Retailer says Intel Raptor Lake CPU RMA returns are up to 4x of previous generations

[Daniel Sims]

The big picture: As Intel prepares a patch to address crashing issues in its 13th and 14th-generation Raptor Lake CPUs, more information about the processors' failure rates is emerging. Some companies have opted to switch to AMD, and a retailer recently disclosed that Intel CPU return rates have risen dramatically in recent years.

An unnamed major European online PC retailer recently informed the French outlet Les Numeriques that it receives approximately four times as many returns of Raptor Lake processors compared to Alder Lake (12th-gen Intel Core). This suggests that Intel's recent RMA rates may be significantly higher than AMD's.

The retailer reported that return rates for the 13th-gen Core i9 13900KF, 13900KS, and 13900K are quadruple those of the 12th-generation CPUs. Meanwhile, the 14th-gen Core i9 14900KF, 14900KS, and 14900K currently have triple the RMA rates of Alder Lake.

The difference is likely due to age. The retailer confirmed that the 13th-gen processors experienced similar return rates when they had been on the market for as long as the 14th-gen chips have been now. This indicates that Intel CPUs may degrade over time and suggests that returns for the company's most recent lineup could increase.

Estimates from Les Numeriques are likely conservative. The numbers from one retailer don't account for failing processors that were not returned, were returned to other retailers, or were sent directly back to Intel.

However, extrapolating from Mindfactory's 2020 RMA rate reports for Coffee Lake Refresh (9th-gen Intel Core) and AMD's Zen 2, would put Intel's 13th-gen chips between four and seven percent and the 14th-gen processors between three and 5.25 percent. The absolute number of failing Raptor Lake CPUs remains unclear, but the data suggests that something is wrong.

Users have reported instability with Intel's last two desktop CPU generations throughout the year. A game developer and a VFX studio reported disastrous failure rates for 13th and 14th-gen i9s, prompting both to migrate to AMD.

Intel traced the problem to a microcode algorithm error that resulted in incorrect power delivery values. The company plans to release a patch in mid-August, but it will not fix CPUs that are already failing.

Users with processors currently experiencing crashes or instability will need to RMA them. Those with high-end Raptor Lake CPUs that are still functioning well should keep their BIOS updated, maintain Intel's default voltage settings, and download the company's update as soon as it becomes available from OEMs.

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Retailer says Intel Raptor Lake CPU RMA returns are up to 4x of previous generations

 

[winjer]

Meanwhile at Intel.

 

[yRaz]

I know that there are people cheering down "down with chipzilla" right now, but let's not forget what happens in a monopoly. Many gamers are experiencing this already with nVidia, you don't want AMD to double the price of their 9000 series, do you?

I think that's the real reason for the "dely". They're waiting to see how this Intel fiasco turns out to decide the final pricing of their chips

 

[kiwigraeme]

I know that there are people cheering down "down with chipzilla" right now, but let's not forget what happens in a monopoly. Many gamers are experiencing this already with nVidia, you don't want AMD to double the price of their 9000 series, do you?

I think that's the real reason for the "dely". They're waiting to see how this Intel fiasco turns out to decide the final pricing of their chips

We just want Intel to get better and do it right. Ignoring oxidation issues, Intel rushed the development, and other Intel development teams new that that placement of power lines could cook the CPU. But Intel wanted to say their product was the best and pushed micro voltages too high, so now people have to turn of e cores and/or get the new bios patch when it comes to their board .
The oxidation was a known problem, yet Intel only binned the most affected and still let some out into the public.

Intel won't die, but like Boeing it needs a rethink. You don't have to be the best to compete, or need to have every iteration a winner.

TBF there are probably millions of products out there where similar decisions were made and escaped scrutiny as that company hid any resulting problems, could blame the customer etc etc 1001 scenarios

With more social media , more data collection tools , it's harder to hide
AMD had some problem last year was it ? the were criticised , But they said collecting data, and then was it a month later offered a resolution path

Plus this is a warning to AMD and every other tech company
Not a big fan of Sony, but they seem to over engineer their first gen game consoles, blu-ray players etc and then learn to cut back and consolidation and slimming,
All companies should have attention to detail. Yes I get the exception go fast break things, get market share. But that is not applicable here

Plus the whole "intel inside" brand recognition is worth a lot of money. Probably lucky for Intel the general public is completely unaware. But they have handled it badly
Even Apple is now memed "you are holding it wrong"

However big companies have got away with no reply , no apologies , no acknowledge , as they know these things disappear in 6 months. I don't buy nestle or it's associate brands like Maggi , Purina etc but that is the exception to the rule

Let's be honest if Intel make a fantastic CPU chances are we are going to buy it, People on AMD now mostly had Intel dual core PCs before that, well I did

 

[godrilla]

We just want Intel to get better and do it right. Ignoring oxidation issues, Intel rushed the development, and other Intel development teams new that that placement of power lines could cook the CPU. But Intel wanted to say their product was the best and pushed micro voltages too high, so now people have to turn of e cores and/or get the new bios patch when it comes to their board .
The oxidation was a known problem, yet Intel only binned the most affected and still let some out into the public.

Intel won't die, but like Boeing it needs a rethink. You don't have to be the best to compete, or need to have every iteration a winner.

TBF there are probably millions of products out there where similar decisions were made and escaped scrutiny as that company hid any resulting problems, could blame the customer etc etc 1001 scenarios

With more social media , more data collection tools , it's harder to hide
AMD had some problem last year was it ? the were criticised , But they said collecting data, and then was it a month later offered a resolution path

Plus this is a warning to AMD and every other tech company
Not a big fan of Sony, but they seem to over engineer their first gen game consoles, blu-ray players etc and then learn to cut back and consolidation and slimming,
All companies should have attention to detail. Yes I get the exception go fast break things, get market share. But that is not applicable here

Plus the whole "intel inside" brand recognition is worth a lot of money. Probably lucky for Intel the general public is completely unaware. But they have handled it badly
Even Apple is now memed "you are holding it wrong"

However big companies have got away with no reply , no apologies , no acknowledge , as they know these things disappear in 6 months. I don't buy nestle or it's associate brands like Maggi , Purina etc but that is the exception to the rule

Let's be honest if Intel make a fantastic CPU chances are we are going to buy it, People on AMD now mostly had Intel dual core PCs before that, well I did

Yeah I had the Cor 2 duo when Crysis 1 came out and upgraded to the i7 980xe at 4.3 ghz all cores that I had for almost 10 years. Then in 11/2019 I upgraded to the 9900ks which I had for 3 years. Then in 11/22 decided to finally for for the 7700x/x670e even though Intel still held the gaming crown in the titles I played. Finally I ended up selling the 7700x for the 7800-x3d last summer.
My personal choice for going AM5 in 2022 for the hopes of the potential of Zen6 3d support future proofing. The maximum gaming efficiency while still holding the gaming crown in a itx build without throttling was just icing on the cake that I didn't even anticipate.
For an enthusiast who had multiple generations of Intel cpus , and one that lasted as long as a decade. This is so disappointing what is happening to Intel cpus. I mostly feel bad for the consumers. I am hopeful that their upcoming core lineup with Arrowlake and Blackmage gpus will reverse course but unfortunately the public outcry hasn't cought on yet and is probably the beginning of this shyte show.

 

[nitebird]

Intel still has 78% of the market, let's wait until it hits 50% before we worry about an AMD monopoly k?

 

[Vanderlinde]

The branding damage is far worse. You got high end chips that used to dominate the charts with productivity or gaming, but now are a danger if not patched. And patching does not guarantee the oxidation going on.

oxidation is a normal thing; but it should occur in 20 years of lifespan of a CPU or chip, and not 1 year. Who knows the oxidation is slowed down until the chip reaches out of warranty.