Intel is being sued over the instability issues in its Raptor Lake CPUs

[midian182]

What just happened? In a move that pretty much everyone expected, Intel is being sued over the Raptor Lake instability issues, making what has been a nightmare situation for the company even worse. The suit alleges that Intel became aware of the defects in pre- and post-release testing, but it continued to market the processors with boasts about their speed and performance.

The instability issues plaguing 13th- and 14th-gen Intel processors have been a major problem for a company that is struggling like never before – as illustrated by Nvidia replacing Team Blue in the Dow Jones index last week.

In August, it was reported that the number of people experiencing problems with the Raptor Lake CPUs had led to a law firm investigating the potential of a class action lawsuit against the company.

Now, Intel has been sued in a federal court in San Jose, California, over claims that the chips are defective. The plaintiff, Mark Vanvalkenburgh of Orchard Park, New York, says he bought an Intel Core i7-13700K from Best Buy in January 2023.

Pat Gelsinger's standard expression these days

The complaint states that after purchasing the processor, which had a $409 MSRP when it launched in October 2022, Vanvalkenburgh learned that his expensive CPU was defective, unstable, and crashing at high rates.

The suit adds that the random screen blackouts and computer restarts were not resolved even after Vanvalkenburgh attempted to install a patch issued by Intel for its 13th-generation processors.

The suit, which is seeking class-action status, cites media reports and social media posts going back to December 2022 that describe Raptor Lake issues. It alleges that the company became aware of the defect by late 2022 or early 2023 during pre-release and post-release testing, yet it continued to sell the chips without mentioning the problems.

Intel is accused in the complaint of committing fraud by omission, breaching implied warranty, and violating New York General Business Law.

After more than a year of user complaints flooding the internet, Intel suggested in April that overclocking and overvolting was to blame for the Raptor Lake problems, suggesting users and OEMs return to the company's recommended baseline voltages.

In July, Intel finally identified the cause of the issue: a microcode algorithm error that sent the wrong amount of voltage to CPUs.

Intel recently explained that the root of the problem lies in a clock tree circuit within the IA core itself that becomes prone to failure when subjected to high voltage and temperature conditions. This failure causes a shift in the clock duty cycle, which results in system instability.

Intel has announced microcode patches to address the Raptor Lake instability issues, but they will only prevent the Vmin shift instability, as Intel calls it, from occurring. CPUs that are already affected cannot be repaired and must be replaced – assuming Intel has any left in stock.

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Intel is being sued over the instability issues in its Raptor Lake CPUs

 

[Puiu]

They kinda have to prove that Intel was aware of the issue for a long time.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

Class action won't mean jack squat for consumers. Unless the law suit decimates Intel with a fine so large to make it worthwhile, no one in the suit (aside from lawyers) will get any real pay day out of it. Once the lawyers take their 20-25% off the top the balance will go out to millions of consumers and you'd be lucky if you'd see $20.... And that would be 2/3/4/5 years down the road.

 

[Tactical Grace]

Class action won't mean jack squat for consumers. Unless the law suit decimates Intel with a fine so large to make it worthwhile, no one in the suit (aside from lawyers) will get any real pay day out of it. Once the lawyers take their 20-25% off the top the balance will go out to millions of consumers and you'd be lucky if you'd see $20.... And that would be 2/3/4/5 years down the road.

The Class Action wouldn't be about a payday, necessarily, but rather trying to force regulatory change to ensure a company can't do it in future. It's also about setting a precedent, which in this instance would be far more valuable for consumers in both the short and long term, than a simple $5 payout sometime in the future.

 

[Dimitrios]

Maybe INTEL should include a free rearview mirror for every CPU purchase.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

The Class Action wouldn't be about a payday, necessarily, but rather trying to force regulatory change to ensure a company can't do it in future. It's also about setting a precedent, which in this instance would be far more valuable for consumers in both the short and long term, than a simple $5 payout sometime in the future.

Still won't change a thing. These giant corporations have already learned that it pays more to be a crook than it does to be right. The fines are pathetic compared to the payout to their bank accounts.

Then you have the people, who have very short term memories - they'll forget about the issue and keep supporting the giant corporations, but that's mostly because there are only a couple of choices so they just tend to accept things and move on.

 

[toooooot]

In the picture, it is used as a jetpack on a figurine. Because it is makes your computer fly.
My cpu btw. Currently tryin to get it replaced

 

[ChipBoundary]

This lawsuit is going to absolutely flop. First of all, it doesn't affect every CPU. It only affects a small portion of them and mine was completely unaffected over a year of intense gaming. Second, they weren't aware of the issue until it started occuring and they proceeded to work on a fix, diligently. They've also provided replacements to a significant portion of those affected. Third, they'd have to prove intentional negligence or malfeasance.

This is absolutely pathetic. Consumers are useless, entitled morons. Unbelievable. I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

 

[maxxcool7421]

Class action won't mean jack squat for consumers. Unless the law suit decimates Intel with a fine so large to make it worthwhile, no one in the suit (aside from lawyers) will get any real pay day out of it. Once the lawyers take their 20-25% off the top the balance will go out to millions of consumers and you'd be lucky if you'd see $20.... And that would be 2/3/4/5 years down the road.

50% is typical

 

[Rouxenator]

After going AMD with my first paycheque in 2001, an entry level Athlon XP 1500+ I am now back on intel. Got a dirt cheap Optiplex i5-14500T and apart from a weaker iGPU then my Ryzen 5700G it's a neat little computer. Prices on intel will plummet making it a worthy deal for some.

 

[A Tabby Person]

This lawsuit is going to absolutely flop. First of all, it doesn't affect every CPU. It only affects a small portion of them and mine was completely unaffected over a year of intense gaming. Second, they weren't aware of the issue until it started occuring and they proceeded to work on a fix, diligently. They've also provided replacements to a significant portion of those affected. Third, they'd have to prove intentional negligence or malfeasance.

This is absolutely pathetic. Consumers are useless, entitled morons. Unbelievable. I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

Lawsuits will likely have legs. This article lays it out. Intel knew of problems, kept selling them, blamed the buyer (both OEM & retail), kept selling (13 & 14 gen; two years!), falsely identified the cause, cause was rejected by tech comm, kept selling, true cause was finally outed (Intel microcode). If this was limited to 13th, hey it’s an unlucky #, could avoid major consequences maybe. Was not. Two YEARS.

Trust in Intel is gone. Fanboy dreams and ad hominem attacks will not work.

 

[Loadedaxe]

Only person that will be getting any benefit ....the attorney.

 

[LimyG]

It's true that the only people who benefit financially will be the lawyers - assuming it goes ahead, and assuming Intel are found liable.

But that's not the point. This is big negative publicity for Intel. It may, just may, make them advertise and publish realistic specs (especially for "k" OC chips).

I see no downside. They will and have lost some market share to AMD, and this will continue to worsen until consumers know they are buying a chip that is stable, and does what it is mean't to do.

The cost to Intel isn't fines or anything. It's like highly negative "advertising," which tarnishes their name, and most importantly to them will cut into market share/sales. Even if it's a tiny bit, that is the biggest nightmare for a highly competitive company like Intel.

Better QC is likely for future chips. They cannot let this happen again - and they know that.

 

[ChipBoundary]

Lawsuits will likely have legs. This article lays it out. Intel knew of problems, kept selling them, blamed the buyer (both OEM & retail), kept selling (13 & 14 gen; two years!), falsely identified the cause, cause was rejected by tech comm, kept selling, true cause was finally outed (Intel microcode). If this was limited to 13th, hey it’s an unlucky #, could avoid major consequences maybe. Was not. Two YEARS.

Trust in Intel is gone. Fanboy dreams and ad hominem attacks will not work.

First, the problem wasn't identified until 14th Gen, so that's a load of malarkey. Second, this article didn't lay out squat. It laid out misinformation. Third, they didn't blame the buyer, they said it may be a possible cause. Fourth, again...it only affects a handful of CPU's and there is zero batch or lot number continuity. It is completely random who is affected, so there was no easy way to identify the issue.

I am no Intel fanboy. The MOMENT there's a better alternative, I will buy that product. It just ain't AMD. They have never not had stability issues, ever. It has never, not one generation, been a non-issue for them. It is their software and BIOS. Intel makes one mistake after decades of excellence and people absolutely roast them for it. If you're loyal to AMD, you're the "fanboy" because you are living in absolute denial.

 

[BuckarooBonzaii]

Like anything else, drag the case out for several years and the hype goes away. A settlement is agreed upon by both parties and the lawyers get paid. The amount settled is what the lawyers should be paid, whatever fine imposed and the left overs are divided among the plaintiffs. Your $20 check is in the mail.

 

[LimyG]

Lawsuits will likely have legs. This article lays it out. Intel knew of problems, kept selling them, blamed the buyer (both OEM & retail), kept selling (13 & 14 gen; two years!), falsely identified the cause, cause was rejected by tech comm, kept selling, true cause was finally outed (Intel microcode). If this was limited to 13th, hey it’s an unlucky #, could avoid major consequences maybe. Was not. Two YEARS.

Trust in Intel is gone. Fanboy dreams and ad hominem attacks will not work.

Fully agree. Intel screwed up badly.

 

[LimyG]

This lawsuit is going to absolutely flop. First of all, it doesn't affect every CPU. It only affects a small portion of them and mine was completely unaffected over a year of intense gaming. Second, they weren't aware of the issue until it started occuring and they proceeded to work on a fix, diligently. They've also provided replacements to a significant portion of those affected. Third, they'd have to prove intentional negligence or malfeasance.

This is absolutely pathetic. Consumers are useless, entitled morons. Unbelievable. I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

Pay for a trip to space with Mr. Musk, or the Russians.
Sabotage the craft. Stay in a perpetual orbit - forever. Problem solved.

 

[A Tabby Person]

First, the problem wasn't identified until 14th Gen, so that's a load of malarkey. Second, this article didn't lay out squat. It laid out misinformation. Third, they didn't blame the buyer, they said it may be a possible cause. Fourth, again...it only affects a handful of CPU's and there is zero batch or lot number continuity. It is completely random who is affected, so there was no easy way to identify the issue.

I am no Intel fanboy. The MOMENT there's a better alternative, I will buy that product. It just ain't AMD. They have never not had stability issues, ever. It has never, not one generation, been a non-issue for them. It is their software and BIOS. Intel makes one mistake after decades of excellence and people absolutely roast them for it. If you're loyal to AMD, you're the "fanboy" because you are living in absolute denial.

“… problem wasn’t identified until 14th gen…” means only Bad Things about Intel. Why not identified sooner (b/f 14th)? Where was QA dept? Why customer identified first? Why so long for Root Cause to come out?
“It is completely random who is affected…” another Bad Thing. Known, systematic points-of-failure are always better than The Unknown ones.
“… only affects a handful of CPU’s…” clustered around the expensive high-end chips. The premium, flagship ones.
I didn’t mention AMD. “Intel makes one mistake…” No, two big mistakes Intel made. 13th gen then doubled-down w/ 14th gen.
Speaking of denial and veering off topic… Intel was stuck on an ancient fab node and juiced their chips to remain competitive. Intel didn’t cover themselves in software glory with Spector/Meltdown. The stock market spoke, INTL lost their DOW slot for reasons.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

Just wanted to post here as a reminder of what happens for the consumer when a class action lawsuit is settled. Verizon just settled one for $100mil. It was reported that people would see $15-100 depending on how long they were a customer with Verizon. Based on what folks have been telling reporters they've seen very little from the lawsuit, usually just a few dollars.

Here's a link to a news story about it from a couple days ago:

https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/5071599-payments-go-out-in-100m-verizon-settlement-but-people-are-disappointed/

I suppose I should call myself lucky since I found out I got $14.81. That'll cover about 15% of my monthly bill.

Remember, a class action law suit won't make you rich and what you do get back will be a pittance of what you thought you'd receive. Also, these lawsuits pale in comparison to the money these corporations make. So when a class action suit like this is settled, the corporation only learns that if they get caught they will make bank off of consumers; so crime does pay.

As for this one with Verizon, apparently 1/3 of the money was put aside from lawyer fees and then another undisclosed amount for court costs....meaning that we can safely say that at least $60mil was distributed out amongst the people on the class action suit.