There have been many stories about the problem with unstable processors from Intel’s Core 13 and 14000 series. It’s been almost a farce where a bunch of fixes that didn’t fix the problem of intermittent updates were rolled out to owners.
For those who are not familiar with the phenomenon, it can be briefly explained by the fact that a whole bunch of users have reported that their computers are unstable and games crash. Fingers were pointed in various directions, Nvidia declared they were innocent, and the reports from users mounted. Finally, Intel released a message on its support forum claiming that the failure is due to a faulty microcode algorithm that regulates voltage to the processor.
Hot, fast and unfortunately not completely stable.
Sure, it happens that product lines suffer from defects and the manufacturers have to step in and recall a product line or do what they can to fix it. In order for a manufacturer not to lose face when this happens, however, communication and the desire to do the right thing for themselves need to be communicated very clearly. Here, Intel has not lived up to the expectations the enthusiast sphere had of them.
Lack of communication
I do not doubt the will to do the right thing, what I criticize instead is how this has been communicated. There are guaranteed to be lots of customer service people and engineers at Intel who want to build the best products possible and want to have as honest and direct communication as possible with the end customer. Unfortunately, this seems to have fallen through the cracks recently.
If Intel were the only option on the market for enthusiasts, the problem would be easy to forget until the next generation – however, this is not the case.
When Intel drops the ball, AMD is quick to take advantage of the situation.
With each generation of AMD Ryzen that has been launched, the red team has taken an increasingly larger piece of the pie. Since the first generation, they have gone from being an affordable alternative to a real competitor. When they are now in a situation where it is more or less tied in several categories, other values come into play for those who intend to upgrade their processor.
I’m not saying that AMD has achieved success without merit or that Intel has dropped the ball several times, but it doesn’t hurt that it has. Regardless of the truth, it was long accepted that Ryzen systems were simply not as stable as Intel’s. As the generations have pushed on, the situation is now the reverse. At the same time, the X3D circuits have become the given choice for those who wish to build the best possible gaming machine. Do you want a platform with as long a life as possible? AM4 was launched in 2016 and is still going strong.
AI laptops and data centers
It’s easy to think of success as a metric that only includes how many units are sold globally and the money made, where Intel is still a giant. For those who care about their hardware, the manufacturer’s communication and the image they want to convey are at least as important. What does it matter to me as a hardware enthusiast how many AI laptops a company markets or what data center chips a manufacturer delivers if they simultaneously don’t release products I find fun or care about. I’m a fan of good products, not a manufacturer’s quarterly reports.
Intel’s circuitry in the MSI Claw notebook has been far from optimal.
Intel will of course continue to sell processors for gaming computers on an assembly line, but the image they want to convey of themselves has taken a serious hit. I hope that what the blue team takes with them after the last time is the importance of direct communication and responsiveness to their community. Considering the price trend of motherboards, it wouldn’t hurt to look at the red competitor and make the platforms more durable. Many people buy a new motherboard when building a new system, but it’s always appreciated to have the option to avoid it. I think Intel can rebuild trust and goodwill with the enthusiasts, but the road there requires a proper job.
With the impending release of Arrow Lake and a name change to Core Ultra-something, I feel more disconnected from Intel than I ever have. Although my interest in computer hardware really took off with the first generation of Core processors, it feels like the gap between Intel and the enthusiasts is wider than it has been in a long time.
Source: www.sweclockers.com
