Recommendations include applying for an RMA if experiencing instability, and avoiding 13th and 14th gen CPUs until further notice.
Transcripts
questions about manufacturing or via
oxidation as reported by Tech Outlets
thanks
Steve Intel just admitted oxidation
issues with its 13th gen CPUs but this
only comes after first publishing a half
complete statement addressing only the
voltage issues that means the media gets
to run with the voltage story while
Intel could then append the oxidation
issue to a Reddit post after people
already went depressed with the voltage
issues options for this strange series
of choices might include things like
General disorganization within the
company of how to deal with this Panic
uh General incompetence or and we can't
speak to the motive but maybe something
more calculated in my opinion now if
you're not familiar with that latest
revelation of oxidation we broke the
story on possible oxidation of the vas
within the CPU occurring during gate
formation process and began talks with
the failure analysis lab inel has now
officially confirmed that oxid was at
one point a problem but it's not the
only one this comes alongside a
notification from Intel of micro code
changes and this uh will also bear with
it some Motherboard BIOS changes from
the motherboard vendors and so the two
of these in combination are part of the
instability problem so speaking with
Wendell uh it's possible there's other
aspects of the instability of Intel CPUs
as well but it seems like these are the
two that at least Intel's addressing
right now uh now somewhat disgustingly
uh from my viewpoint Intel rejected at
least some rmas for B2B and some B Toc
CPUs During the period at which they
knew oxidation was a problem but from
everything we've uh heard from our
contacts before the contacts the
business partners were aware of the
oxidation problem so this period is
critical because if there's any rejected
rmas when Intel knows about it but the
partners don't it's it's really just
inexcusable it's the Asus treatment
where the company must revisit all the
rejected rmas and it needs to reprocess
them to evaluate whether those customers
were actually owed Replacements with
everything that Intel knows today that
includes the voltage problems and that
includes the oxidation issues and this
is just Frankly Speaking this is int's
biggest up that I have personally
reported on uh in the 16 years or so
that we've been doing this and the
company is it's behaving
irresponsibly it is slow for an issue
that's important and requires confidence
in what support is being provided to
customers not just a blanket statement
of we're committed to supporting our
customers whatever that means but
something actually firm written down to
what those commitments are and that
includes business customers as well but
speaking to the business customers so
Intel's largest ones like big oems were
not made aware of the oxidation issue
until just this year and this something
that Intel said was in 2023 that it was
happening so if that's the case
then just I don't I don't really it just
looks bad to be the most charitable
possible with that uh or like a coverup
but let's get into it before that this
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our testing this works on both AMD and
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description below this is pretty simple
today so Intel posted a statement
claiming only the voltage and micro code
changes initially this is what it said
based on extensive analys of Intel Core
13th and 14th gen desktop processors
returned to us due to instability issues
we have determined that elevated
operating voltage is causing instability
issues in some 13th and 14th gen desktop
Parts our analysis of returned
processors confirms that the elevated
operating voltage is stemming from a
micr code algorithm resulting in
incorrect voltage request to the
processor Intel is delivering a micro
code patch which addresses the root
cause of exposure to elevated voltages
We are continuing validation to ensure
that scenarios of inst stability
reported to Intel regarding core 13th
and 14th gen desktop processors are
addressed Intel is currently targeting
mid August for patch release to Partners
following full validation the statement
concludes with this quote Intel is
committed to making this right with our
customers and we continue asking any
customers currently experiencing
instability issues on their core 13th
and 14th gen desktop processors to reach
out to Intel customer support for
further assistance now this statement
said nothing of oxidation it was fully
focused on micro code and access voltage
uh oxidation is a physical Hardware
level defect it would not be fixable in
micro code it's something that happens
during the fabrication process so any
chips that were affected by oxidation of
the veds are likely going to be uh
subject to corrosion and potentially
instability as a result of that
corrosion and maybe eventual chip
failure because it's not something you
can just patch out the lack of a comet
on oxidation combined with the clear
language where they said they root
caused it to voltage it makes it sound
like oxidation was not part of the story
and that it was fully voltage which is
unintentionally at best misleading or uh
again deliberately misleading and
manipulative so we're not sure what it
is I I can't speak to their motive but
certainly I have some opinions and it
again just does not look good it is not
congruent with a company that uh wants
the transparency of these issues Intel
statement also completely fails to say
how exactly they are going to support
customers dropping the ball on every
single possible level the community
needs the transparency on what quote
committed to making this right with our
customers actually means because that
means all at this point and there's
a problem where these companies like to
put out statements about we're going to
support and make it right and whatever
but without a hard commitment of what
that means active Outreach to people uh
actually have a list for Intel so we'll
make this easy Intel here's the road map
that I'd like to see uh first of all the
affected date range of the CPUs has to
be out there and if it's not fully known
with certainty what's affected at least
a suspected date range where if it's in
this date that you bought it or it was
manufactured via the manufacturer code
then possibly it is affected so for the
voltage and the micro code problem that
might mean effectively all of them we
don't know for the oxidation problem
there is a specific window before Intel
fixed it and I will talk about this
later but the good thing with the
oxidation problem is any manufacturing
level defect is something that once it's
fixed it should just be fixed and
permanently so for everything made after
that so it's in a it's a really bad
problem in the sense that it's a
hardware level defect it'll affect
everything potentially um and there may
be uncertain certainty as to which ones
got through without that problem and
which ones got through with it but it's
a good thing in the sense that once it's
resolved it's resolved so they need to
have an effective date range of CPUs for
both of these they need to have a serial
number range or lookup tool inel has
tools on its website for warranty
services you can type in some characters
on the CPU lid and get information about
the warranty they should apply that to
this and make it that you could type it
in and it spits out a you might be
affected or you are not affected and
maybe that simple maybe they can't
confirm it's affected but at least
saying maybe and no would help a lot and
ease some anxiety for customers uh we'd
also like to see a commitment to
warranty extensions offered to users of
CPS affected and a commitment to
warranty extensions for users who
experience degradation likewise if the
micro code changes affect performance in
any capacity we would expect an offer of
a full refund because if you're buying
something that doesn't perform as it was
reviewed and advertised then that's just
fair at this time however I really want
to emphasize this we don't know if
there's going to be a performance change
uh it's possible that can affect the
voltage tables without changing anything
for the actual CPU performance but we'll
really need to to see and independently
validate that one of the concerns I have
here is if users are unaware of these
micro code changes and unaware of the
need to update BIOS you know most users
they kind of buy or build their system
and then ignore all of this stuff and go
on on with their lives and that's
probably a good way to do things but
those people will not be informed on
this issue which is uh unfortunate
because this is something where if
they're being their CP is being exposed
to excessive voltage uh it will over
time potentially exhibit this
instability and maybe just stop working
at the the spec that it's set for so
what we'd like to see is some kind of
active Outreach uh and options for that
might include going through motherboard
Partners going through Retail Partners
posting on social media making sure the
Press is aware of this which includes
transparency and all these other things
we talk about to make sure everyone's
aware of it so that Intel can minimize
its liability and minimize its legal
exposure to the extent possible long
term by trying to get in front of these
failures by notifying everyone back to
the statement though like we said it
said nothing of oxidation in fact it
said that it had identified the root
cause of stability as being excessive
voltage related to it but it did update
its statement on Reddit where it's
common are more likely to go under the
radar for investors and media I didn't
see it until someone sent it to me
here's what it said quote so that you
don't have to hunt down the answer
questions about manufacturing or via
oxidation as reported by Tech Outlets
thanks Steve quote short answer we can
confirm there was a via oxidation
manufacturing issue addressed back in
2023 but it is not related to the
instability issue first this is just
more unclear language from Intel back in
2023 is an incredible ly wide range uh
in fact you might say it's almost about
a year and that's a that's a huge amount
of time be nice to actually know what
that range was Intel failed to provide
any date codes any means to identify
potentially affected CPUs again it might
not have affected all of them that went
through it but we don't know and that's
the point of the transparency so while
it's good that they've confirmed this
publicly for the first time and really
just within days of it becoming a public
pressure issue it's unfortunate that it
took a year to do so and they also once
again failed to provide any means to
actually do something with this
information as a consumer so uh Intel
continued with this quote lawn answer we
can confirm that the Via oxidation
manufacturing issues affected some early
Intel Core 13th gen desktop processors
however the issue was root caused and
addressed with manufacturing
improvements and screens in 2023 we've
also looked at it from the instability
reports on Intel Core 13th gen desktop
processors and the analysis to date has
determined that only a small number of
instability reports can be connected to
the manufacturing issue for the
instability issue we are delivering a
micro code patch which addresses
exposure to elevated voltages which is a
key element of the instability issue we
are currently validating the biker code
patch to ensure the instability issues
for the 13th and 14th gen are addressed
so if you didn't catch it Intel is
contradicting itself in these statements
with some slippery phrasing uh in
Intel's first statement it attributed
the root cause only to voltage and it
pointed to a solution as a micro code
update in Intel's short answer version
of that Reddit comment it said quote it
is not related to the instability issue
referring to oxidation uh but its lawn
answer which was in the same comment
said quote only a small number of
instability reports can be connected to
the manufacturing issue again relating
to oxidation so these are in congruent
with each other because they are
absolute statements it is not connected
and then only some of them are connected
the only Su wipes out that it is not
obviously so that means it is at least
somewhat related to the instability
issue uh and then of course the
excessive voltage is one that that path
everyone's kind of been on for months
now at this point alongside the power
behav pl1 pl2 actually were before the
voltage discussion uh so the power side
of things was kind of the one that
seemed like the really it's likely
there's a problem here because Intel has
been pushing the power so high and
running too close to the limit uh but
the oxid a separate issue that appears
to have at least affected some of them
for instability according to Intel again
we don't know how many the contact we
had in our previous PS assumed that they
would have a range of 10 to 25% uh
affected by instability that they
thought might be attributable to the
oxidation issue and a company that size
the scale is in the hundreds of
thousands to potentially millions of
processors so we're not sure how big a
small number is it's possible whatever
they had going on with instability
issues was related to oxid
at a a lower percentage and the voltage
on the other problems but either way uh
Intel immediately faced some pressure in
the Reddit post Matt of Aldon games
asked this quote any ideas on why we had
server providers who ran into faulty
CPUs in 2023 get rejected around the
time you mentioned the oxidation
manufacturing issue after 2 years of
being handed rejected rmas contacting
customer support again and H to not get
rejected again is getting quite annoying
and this is really bad this is why Intel
has to go back in time and re-evaluate
all the rmas from this period uh kind of
like Asus just did and start rectifying
those situations especially now that
they've admitted they knew there were
problems uh back then they knew the
oxidation was a thing in 2023 just wrote
it and then voltage they at least
publicly say they know about as of a
couple days ago so this is something
that has to be rectified for customers
who were unfairly rejected for claims
and that is not something Intel has uh
put in its commitment to support
customers additionally Dylan Brown
Unreal Engine supervisor at model Farm
wrote this quote for anyone curious at
work our failure rate for our 13900 K
and 14900 K machines is about 50% so far
any new machine builds going to be uh
9950 X's production environments need
reliability end quote Wendell asked
Dylan Brown for more information on
things like motherboards effected to
which Brown responded with this quote
fairly sure most are Rog ones they
haven't fully failed but exhibit the
instability even when lowering power
limits haven't tested new bioses yet we
first noticed the instability crashes
that appeared to be GPU related but
swapping gpus didn't seem to help
finally clicked when the news started
coming out about this issue and made
much more sense at the time we tried
reducing the power limits and such which
didn't really help we have many
identical machine builds and some were
completely fine While others were
extremely unstable so that's another
note for this approximately 50%
instability issue uh that pops up now
there's a lot of sampling bias here it's
possible that there are other problems
at play too which I only soften because
50% is such an enormous percentage that
it it seems unfathomable but that is now
multiple groups that have said a number
like that are close to it Wendell when
he presented his uh one server client
who had a claimed approximate 50%
instability failure rate softened it by
saying that he thought maybe half of
those would be recoverable that might be
with something like micro code and so
that would bring it down to say 25%
either way very large numbers I mean
even really anything over one is an
enormous percentage for failure rate of
something like a CPU uh so we would
believe that a lot of the instability is
recoverable with the micro code update
and with the BIOS updates the concerns I
have are more longterm like for ones
that have been running for a while it
may have some kind of permanent damage
uh and just obviously you for these B2B
customers especially game developers and
Publishers where you have server
providers who have difficulty with
server stability players get pissed off
you have maybe hundreds of thousands of
dollars in Damages from players
abandoning the game uh thinking that
it's the game's fault the programmer uh
who built the net code whatever it is
these are Big costs that are thanks to
Intel back to you Steve all right back
to the statement so also note Intel did
not name the 14th gen for CPUs that
thinks were affected by oxidation and in
that Reddit post the Intel employee who
was commenting seemed to effectively
explicitly state that it was a 13th gen
issue that was resolved there now our
source for the oxidation story gave us a
list of only 13th gen CPUs if you're put
that back up on the screen uh from the
last one the source was as we said at
the time concerned it might affect 14th
gen but the list that they had was 133
only I think it was 11 CPUs so seems
like 14th gen is at least affected by
micro code and voltage issues but may be
clear of the oxidation issues this is a
huge problem for Intel we appreciate
that they finally disclosed what's going
on at some level it's not enough but
it's better than complete silence it did
take immense public pressure to finally
get them to an answer it was bad enough
that large customers of Intel were
starting to leak to us information about
how bad it was because they didn't feel
like they were getting the support they
needed if you think about that really
how big of a statement that is for for
these huge customers and I say huge I
mean like not Asus and MSI but bigger
than those if they start contacting
media uh there's really only a few
reasons that'll happen of course you've
always got the one where someone might
just want to be involved in some big
Story Rex Bose we try to filter that as
best we can but typically what it comes
down to is uh it is best for every
business in the relationship so that'd
be in telling their Partners to just
stay quiet and fix it quietly so that
neither one of them affects the
confidence and the product that's being
sold whether that's the customer using
an Intel product or Intel itself and so
if it eventually does get out to Media
uh that is indicative of maybe how big
the problem is so uh the oxidation issue
to come back to that one is good in the
sense that it is resolvable in kind of
one swoop where uh it is a Fab level
change as far as I understand it's kind
of binary it's either fixed or it's
problematic and Intel says it's fixed
it's concerning of course we don't know
how wide reaching it is but at least
that one's probably resulted uh our
failure analysis lab sources have
indicated it's possible for oxidation of
the vas to cause additional problems
with time or worsen the stability with
time and create longer term failures
we'll have to keep an eye out for that
as for the lab we have at least one CPU
where we've pinpointed the region of the
CPU that is problematic uh we're not
sure if it's a voltage thing or if it's
an oxidation thing we're going to send
that out to them I have not fully locked
in that contract yet uh so it's not
guaranteed we're going to have an fa
report they're going to need to get me a
cost C estimate but we're going to still
try and do one at this point though
would just be academic and to learn
because Intel's already confirmed the
problem so it's not a mystery anymore
but it still be cool just to try to
understand understand the scope of it
and get some educational material for us
and for you all right what's next so uh
here are the immediate items for
consumers to know this is the part that
you should care about these CPUs might
be toxic on the used Market it's kind of
an interesting point but you should be
careful to check with sellers that they
are stable and not being sold because
they're unstable and remember that
seller might lie to you especially ones
on the internet you don't know so that's
a great accidental way to reduce
secondhand competition for new chips for
Intel and AMD but if you're a buyer of
secondhand you need to be careful uh two
if you own any 13th or 14th gen CPUs you
should immediately update the BIOS and
you should keep an eye out for Intel
micro code changes Intel said that this
will be in August so these can be pushed
a few different ways but a bios update
let's say late August should effectively
guarantee been applied and you can check
your motherboard manufacturers bios
notes to see if they explicitly address
it to give you some confidence uh three
If you experience any system instability
at all and you have been using the CPU
for a little while and you have no
reason to suspect it's some other
problem like malware or whatever then
our guidance gn's guidance would be to
immediately apply for an RMA even if you
think it might be Windows you really
don't want to be caught with a degraded
chip uh and Intel should be responsible
for its mess anyway so if they replace
excessive CPUs then that's their own
fault as a recap of the problems here's
kind of an FAQ based on some of the
comments we've seen on the internet the
last few days so uh one oxidation that
is a physical issue it can't be fixed
with micro code two the oxidation can
lead to instability and failure three
CPU should no longer have this problem
as it would have been resolved at the
Fab level and it would not persist once
fixed four Intel indicates that the 14th
series is unaffected by this and then
some FAQ for the voltage issues so first
of all long-term excessive can cause
irreparable damage typically this would
manifest as the inability to maintain
the same clocks at the same voltages so
uh overclocking is my best example of
this is the only real area I've seen
this applicable but in the OC world the
fix would be to reduce the clocks uh or
you'd have to pump the voltage more to
maintain the same clocks and this is
just one type of that kind of failure
I'm sure there can be other types but in
that manifestation of it it ends up
being sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy
of degradation so the better move would
be to reduce both uh for new CPUs or
those which have not been exposed to
excessive voltage for long periods micro
code and a bios update should
theoretically resolve all of these
concerns and if you haven't used your
CPU much and you don't see any
instability we'd recommend just applying
the BIOS and the micro code updates uh
mid August to let's say late August
maybe do it again just in case they make
a change and then move on because if you
don't think you're affected because you
don't see instability It's relatively
new hasn't had a lot of uptime then just
you know my I I don't want people like
feeling this constant anxiety about it
so make a decision move on and apply the
updates move on hopefully it doesn't
affect you or I guess dump the part
return it if you can if that's how you
feel uh But whichever one it is if it's
a new part and it hasn't seen a lot of
use I would say just either apply the
updates and move on and forget about it
or get rid of it uh for CPUs which are
already experiencing instability micro
code and bios updates May resolve it or
they may at least
help uh if they resolve it I still you
know we we have a certain level of
responsibility a lot of people watch
these videos a lot of people buy parts
make decisions based on what we say and
for that reason I have to air on the
side of caution with this where uh I I
don't feel confident or comfortable
saying that it would stop any future
instability if you have already had
signs of some level of degradation or
instability it's possible you just have
instability without degradation but I
can't know that realistically you can't
either and so my blanket recommendation
there would be an RMA and just get a new
one and uh and apply them if they're not
you know apply the BIOS update and then
move forward from there that way you
just it's kind of out of your mind
that's how I would operate because I'd
want to just have the confidence that
okay this is this should be about as
resulted as it can reasonably be
resolved I am moving on with my life
that's how I'd approach it so that's all
I can really recommend
um you know I don't want to appear like
I'm being uh overly concerned about it
but again if you're experiencing any
instability that appears maybe CP
related that's just that's my personal
approach to it so take that for what you
want all right for testing our plan is
to Benchmark them under the still the
same Intel official guidance for pl1 and
pl2 Intel is indicating August for the
micro code updates unfortunately this is
after the Zen 5 reviews that means that
I I don't really care what Intel says I
don't care if they say there's no impact
performance we still need to
independently verify it so uh and to be
clear at this time we're filming they
haven't made a commitment as to if it
affects performance or not so we're
going to test them with the official
guidance but we can't evaluate the micro
code until it ships so we're going to
have to revisit it in August and see how
it is then because of all of that our
blanket statement right now is an
avoidance of recommending any intel 13th
and 14th gen
CPUs once the micro code update goes out
we can retest for differences and we'll
also need to see some firm commitments
from Intel as to what specifically
committed to supporting their customers
means when we get those things uh
hopefully a lack of performance changes
and then hopefully some firm commitments
on the warranty we will reconsider The
Stance of whether or not we can
comfortably recommend Intel CPUs uh and
we'll let you all know as soon as that
stance changes it' be the first thing I
say in a hardware news episode or
something so finally this voltage issue
does not describe all instability we
think there's more to it likely that
comes with uh motherboards as well doing
some of their own screwy things there's
probably a lot of things in this problem
and uh some chips that Wendell has have
not been he thinks exposed to excessive
voltage but are still uh unstable so
it's possible it's the oxidation issue
for some of those 13th gen ones uh but
it could be something else entirely so
we'll continue to follow the story think
that's kind of it for now it's a mess
it's a big mess for inal it's a huge
problem you know the Fab level defect is
both good and bad it's bad because it
happened it's good because it's fixable
relatively uh in a relatively binary way
as far as I understand I don't know
anything about manufacturing but that's
my understanding of it and um I'd say
that's that's about it so Zen 5 reviews
coming soon Intel will be on the charts
but uh we'll revisit this in August with
micro code and that's it for this one
thanks for watching support us direct ly
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you all next time
تصفح المزيد من مقاطع الفيديو ذات الصلة
Turning off "Intel Default Settings" with Microcode 0x129 DISABLES THE VID/VCORE LIMIT
Intel has a Pretty Big Problem
Intel's new Microcode patch is HERE! Impact Testing Performance...
This is a disaster (for Intel)
Intel chips can’t possibly be this bad… 100% crash rate?
Motherboard Default settings could be COOKING your CPU!
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