Intel says flaw in Series 6 Sandy Bridge chipsets

[Slappy00]

...sigh.... What's the number to ASUS again?

 

[dangerman1337]

Sit on it till april. D:

Wait its not till april? More on the topic...

Good gracious Intel, we had MB samples in computex 2010 and you demonstrated SB in IDF 2009 San fransisco and IDF bejing 2010 :thumbsdown:. I hope the Z68 doesn't have these problems or the AM3+ Motherboards come ahead of Bulldozer.

 

[Hogan773]

Per Anand.....

"Intel is starting to have discussions with OEMs today (yep, you read that right) on how to handle the recall and when fixed hardware will be available. This is the reason why there’s currently no official, public recall plan in place. In the coming weeks I expect this to get ironed out but for now the best advice I can give existing SNB owners is to use their 6Gbps ports and wait."

So I should be fine with 2 HDDs in Sata 0 and 1, and then my DVD in Sata 2. Sata 2 may be one of the faulty ports over time, but the DVD should be using the port much less than a HDD, and also there is ZERO chance that the degraded port actually hurts data and/or physically hurts the DVD drive. Right?

 

[joe_H]

I purchased my CPU at Amazon and I did get an RMA number. I was thinking I might keep it after considering the prices for that same CPU might be more expensive come April considering the huge loss Intel will be taking. I can't decide.

I thought the CPU isn't affected, but the chipset on the Mobo? Correct me if I'm wrong?

 

[MrTransistorm]

OK, so my UD7 arrives tomorrow from Superbiiz. Three options:

1. Accept the board, but return it unopened for a refund.
2. Refuse the shipment and file a claim with the CC company.
3. Use the board and get it replaced later

The first choice may cost me the 15% restocking fee. Ouch. Maybe it falls under defective merchandise?

The second choice sounds like a mean thing to do. I mean it's not the retailer's fault that Intel screwed up.

The third choice sounds most reasonable, but I'm afraid that I'll have to prove that the problem affects me when the time comes.

What should I do?

Anand weighs in and confirms that the problem is limited to the 3G SATA ports.

Well, if that's the case I can get by using the SATA 6Gb/s ports (both Intel and Marvell). I'm leaning towards keeping my UD7 and waiting for a replacement.

 

[sandorski]

One way around this would be to use a Controller card(I assume someone still makes them).

 

[FelixDeCat]

Per Anand for current owners (Im not one of them):

On its conference call to discuss the issue, Intel told me that it hasn’t been made aware of a single failure seen by end users. Intel expects that over 3 years of use it would see a failure rate of approximately 5 - 15% depending on usage model. Remember this problem isn’t a functional issue but rather one of those nasty statistical issues, so by nature it should take time to show up in large numbers (at the same time there should still be some very isolated incidents of failure early on).

Youre ok holding and using for now IMO.

 

[Continuity28]

One way around this would be to use a Controller card(I assume someone still makes them).

I don't even need a way around it. My board (Asus P8P67) has 4 ports that are unaffected by this, and they are the only ones I use anyways.

 

[Vette73]

Per Anand for current owners (Im not one of them):



Youre ok holding and using for now IMO.

It that was really the case then why have failures already shown up, less than 6 months, so much they are causing issues, let alone a 1 billion dollar recall.

 

[Seven]

...sigh.... What's the number to ASUS again?

I doubt they can help you now. There is no solution yet. Better to wait IMO.

 

[Morphine06]

I thought the CPU isn't affected, but the chipset on the Mobo? Correct me if I'm wrong?

You're correct. I think some of us in this topic were commenting on our new builds that are on hold for 3 months. It raises some questions on what to do with the CPU.

Considering the loss Intel will take I was questioning if the price of the CPUs will go up in coming months.

 

[sandorski]

I don't even need a way around it. My board (Asus P8P67) has 4 ports that are unaffected by this, and they are the only ones I use anyways.

Ya, just thinking of what Manufacturers could do or for those requiring those Ports. I'm kinda surprised how few SATA ports are on these Motherboards. My Motherboard has double+ that many.

 

[bcterps]

Argh, very frustrating. I haven't built a new computer in 5 years and spend $1k to build a nice rig for myself and now this. Hard for a lot of users to get by on only 2 SATA ports, especially with the higher SSD usage these days.

Doesn't help that I bought a niche board (Asus P8P67M-Pro) which will probably make the RMA process even longer. Hopefully Asus will allow people to upgrade to the Z68 chipset as a replacement since we'll have to wait anyways...

 

[Vdubchaos]

Connect your HDs to Sata 0 and 1......all set. If you have storage drives use 2-5...and if it fails/slows....who cares? It's no big deal

 

[Anomaly1964]

So what is the solution for an Asus P67 Sabertooth...?

I have two Intel SATA 6G and two Marvel 6G ports...

But......How do we know THESE wont eventually be affected as well?

 

[bcterps]

Connect your HDs to Sata 0 and 1......all set. If you have storage drives use 2-5...and if it fails/slows....who cares? It's no big deal

Failing hard drives are no big deal? Yes I have a backup solution in place, but failing drives is still a pain in the ass. Not sure what world you live in where failing hard drives don't matter...

 

[nOOky]

I'm not going to over-react. I'll simply move my two hard drives to the appropriate "good" sata connectors, and plug my two optical drives into the "bad" sata connectors. Opening the case and moving a couple of things around will suck, but I expect I'll continue to use my new system until this all gets sorted out. While it sucks for the end users like us, I will still be able to continue to use my super-speedy flawed system until I get a replacement board.
I am not looking for an RMA for my mobo and cpu just yet sheesh.

 

[Continuity28]

So what is the solution for an Asus P67 Sabertooth...?

I have two Intel SATA 6G and two Marvel 6G ports...

But......How do we know THESE wont eventually be affected as well?

We don't know for sure. Nobody does. But what we do know is that Intel narrowed down this particular problem, and found that only the SATA 3.0 ports are affected by it. Could there be a separate issue affecting other ports? Sure. But that's the risk involved with hardware... or man-made products, or life in general. Risk is inherent as nothing is perfect.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Failing hard drives are no big deal? Yes I have a backup solution in place, but failing drives is still a pain in the ass. Not sure what world you live in where failing hard drives don't matter...

It has nothing to do with failing hard drives, your hard drive performance will be slower over time......not fail.

Unless I misread again....

 

[Anomaly1964]

We don't know for sure. Nobody does. But what we do know is that Intel narrowed down this particular problem, and found that only the SATA 3.0 ports are affected by it. Could there be a separate issue affecting other ports? Sure. But that's the risk involved with hardware... or man-made products, or life in general. Risk is inherent as nothing is perfect.

Yeah, I need to get out of PANIC mode...

1. I guess I will use the other ports...
2. I have all my receipts and paperwork...
3. The P67 Sabertooth comes with a FIVE YEAR warranty...
4. Nothing LIFE CRITICAL on my PC but games, movies, music...

 

[Continuity28]

It has nothing to do with failing hard drives, your hard drive performance will be slower over time......not fail.

Unless I misread again....

They may eventually become unrecognizable, but it seems no damage is actually done to the drives themselves.

I wouldn't put any device on the SATA 3 ports, personally. I wouldn't take that risk.

 

[Diogenes2]

Failing hard drives are no big deal? Yes I have a backup solution in place, but failing drives is still a pain in the ass. Not sure what world you live in where failing hard drives don't matter...

The issue will not cause the drive to fail in a hardware sense. You could have data corruption or loss, so if you continue using the ports, hang on to those back-ups..

One article said the expected failure rate was 5-6%, so there is a good chance most users will never see the problem; though an RMA is certainly in order, as soon as it is available..

 

[keyed]

So, give it a week until retailers start offering free or heavily discounted sata controllers with motherboard purchases? I remember a while back maxtor hard drives used to come with ide controllers when ata/100 was fairly new. They'll need to do something for retailers and manufacturers to clear stock until the new revisions come in.

 

[darkxshade]

Anyone else think this presents a buying opportunity for those who has not yet jumped on SB? With no MB selections to think of until April, processor prices should dip shouldn't it? Though I imagine MB prices should more than offset that due to the influx of demand.

 

[dpodblood]

Well that sucks for the early adopters. Looks like I may be waiting for z68, or Bulldozer. One thing I am still not clear on; will this physically damage the drives, or is it simply the controller which fails? If it does not cause data corruption, or physical damage I don't think it's a huge issue. Simply switch the main HDD's to the 6GB ports, or use Marvell/offboard controllers.