*****SANDYBRIDGE MOTHERBOARD CHIPSET ISSUE*****

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drunkenmaster said:
Intel haven't said this will manifest itself over time, they've said 5-15% will end up failed after several years. The problem is, that figure will include the fact that the vast majority of systems only use a single hdd and a single optical drive, and never use the sata 2 ports.

This is frankly a simple design flaw, its not a failure rate thats slightly above normal, its a fault by design in every single chip. Considering probably less than 20% of systems use more than 2 drives, and they are predicting 5-15% will fail, with the 10% being a HUGE margin of error, thats almost certainly down to the simple fact they can't tell how many people will use more than 2 drives.

Considering the fault is from this transistor having ANY voltage applied and it always has voltage applied, even when the sata 2 is not in use, basically the chipset will have a 100% failure rate, however, only 5-15% of people will actually notice the failure rate, as it doesn't stop the entire chipset working but only the sata 2.


Intel WILL offer to replace every single last board, they can't do anything else, and you'd be mad not to take them up on it for the simple reason that even if you don't use the sata 2 ports, if/when you sell the mobo on, other people likely will and so resale value will be utter crap, when you can get a replacement for free.
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I think I might as well be the first to say thanks to the guys at OCUK who seem to be remaining fairly calm, and keeping us as up to date as they can. It's all we can really expect, and it seems to be entirely what they're doing. I'm sure plenty of people would still be willing to buy a SB mobo, and the warning is there for them if they don't want to risk it.

kd
 
Looks like I'm going to have to upgrade to larger hard drives due to a lack of slots and no longer having my old PC.

Feel more than a little annoyed that I'm being expected either to go without access to my data or spend £350+ on 2 new hard drives that I don't need in order to consolidate data onto the functional ports.

Would like confirmation at the very least that we'll be able to RMA for a refund at a point in time after there are functional replacements, since I'll want to have a working computer before I send it back.
 
I see absolutely no issue with OcUK continuing to sell these products - they are making the customers aware of the issue, if people still want to purchase SB products then why should they be unable to do so?

Had I not already upgraded to SB I'd not be put off doing so by this problem and would want to be able to still purchase the hardware.
 
Duncanm, what's changed over the last day that you now can't access all your data?
Has your motherboard stopped working now that it's heard the news?

No-one is expecting you to buy new drives because of this.

I agree with Fox's opinion on this, I think there are people being outraged just for the sake of it.

Remember:
Keep calm and RMA.
 
From what I understand in the text, if you buy a possible faulty board, you'll only get to RMA it IF you can prove the problem?

What happens to those who bought the boards before such a problem was known?
 
brendan said:
From what I understand in the text, if you buy a possible faulty board, you'll only get to RMA it IF you can prove the problem?
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ALL the comments so far quite clearly indicate that no decision has been made and no further information on the RMA process is available yet
 
[TW]Fox;18363792 said:
I see absolutely no issue with OcUK continuing to sell these products - they are making the customers aware of the issue, if people still want to purchase SB products then why should they be unable to do so?

Had I not already upgraded to SB I'd not be put off doing so by this problem and would want to be able to still purchase the hardware.
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Well said Fox.
 
Personally im not bothered and what ever action they take I will do. I recon it will be in the form of a RMA/Swapout.

I dont regret buying Sandy Bridge and many people will feel the same. The positives far out weigh the negatives. Its the good old case, the early adopters got stung.
 
Emlyn_Dewar said:
Duncanm, what's changed over the last day that you now can't access all your data?
Has your motherboard stopped working now that it's heard the news?

No-one is expecting you to buy new drives because of this.

I agree with Fox's opinion on this, I think there are people being outraged just for the sake of it.

Remember:
Keep calm and RMA.
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That if I want to alter any data on those drives there are now unknown risks for the health of the drive, and therefore a significantly increased risk of data loss.

If you go back and read Gibbo's post he shows that he has no intention of touching the affected slots.
 
duncanm said:
That if I want to alter any data on those drives there are now unknown risks for the health of the drive, and therefore a significantly increased risk of data loss.
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Can we please get some perspective, with a side order of calm down?

There might, perhaps be a problem with some of your SATA ports. This is a bad thing, it's unacceptable but Intel are working on it. In the meantime your HDD isnt going to explode, your 5Tb of interesting videos are not going to be deleted and your house will not catch fire.

Run your main drives off the 2 SATA 6GB/S controllers and then spread the rest out of the Marvell controller or the affected Intel controller however you best see fit, then..

... get on with your life until suchtime as Intel table a solution.

Hysteria much?
 
Intel's website says ALL SB boards shipping since January 9th are affected..which just so happens to be the day of release. So basically everyone with a SB board has a defective product.

I read on another site the 5% business just means the amount of users Intel think will actually experience problems over time due to the defect. NOT that only 5% of boards are affected. 100% of boards are affected. The point is all boards will/should to be replaced.

There's no need to panic though. Just use the unaffected 6gb ports for now. In a couple of months or so I imagine ocuk will get the new boards and tell us we can rma no problems.
 
duncanm said:
That if I want to alter any data on those drives there are now unknown risks for the health of the drive, and therefore a significantly increased risk of data loss.

If you go back and read Gibbo's post he shows that he has no intention of touching the affected slots.
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Why are you trying to cause panick with talk of data loss?

Intel have clearly stated that data is not at risk. If the board drops the port(S) you simply connect to another and the data is still there. Don't try to cause a rumour that does not exist please and as Fox has said use your system as normal the chances you will be effected are slim and if/when Intel come up with an action plan then we can move forward.
 
[TW]Fox;18363994 said:
Can we please get some perspective, with a side order of calm down?

There might, perhaps be a problem with some of your SATA ports. This is a bad thing, it's unacceptable but Intel are working on it. In the meantime your HDD isnt going to explode, your 5Tb of interesting videos are not going to be deleted and your house will not catch fire.

Run your main drives off the 2 SATA 6GB/S controllers and then spread the rest out of the Marvell controller or the affected Intel controller however you best see fit, then..

... get on with your life until suchtime as Intel table a solution.

Hysteria much?
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Go fan boy go.

Already switched the most important drives to those, still having to use 2 ports for SATA for data drives + 1 for DVD which isn't really an issue.

Secondly don't be condescending because you're assuming my data is due to torrenting etc. There are plenty of legit reasons for needing to store and manipulate large amounts of data.

The issue is a circuit design problem resulting in a gradual degradation over time of SATA connectivity on the affected ports, manifesting itself as high bit-error rates on those ports and eventually as total device disconnects.
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Is what Intel have said so far as far as I can tell, I can't find any statements that guarantee there is no risk of data loss so I'd very much appreciate a link that confirms that isn't a risk.
 
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First let me state that I'm happy with my SB kit and will await Intel, Gigabyte in my case OC to come up with an action plan.

But, I need to confirm but I believe the Sales of Goods act applies to all of those who would like to send theirs back for a full refund.
 
This is an excellent article from Anand:-
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4143/the-source-of-intels-cougar-point-sata-bug




Final Words
Intel maintains that Sandy Bridge CPUs are not affected, and current users are highly unlikely to encounter the issue even under heavy loads. So far Intel has only been able to document the issue after running extended testing at high temperatures (in a thermal chamber) and voltages. My recommendation is to try to only use ports 0 & 1 (the 6Gbps ports) on your 6-series motherboard until you get a replacement in place.

OEMs and motherboard manufacturers are going to be talking to Intel over the next week to figure out the next steps. Intel plans to deliver fixed silicon to its partners at the end of February, however it’ll still take time for the motherboard makers to turn those chips into products. I wouldn’t expect replacements until March at the earliest.

I maintain that the best gesture of goodwill on Intel’s part would be to enable motherboard manufacturers to replace P67/H67 motherboards with Z68 boards for those users who want them.




Lets see what motherboard manufacturers have to say and if they shall be sorting out a return/recall policy or not......
 
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