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Intel CPU Warranty Invalid w/o CPU Fan?
saberint asks: "Recently, I had a good argument with Intel as I had a 3.2G P4 chip die on me within 6 months. I sent the CPU back to Intel only to be told that they will NOT honour the warranty because I did not send the fan back with it. Apparently the fan and the CPU's serial must match or else there is no warranty. This 'policy' is not listed on the warranty card or on their website. So for all you network admin or IT support people out there, keep the fan and the CPU together. Has anyone else experienced this with Intel?"
Why couldn't you send the fan in after they told you? Even if I replaced the stock fan with some fancy lit liquid Nitrogen fan, I'd keep it around. After all, they do make nice fans, Intel.
This is obviously a scheme to deter overclockers from scamming away at Intel's Expense.
Holy shit, the 3.2 Ghz Processor blew up when I ran it at 4.0 Ghz. Let me try and get a new one. Oops, I glued on a custom industrial-quality fan to cool the damn thing.
I mean why would a person NOT use the fan provided by Intel in the retail package? The complete package is warranted, if something happens -- it is Intel's problem. So, don't put monster fans when the retail package will do.
now supporting:
cmdrTaco for president '04
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That you send the fan that you used with this cpu to them. If they complain that it is not the right fan (and it works), since the necessity of a particular fan is not mentioned on your warranty materials, I would promptly contact my attorney general and your state's division of consumer affairs (if it has one).
There's a reason we have a legal system for breach of contract. Intel breached their contract with you and ought to be held accountable. Worried about Intel's lawyers? Just call the press or threaten to. It'll cost Intel more to deal with the bad press than it will to replace your chip. As soon as they hear about a care, I guarentee they'll capitulate and just give you a replacement.
-- Political fascism requires a Fuhrer.
with intel, the chip always hits the fan...
Body in a woodchipper...HA HA!
There are two tracks for Intel processors, OEM and retail.
If I remember right the OEM have something like a 15 day warranty from Intel, after that you need to take it up with your reseller.
The retail CPUs have a three year warranty but they come with a fan designed for the processor right from Intel. It comes as a package and you are only supposed to use the Intel fan, any other will void your warranty.
I imagine getting the fan serves multiple purposes. Did the CPU die because the fan was weak/dead. Did the user swap it out for another unapproved fan, etc.
I'm sure Intel has been getting plenty of returns, both from overclockers, from people who use the wrong fans for whatever reason, or who install fans improperly. Why should Intel have to bear the burden of these returns when it's not their fault?
what do the instructions say concerning the fan? do they say, "use this fan"?
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
This kind of makes me wonder...
I built a dual xeon system today using two boxed intel chips... I took the parts out and put them on the bench then installed them in the machine. I have no idea if I paired the fans or heatsinks or baffles or mounts or whatever correctly with the processors. There were two of everything. Maybe they are around backwards; who knows?!?
I hope if one dies they will honor the warranty even if I send them back the wrong fan!
A letter from your attorney could go a long way toward fixing this. Better yet, if you have a friend in the legal profession, they might do it as a freebie. (Just expect them to call you to fix your computer at some time.)
It's good to use your head, but not as a battering ram.
everybody respects them, and many overclock with them. they are very decent in terms of cooling and noise, they only need a little thermal paste. amd is the one with the shit stock hsfs (cheapo speezes do the trick).
*NOTE* I did not check AMD's website or the warranty card recently, but when I did I did not notice mention of this policy.
Anyway, I had an AMD return (using the "home"/retail) support department and they requested that I send the original cooling fan and heatsink.
Since I had the heatsink, and the CPU was over two years old I did not push the issue, BUT they did seem to have the same policy...
-MS2k
Call back and speak to someone else. From my expirience if you don't get a good result, you will get it from someone else. We have only ever had one CPU fail (out of 500) and they did not want the fan back. But that was some time ago.
Stock cooling is fine for most people (that don't live in the middle of the desert).
Opportunity knocks. Karma hunts you down.
The fan was changed to use the thermaltake aqarius2 water cooling system. Not to overclock the computer but so I could leave it on 24/7. The issue more is that I live in Australia, where in summer it hits 40-45 degrees centigrade (approx 103-113), and it can hit just shy of 50 (122) if we r unlucky. If i was too have the computer running at 80% with the standard intel fan then it would crash within 5 minutes. It was either the water cooling or leave the aircon on all the time....and id hate to see that power bill...
What about barebones shuttle cases? Mine has a heat pipe and a fan on the back of the case for cpu cooling. No intel reatail fan here. Sam goes for most rack mount cases as they have their own cooling solution.
I don't understand why we are even debating this.
I suppose if you blasted 900$ on a CPU it might matter if it died but it's silly otherwise.
You can get comparable performace for $200 and a those prices the chance of a cpu failing are simply a non issue.
Couple that with the fact that all CPU's are tested before shipping, not crappy testing like Mobo's or HD but quality testing.
And the chances of damaging a CPU are infintessimal it simply doesn't matter anymore.
Also cpu's are completely interchangeable. If one dies you lose 2 hours while you go buy a new one (A better one).
This limited warranty does not cover damages due to external causes, including accident, problems with
electrical power, usage not in accordance with product instructions, misuse, neglect, alteration, repair,
improper installation, or improper testing.
I'll wager somewhere in the installation instructions it says "Use a genuine Intel fan".
Intel Sales Rep: Ohhhh, you used a different fan than the one that came with the unit? Sorry , no warranty! Thank you for shopping with Intel!
You are in a twisty maze of processor lines, all alike.
There is a lot of hype here.
Okay, let's say you've replaced the stock fan with your preferred custom fan. Countless operating hours later the CPU goes thumbs down and you decide to send it back as it is under warranty. Of course, because you read this /. article, you knew to send in the stock fan/heat sink.
However, I'm sure that the rarely-if-ever used stock fan will betray its lack of use to the company (Intel or AMD as they both seem to have the same requirement). So, then they can say, "sorry, we cannot honor the warranty because you did not use the stock fan as we require."
Sounds a bit sneaky to me, but okay. The last thing I ever have go is the CPU, but I'm not a (over|under)clocker/sys admin.
What those who want activist courts fear is rule by the people.
you'll get a standard warranty on a retail one, and you get 3 years if you use their heatsink/fan. this is because of all the failures, the vast majority are due to people fucking it up when they install an aftermarket fan and crack the die or similar. likewise, a thermal pad's easier for joe sixpack to not cock up. intel's using the original fan carrot as a way to reduce the amount of arguing with kids who can't overclock properly - those of us who know what they're doing will be using decent heatsinks and fans, with thermal paste, and taking it on the chin if every now and again that means accidentaly bending a pin or screwing it up.
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I googled for intel warranty retail and found the Intel(R) Processors - Warranty Information Q/A
Both Intel and AMD will tell you that if you use a different heatsink/fan than the one that came with the processor, you will void the warranty.
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
Ummm....unless you're talking in batches of 1000, I believe you're mistaken...Whenever I've ordered AMD CPUs from Newegg.com and the like anyway, the difference between OEM and Retail is usually under $5.
You'd be dumb not to do it. The fans just sit on the shelf, if the box comes with built-in cooling (like my Shuttle SK43G) but I've had no problem with the two AMD heatsinks I got with the other two. (2400+ and 2600+)
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
If they only asked you to return the CPU, and you supplied the CPU. They should honour the warranty.
If they asked for the fan and CPU, obviously you must use both.
If they supplied a fan with the CPU, they can have a condition in the warranty that you must use that fan.
I think this is reasonable, they tested and determined that the fan they supply is adequate. They didn't test the others, so why would they put their money behind them?
With cars they can not demand specific brands of motor oil to use, unless they provide the oil to you free of charge.
I had a customer once who hot-glued his fan onto his CPU. Hilarious! The strands of hot-glue inside the case.....the burnt glue on the CPU.....the gobs of re-melted glue ont eh AGP port..... the list goes on.
It's really light, and it doesn't throw that much power onto the road. Oh, and the bolts are about as thick as your thumb - about the size of truck wheel studs.
As for the the inboard brakes, Jags have inboard rear discs, as do some Alfa-Romeos, but inboard front discs are pretty uncommon. Old 2CVs had inboard front drums, which were a bear to work on...