*** The Official Alder Lake owners thread ***

[=XDC=FluphyBunny]

Paid £444 motherboard and 12600k
£369 for a new 3060ti last week.
Game at 1080 and overall happy with performance.

Despite the **** show that is the pc market I’m quite happy.

 

[Jono8]

Well, i finally did a silly thing and decided to buy some black + RGB Crucial sticks for my PC for pure aesthetic reasons.

Had 64gb of 3000mhz C14 from previous build BUT it was non RGB and had RED heatsinks which totally did not match anything! Swapped it out for some Ballistix 3200MHZ C16 RGB. I realise in terms of RAM performance that gets me nowhere, but it looks much better now

Also bought a 2nd fan for the e34 cooler and i think it looks better balanced with dual fans.

Everything Black white and blue (*satisfied sigh*)

 

[mrk]

Not bad at all although it is worth pointing out that Crucial have closed up shop for Ballistix and will no longer be offering any support going forwards! All fine if you have no RMA needs etc but I'd be wary of buying any Ballistix RAM unless it was bargain basement pricing now!

 

[Jono8]

Not bad at all although it is worth pointing out that Crucial have closed up shop for Ballistix and will no longer be offering any support going forwards! All fine if you have no RMA needs etc but I'd be wary of buying any Ballistix RAM unless it was bargain basement pricing now!

Surely that cannot be correct? I bought them before the announcement when advertised with a lifetime warranty.

A company can't just discontinue a product but then not offer warranty support. I imagine they will keep units/inventory to still provide warranty for a while yet

 

[mrk]

There's been no word on what will happen with warranty, although Crucial itself will continue with generic RAM and server side offerings so I guess they may still honour warranties but not sure how they will replace kit if they are no longer producing Ballistix modules.

 

[Jono8]

There's been no word on what will happen with warranty, although Crucial itself will continue with generic RAM and server side offerings so I guess they may still honour warranties but not sure how they will replace kit if they are no longer producing Ballistix modules.

I'm sure they will have something in place. Loads of things get discontinued in the computer world but still have warranties honoured.

Discontinuation =/= end of warranty support.

 

[~>Dg<~]

Not bad at all although it is worth pointing out that Crucial have closed up shop for Ballistix and will no longer be offering any support going forwards! All fine if you have no RMA needs etc but I'd be wary of buying any Ballistix RAM unless it was bargain basement pricing now!

wondered why its been so cheap every where.

 

[Journey]

Not bad at all although it is worth pointing out that Crucial have closed up shop for Ballistix and will no longer be offering any support going forwards! All fine if you have no RMA needs etc but I'd be wary of buying any Ballistix RAM unless it was bargain basement pricing now!

I made a thread about this is the memory section last week, Micron/Crucial are still offering the normal warranty service on the products and where and when possible will offer a like-for-like replacement until no longer possible. Bear in mind that under the flashy heat spreader is just a normal Crucial RAM module that fits the criteria for the timing at a certain speed. I think the only ones that should be slightly wary are the Ballistix Elite as some of those were Samsung B-die.

So please don't throw 'no support' around when that is not at all true.

 

[mrk]

It's not just a flashy heat spreader though, Ballistix RAM will have undergone extra testing to ensure they run stable etc under their advertised speeds and timings. If it was just normal stuff with fancy cooling bits then people would have just been buying the cheaper RAM and putting on heat spreaders.

If there's lifetime or extended warranty then I've yet to see any company keep at it long after they close up that brand, or part of that business. It's just one of those situations really.

and where and when possible will offer a like-for-like replacement until no longer possible

I have no doubt, but that last bit will also no doubt be sooner rather than later. micron aren't going to continue putting resources into an arm of business that is no longer generating revenue. You can't trust any company these days to do that effectively. The like for like will just be bog standard RAM equivalent, maybe some timings will be slacker, but the frequency will be the same and they will call it a day.

Personally I would not be wanting to pay standard price for components that are no longer being made because the uncertainty of getting a replacement if it goes bad is exactly that, or after years being able to get a good deal on resale etc.

 

[Journey]

It's not just a flashy heat spreader though, Ballistix RAM will have undergone extra testing to ensure they run stable etc under their advertised speeds and timings. If it was just normal stuff with fancy cooling bits then people would have just been buying the cheaper RAM and putting on heat spreaders.

Yes, people have been doing that except no one in their right mind puts a heat spreader on when it isn't needed 90% of the time they do nothing at all, unless you are shoving huge volts through it, and then you need air flow over it not 1.5mm of aluminium. You should look at the performance of the Dell DDR5 RAM, just normal green PCB's with Hynix or Samsung IC's on it, you'll get the same or better performance as a G.Skill 6000MHz C36.

I have no doubt, but that last bit will also no doubt be sooner rather than later. micron aren't going to continue putting resources into an arm of business that is no longer generating revenue. You can't trust any company these days to do that effectively. The like for like will just be bog standard RAM equivalent, maybe some timings will be slacker, but the frequency will be the same and they will call it a day.

Micron/Crucial are one of the best RMA/support places I deal with, they always accommodate where possible, unlike Kingston where it is totally hit and miss. I've had DDR (yes DDR not DDR2, or 3 modules) replaced by Crucial last year, and they tend to replace with better not worse, much like a GPU AIB would.

Personally I would not be wanting to pay standard price for components that are no longer being made because the uncertainty of getting a replacement if it goes bad is exactly that, or after years being able to get a good deal on resale etc.

That is you though, not everyone else, and saying you'll get no support is untrue.

 

[Ayahuasca]

I wouldn't be worried at all about the Crucial Ballistix situation if I owned a set and I'm someone who'll sit and obsess over what parts to buy before doing a build.

 

[mrk]

Sorry but once warehouse stock is gone I cannot see how they can satisfy lifetime (or still running) warranties if there literally isn't any way to replace them as they don't make the RAM any more. It would be really cool if all is well going forwards, but this hasn't been the case in the past elsewhere, just because their RMA process is good doesn't mean it will remain that way for a product that has been axed.

We've been burned by big corps before way too many times, it's cynic mode with these outfits from now on when they make promises, that way when they do deliver, we are impressed and pleased, instead of disappointed because expectations were not met.

 

[Journey]

Sorry but once warehouse stock is gone I cannot see how they can satisfy lifetime (or still running) warranties if there literally isn't any way to replace them as they don't make the RAM any more. It would be really cool if all is well going forwards, but this hasn't been the case in the past elsewhere, just because their RMA process is good doesn't mean it will remain that way for a product that has been axed.

We've been burned by big corps before way too many times, it's cynic mode with these outfits from now on when they make promises, that way when they do deliver, we are impressed and pleased, instead of disappointed because expectations were not met.

You be a cynic all you like, but given I return more RAM per month than you've probably used in your entire life I'd say I'll take my experience over your guessing.

 

[mrk]

Well you've been returning RAM still in production and readily supported so I would expect nothing but top level service. We can revisit this in a year or two and see if the same can be said. There's really no need to get so uppity!

 

[Journey]

Well you've been returning RAM still in production and readily supported so I would expect nothing but top level service. We can revisit this in a year or two and see if the same can be said. There's really no need to get so uppity!

How am I uppity, you said no support. I just said I've returned DDR RAM to Crucial last year and had it replaced, not 2, 3, or 4... DDR RAM. Sheesh at least read what has been written.

 

[mrk]

I admit I should have worded that first post better, but the rest is very reasonable, even if it is a guess, going by past experiences of discontinued products across the board that has been the trend. As I say, give it a year or two and see what actually happens.

 

[Journey]

I admit I should have worded that first post better, but the rest is very reasonable, even if it is a guess, going by past experiences of discontinued products across the board that has been the trend. As I say, give it a year or two and see what actually happens.

Is that your past experience as a consumer in the PC market or just overall? How many other markets that you consume in offer a real 'lifetime' warranty, there are very few things you can buy where it will even be offered. In fact I can't think of any other electronics where you get one, you might get one with a knife or something equally irrelevant.

Also would you think a company like Corsair would be able to support you better? After all they just buy in RAM IC's to put on a PCB, in 3 years time after they aren't making DDR4 Vengeance Pro RGB SL are they going to be able to supply that should it go faulty if you owned some, and what if you have four modules (2x2 kits) and they couldn't but offered you the next closest thing that doesn't at all match with what you have now.

How much longer do you think consumer brands will be pushing DDR4 btw?

 

[Jono8]

Yes, i'm not in the slightest bit concerned. Any computer part you buy could be discontinued at any point, and likely will be.

GPU's are only in production for a couple of years , so warranty for them normally ends up with you getting a different/equivalent model.

I imagine Crucial may even offer equivalent level/priced DDR5 as a replacement or something if they can't honour the warranty. However, i would imagine their inventory will be able to cope with warranty replacements for a while yet.

There is no way simply discontinuing a product has ever allowed a company to just say "na, sorry" to warranty issues when something is still under warranty.

if Crucial themselves went under then that is a different story, but a discontinuation of a product line? meh.

 

[mrk]

Is that your past experience as a consumer in the PC market or just overall? How many other markets that you consume in offer a real 'lifetime' warranty, there are very few things you can buy where it will even be offered. In fact I can't think of any other electronics where you get one, you might get one with a knife or something equally irrelevant.

Also would you think a company like Corsair would be able to support you better? After all they just buy in RAM IC's to put on a PCB, in 3 years time after they aren't making DDR4 Vengeance Pro RGB SL are they going to be able to supply that should it go faulty if you owned some, and what if you have four modules (2x2 kits) and they couldn't but offered you the next closest thing that doesn't at all match with what you have now.

How much longer do you think consumer brands will be pushing DDR4 btw?

As a consumer personally as my corporate dealings through work has always been through an accounts manager who has the sole job of getting things done and me not having to deal with manufacturers directly, although I left the IT field just before Covid struck.

I will have to apologise though, it seems a really silly thing to debate about really and as I said I do hope Micron stick to their word. There have bee frustrations elsewhere today with the Galxy S22 Ultra having screen issues across the board on European models (with many owners on ocuk who got their ones today too) it seems and I'm sat here with a pre-order having ummed and ahhed over the cancel button a number of times today but decided to think about it over a nice shower and tea to come to correct senses. Companies just can't be relied upon all the time sadly, even if they are otherwise generally really good. I also have an ongoing support (or lack of) ticket open with a watch strap manufacturer that sent me the wrong item and they are just ignoring any contact entirely.

As I say, no excuse to have an argument over such a thing so time to go back to what we do best and discuss the pros/cons of Alder Lake

So on that note, some continued good news in that there have been no app crashes or entries in reliability monitor since upping the DDR voltage to 1.46 and going back to the F6 BIOS. I have played a lot of Cyberpunk lately with the new patch, so if it was going to show any signs of error then this game would certainly be it.

The kind of upward curve I like to see

 

[Puppetmaster]

Got my 12700k setup today. Out of the box settings which I think is around 1.2v, getting temps of 51c - 57c across the cores with fans at a minimal speed (on water). What sort of clocks can these run on and what is the typical voltage to start at?