Intel Discloses Chip Glitch

You just got to love these guys:

Dear Customer,

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you. Newegg has recently become aware of a design issue that is affecting recent models of Intel Sandy Bridge platform motherboards. We are working with Intel to identify the exact nature of this problem.

As always, Newegg remains 100% committed to our customers' total satisfaction. In keeping with our commitment to our customers, we are extending the return period for your motherboard by 90 days or until replacements become available from the manufacturer, whichever is greater. Intel expects to have a new revision of the P67 & H67 chipsets out around April, at which point first-run motherboards with this issue will need to be physically replaced in affected systems.

From a technical standpoint, the design issue can be bypassed fairly simply by not using the Serial ATA (SATA) ports that are affected. Your motherboard’s manual should identify your SATA ports by number, and at a minimum you should see ports 0-5 (6 ports in total) listed. Ports 0 and 1 are Sata Rev. III (6Gbps), and do not appear to be affected by this problem. Ports 2-5 are SATA Rev. II (3Gbps) and should not be used. For a thorough explanation of this hardware work-around, please refer to our video on YouTube:
YouTube - Newegg TV: Sandy Bridge Design Issue Explanation & Workaround

If you choose to use the hardware work-around option, there is no need to contact us at this time. We have your information on record and will email you as soon as the replacements become available. If you would like to discuss this with our tech community or read up on the latest updates, please visit our EggXpert forum:
EggXpert - Intel Sandy Bridge Chipset Issue - Info Thread

If none of the above options are suitable to your needs and you wish to return the board at this time for a full refund, please email us at intelsandybridge@newegg.com and include your sales order number so we can help you out with your return.

If you have any concerns, please contact Newegg Customer Service for further information and assistance.

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Your Newegg.com Customer Service Team

According to Intel it only affects the 3Gbs ports 2-5 and only a 5% chance of a port failure after high usage and heat. So 95% may never have a failure and I bet the Motherboard manufacturers will only replace a FAILED board that is still under warranty. I don't look for a 100% recall on boards that have shipped to customers. They may not even recall the boards at the retailers . Only time will tell on how this will be handled.

Jim

Phone Man said:

According to Intel it only affects the 3Gbs ports 2-5 and only a 5% chance of a port failure after high usage and heat. So 95% may never have a failure and I bet the Motherboard manufacturers will only replace a FAILED board that is still under warranty. I don't look for a 100% recall on boards that have shipped to customers. They may not even recall the boards at the retailers . Only time will tell on how this will be handled.

Jim

I just got an email from NewEgg stating they have extended the return policy 90 days, and offered a hardware work around (do not use the ports), to return the mobo for a full refund, or RMA it when the fix is available.

~Lordbob

That's great. Maybe the industry will take care of the customers for a change.

Jim

Dave am a bit slow on the uptake as I am not really that savvy yet. Plus this might be a stupid and daft question.

I read your post re the transistor on the Intel boards now is this the only problem and does it affect all brands as I am waiting to buy.

Look sorry I know I am tekncompromised but am just curious.

sygnus21 said:

Hmmm..... that a tough decision. What does Asus say???

Haven't heard anything from ASUS yes, but NewEgg will cover it regardless.

~Lordbob

sygnus21 said:

Yeah, that's 90 days.

1- I seriously doubt the issue will show up in 90 days
2- What if the issue isn't resolved by Intel or whoever?

I don't know, I'd feel much better letting the board manufacture handle returns once a solution is found. And you can't trade in the board right now because who knows what you'll get?

Again, tough decision.

It means they will allow you to RMA it and get a new board.

~Lordbob

ICit2lol said:

Dave am a bit slow on the uptake as I am not really that savvy yet. Plus this might be a stupid and daft question.

I read your post re the transistor on the Intel boards now is this the only problem and does it affect all brands as I am waiting to buy.

Look sorry I know I am tekncompromised but am just curious.

If you are referring to my post, this issue is concerning the chipset on the motherboard for second generation i5 and i7 motherboards. CPUs are not affected.

This will affect all motherboards, all manufactorers like Asus, Gigabyte, etc, that use Intel chipsets on the i5 and i7 quad core motherboards.

Info is from the previously posted:
Chipsets — Alert for Intel® 6 Series Express Chipsets and Intel® Xeon® C200 Chipsets users

As part of ongoing quality assurance, Intel Corporation has discovered a design issue in a recently released support chip, the Intel® 6 Series (and the Intel® C200 Series Chipset), and has implemented a silicon fix. In some cases, the Serial-ATA (SATA) ports within the chipsets may degrade over time, potentially impacting the performance or functionality of SATA-linked devices such as hard disk drives and DVD-drives. The chipset is utilized in PCs with Intel’s latest Second Generation Intel Core processors. Intel has stopped shipment of the affected support chip from its factories. Intel has corrected the design issue, and has begun manufacturing a new version of the support chip which will resolve the issue. The Sandy Bridge microprocessor is unaffected and no other products are affected by this issue.
...
The systems with the affected support chips have only been shipping since January 9th and the company believes that relatively few consumers are impacted by this issue. The only systems sold to an end customer potentially impacted are Second Generation Core i5 and Core i7 quad core based systems. Intel believes that consumers can continue to use their systems with confidence, while working with their computer manufacturer for a permanent solution.

I wouldn't buy the second generation Core i5 (example: i5 2500) and Core i7 (example: i7 2600) quad core motherboards at this time, they will have motherboards with new chipsets available in April.
You will have to wait until then to get a motherboard with the re-designed chipset.