Reddit user jerubedo took to the r/hardware subreddit to share a story on an Intel RMA nightmare. The individual said the company claimed that the two Core i9-14900K processors suffering from theinstability issuesplaguing 13th- and 14th-generation Intel chips were fraudulent. The company reportedly said in its response, “Intel reserves the rights to retain the product and/or destroy such product as appropriate.”
Before all this drama, jerubedo contacted Intel’s customer service regarding the processors, and the company agreed that they were indeed faulty. When Intel asked for photographs and documentation, the company responded to jerubedo saying that one of the chips (Serial Number 02096 from Micro Center) was re-marked. At the same time, the other was a tray processor (Serial number 03252 from Amazon) and was not covered by a retail warranty.
When the Reddit poster sent clearer photos of the Amazon chip, Intel changed its stance, saying it was indeed a boxed processor. However, the company also noted that it wasn’t confident that the chip would pass muster with its fraud validation, suggesting that jerubedo return the chip to the merchant (Amazon) that sold them the chip instead.
Jerubedo showed the Micro Center chip to the store where they bought it from, and it said that their chip did not bear any signs of tampering and that the Reddit user should report the latter’s findings to Intel. The CPU giant said that jerubedo could push through with the RMA, but Intel threatened to keep the chip if it found it fake.
Intel’s alleged response to the Reddit user’s insistence on the return was: “We do not disclose our investigation practices. If you believe your products are valid and wish to proceed with a return merchandise authorization (RMA), we can create one.However, if the products fail the validation process, the units will be retained and confiscated, and no replacements or refunds will be provided.”
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It’s good that both Micro Center and Amazon accepted jerubedo’s return. Intel just announced two extra years of warranty for any boxed 13th Generation Raptor Lake and 14th Generation Raptor Lake Refresh processors to assuage consumer fears that their processors will fail soon after the warranty expires.
While this would give Intel users peace of mind, if similar RMA stories emerge, many Intel loyalists could potentially switch to AMD systems. It would further compound the giant corporation’s troubles, with Intel having just announced a 15% reduction of its workforce and suspending dividends for its investors.
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Jowi Morales
Contributing Writer
Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.
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30 CommentsComment from the forums
-Fran- "We give you two more years, but we'll do everything in our power to decline".
Yeah... Not really the best of publicity for Intel right now.
A Recall is the only thing that will restore "good faith" (if there ever was any) with Intel. They really need to ponder that one in a more serious manner. As it stands, the 2 extra years is a red herring of good will.
Regards.
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mac_angel Not surprised. I have already posted on here a few months ago about the absolute stupidity of their outsourced tech/warranty support and the fight that I had to go through to get my CPU RMA'd.
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oofdragon Well deserves for everyone buying Intel, you feed the troll you get trolled
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awake283 What's the point of two years extended warranty if they don't honor the claims?
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dmitche31958 Trying to decide between AMD and Intel at the moment I can say that after reading this I won’t consider Intel.
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awake283 I just built my current rig a month ago.. first new PC in a decade. I was torn between an i9 13900K and a 7800X3D. I am uh... really glad I made the choice I did.
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Taslios The warranty is only as good as their willingness to honor it.
"Trust me Bro" only works if we trust you.... and I think if this is common, Intel may manage to leave such a bad taste in people's mouths that it will be "human" generations before people are wiling to "trust their bro"
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tamalero holy f... when they have the audacity to say "yes, we know our chips are defective, yours seems so but also we think your chips are fake so.. we might destroy your units and giving nothing back" is bonkers.
They are pretty much stronholdiReply
jp7189 For those thinking Intel should do a recall, consider that potentially 10's of millions of CPUs are affected, and there's no way they have that kind of stock on hand. It might be the right thing to do, but it may simply not be a realistic possibly for them to execute.
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diminishedfifth Intel is really trying to claim the title of being the scummiest in all of PC
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