HELP my friend's Intel Core i5 is DEAD

[john5220]

Hi there yes I did mention he did change the PSU and same issue so we know its the CPU for sure now. He even put it in another system and same issue.

I will ask him if he needed to provide proof of purchase, I highly doubt it since the intel rep just told him to send it back.

infact according to him, intel seems a bit anxious to get his i5 back quickly they even offered to cover the shipping etc.

 

[Burpo]

Sorry I didn't see that about the PS..
That's typical intel no questions warranty. They make enough $$ they can afford replacing customers CPU when damaged.

 

[john5220]

ha ha yeah I figured as much, the kind of money intel has at their disposal is insane, and then the low failure rate of CPUs no wonder they asked no questions and said send it back ASAP. When they heard about his i5 it must have been a "wow really? a faulty i5? awesome tell him send it quick lets check it out" moment LOL

 

[escrow4]

yeah that guy is really pathetic, stalking my profile and stuff just to prove some point about the past.

ok update guys, intel told him to fill out the warranty process on their website and send the CPU back to them. woot so this is good, we shall see what happens.

He has to go to local post office, we are from the Caribbean so its a long way to intel.
lol its funny I told him to tell intel how he is really poor and that how their CPU are really expensive in the 3rd world etc LOL

The intel rep was really nice about it apparently. They don't seem to mind where you are from, they are quite willing to help. You don't see this from much companies, he said he has never seen a company so willing and friendly in dealing with a faulty product.

So will let you guys know what happens later down the road. Intel cannot repair the i5 I would assume right? they would just give him another ivy bridge? I wonder if they still have those ivy bridge lying around?

-> Is AMD 960K Athlon Excavator likely to beat intel 2500K sandy bridge?

-> [AMD] K12 will be on 28nm

-> Why does AMD insist on that nasty RED color theme?

-> Please recommend an AMD Processor for me

-> What will cause a $100 core i5 to happen?

-> [ Bloomberg ] AMD Facing Bleak Future

-> Will you buy Intel because of their commitment to conflict free minerals?

AMD | AMD | AMD and now an Intel CPU is "dead". Sure!

 

[tential]

-> Is AMD 960K Athlon Excavator likely to beat intel 2500K sandy bridge?

-> [AMD] K12 will be on 28nm

-> Why does AMD insist on that nasty RED color theme?

-> Please recommend an AMD Processor for me

-> What will cause a $100 core i5 to happen?

-> [ Bloomberg ] AMD Facing Bleak Future

-> Will you buy Intel because of their commitment to conflict free minerals?

AMD | AMD | AMD and now an Intel CPU is "dead". Sure!

The kid is young and isn't really a "CPU enthusiast". He's just getting started and barely knows anything as of yet about CPUs or how the markets work.

Give him some time...

 

[chrisjames61]

Hi my best friend has a really nice PC he is also a Electrical and Computer Engineer so he builds his own PC etc and has been fixing PC for 14 years so he knows his stuff.

He has a unlocked K ivy bridge i5 with a $50 Zalman Cooler and it has NEVER been overclocked he has always ran it on stock.

One day he shutdown his PC it was working fine and everything, he came next day press the power button and nothing no signal on monitor. The CPU fan comes on for 3 seconds then cuts off for 10 seconds then comes back on for 3 seconds.

He has a $100 ASRock Mainboard so he figured the motherboard was the issue lets be real this is a intel CPU there is noway the CPU is at fault. But just in case, he tested another PSU, different RAM in different slots, both onboard and his brand new dedicated GTX 660, disconnected all SSD and DVD drives etc

Still NOTHING!!!

So he bought a brand new $70 Gigabyte mainboard on Amazon he put in the board and SAME ISSUE!!! EXACT issue!!! Tried it again on new board with different ram took out the gtx 660 etc same thing.

What you guys suspect here is the issue? his system is a expensive 750W Cooler Master PSU from 6 years ago with the 1 million MTBF and he has it in Air Conditioned room, hooked up to a UPS battery backup. He even has a Cooler Master storm scout case which he paid $100 for. So everything was well cooled.

I can only assume his CPU is bad? what are the odds the new mainboard is bad? if so why does it exhibit same weird CPU fan problem as the old one?

There is no way in hell his i5 is dead, I owned many AMD cpu over the years which is of inferior quality to intel and none of them ever died, my AMD CPU used to be clogged with dust running at max temp and it never died so there is noway his i5 could be dead in such perfect situation. Also his Zalman cooler is in great working condition.

He is a both a computer and electrical engineer and enlisted your help and needs to query a computer forum to diagnose an issue such as this? That boggles the mind.

 

[chrisjames61]

^^ This.

The CPU is the absolute last thing to believe is faulty.

I find it strange his friend is both a hardware and computer engineer and needs help diagnosing this. Plus needing to find answers on a computer forum. Anybody who builds pc's could easily figure out which component is actually bad pretty quickly.

 

[chrisjames61]

Double post.

 

[john5220]

^ when was the last time you heard a core i5 ivy bridge running on the best UPS, Air Conditioned room, best paste and Zalman Cooler, cooler master storm scout 2 Case, Cooler master silent pro PSU, and only runs about 3 hours a day, built by an Engineer with 14 years of PC building under the belt. JUST DIE in only 2 years of functioning PERFECTLY and NEVER once overclocked even though it was K edition? and having checked every possible thing still refuses to start?

For christ sakes the CPU did not die while it was on, it died when it was off, no electricity. PC never came back on the following day.

So yes even the best at times needs a little advice for ideas of what might be causing an issue, even the best might have to come on Anandtech forums and ask for some guidance. Maybe there is something said person have not tried? what in gods name could have caused this to happen? how is it even possible?

Even intel sounds a little surprised after hearing the story. Even they seem a little bit shocked.

PS his 14 years of fixing PC he has NEVER come across a dead CPU aswell just so you know.
Sometimes in life when you have few friends who know about computers being me and his family being conservative muslims and only know about religion, hence knowing little about computers. Sometimes you just happen to call and ask that friend just for the heck of it? might shock some people but this is just being human.

There was a good advice given here in that suggesting to plug the PC in another socket, it didn't work but was worth a shot, folks at anandtech have always been a great help. Sometimes talking to someone and asking questions make you feel a little less sad about your expensive dead CPU

 

[chrisjames61]

^ when was the last time you heard a core i5 ivy bridge running on the best UPS, Air Conditioned room, best paste and Zalman Cooler, cooler master storm scout 2 Case, Cooler master silent pro PSU, and only runs about 3 hours a day, built by an Engineer with 14 years of PC building under the belt. JUST DIE in only 2 years of functioning PERFECTLY and NEVER once overclocked even though it was K edition? and having checked every possible thing still refuses to start?

For christ sakes the CPU did not die while it was on, it died when it was off, no electricity. PC never came back on the following day.

So yes even the best at times needs a little advice for ideas of what might be causing an issue, even the best might have to come on Anandtech forums and ask for some guidance. Maybe there is something said person have not tried? what in gods name could have caused this to happen? how is it even possible?

Even intel sounds a little surprised after hearing the story. Even they seem a little bit shocked.

PS his 14 years of fixing PC he has NEVER come across a dead CPU aswell just so you know.
Sometimes in life when you have few friends who know about computers being me and his family being conservative muslims and only know about religion, hence knowing little about computers. Sometimes you just happen to call and ask that friend just for the heck of it? might shock some people but this is just being human.

There was a good advice given here in that suggesting to plug the PC in another socket, it didn't work but was worth a shot, folks at anandtech have always been a great help. Sometimes talking to someone and asking questions make you feel a little less sad about your expensive dead CPU

This post is really strange.

 

[chrisjames61]

ok thanks I told him to call intel and find out. I also told him to explain how he is poor, from a 3rd world country and he spent his life savings on that CPU.

And seeing its 2 years old I doubt intel would fight him down on it just cause he thew out the box, in his words intel is immortal and there is noway a i5 running on zalman cooler never OC in a cooler master storm scout case could ever go bad, any company that rich like intel would not mind making their dedicated customers happy. Whats $220 for intel anyways? it probably cost them $80 if so much to make an i5

You keep talking about prices like this is sort of an extreme rig. Maybe to a 15 year old kid who gets an allowance but today it is entry level at best. Cheap case. Cheap cooler, six year old psu, cheap motherboards. If this guy has a working brain he would not tell anyone that he is "from a 3rd world country and he spent his life savings on that CPU". That is something a teenager would say. I am calling you out that there is no engineer/computer scientist friend. It is you.

 

[unixwizzard]

There was a good advice given here in that suggesting to plug the PC in another socket, it didn't work but was worth a shot,

you never really answered, was it tested in the different motherboard(s) using no video card or a different video card along with different memory than what was in the original?

I'm sure an EE with 14yrs of PC building has a few spare parts laying around to test with

 

[tential]

You keep talking about prices like this is sort of an extreme rig. Maybe to a 15 year old kid who gets an allowance but today it is entry level at best. Cheap case. Cheap cooler, six year old psu, cheap motherboards. If this guy has a working brain he would not tell anyone that he is "from a 3rd world country and he spent his life savings on that CPU". That is something a teenager would say. I am calling you out that there is no engineer/computer scientist friend. It is you.

Op has already stated he was young (I think he even did say he was 15) and that he is from a poorer country so it wouldn't be unreasonable if his friend is also from the same nation....

 

[john5220]

^ yup we are both from the same country. Also a computer engineer in a poor country like this does not make much money.

for example a Computer Engineer makes roughly $1600 US a Month, in my friends case he makes $1200 US a month. And after car loans and wife etc especially cost of food etc a core i5 unlocked for $220 is a LOT of money.

Don't be fooled into thinking that Engineers/Scientists make the same money as first world countries its far from it. Life does not always give us what we want but we make do. We do have certain luxury of things like free health care etc

However we pay additional import tax on electronics so that i5 turns into the price of an i7 when we do get it.

He told intel his situation after they told him they needed the box. Intel then for all we know agreed due to his situation and the poorer country we are from they would take back his i5 without any issues and as an added bonus they will cover the shipping without any issues.

I once bought a used video card on Amazon from a merchant, I was scammed. Amazon needed the package back I explained how I am from a 3rd world and a long way and do not have the money. From my billing address for my credit card Amazon determined

A I was telling the truth

B They would be nice to me due to my situation.

I got my money back.

My friend's PC is what we call RICH in our country.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I just read what you said and it is something that I've been noticing more and more of lately. People who have never done without have no clue what it is like for those who find themselves in those situations. Here in the states people take everything for granted and, interestingly enough, seem to think that their situations are normal for everyone everywhere which just isn't the case. I hope you get it all sorted out.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I dont think that is a fair comment. Maybe *some* people think that way, but I dont think a majority do.

In any case, this whole post is very strange. I will be waiting to see an official diagnosis from intel as the whether the cpu is defective.

Especially strange is the statement that the cpu "died" while it was turned off. I think that is impossible unless there was a power surge or some other sort of physical damage while the machine was off or a power surge when it was turned back on.

Even if the cpu is now non-functional, with a power supply that old, I am very suspicious of some sort of physical damage from a power surge or brownout type condition, if in fact the cpu is non-functional.

 

[tential]

I just read what you said and it is something that I've been noticing more and more of lately. People who have never done without have no clue what it is like for those who find themselves in those situations. Here in the states people take everything for granted and, interestingly enough, seem to think that their situations are normal for everyone everywhere which just isn't the case. I hope you get it all sorted out.

It's the American way. Most Americans I know have barely left the country. Their idea of being well traveled is spending a week in a country sight seeing and they may have only done that once or twice. They've never spent significant time actually LIVING in another country let alone one that is significantly less wealthy than the US.

 

[john5220]

^ CPU is dead because he also carried it to a PC shop and tried it on a system those guys have.

His system is fine even if the PSU is that old because he put in a Pentium G in it and it works.

And shockingly yes the CPU died either when his PC was off or the split second he turned it on. However he has UPS backup and everything. If it was a surge I would expect the PSU or mainboard to blow he has a high quality cooler master PSU this was good stuff.

I have had a PC with a chinese no brand Xtech PSU that costs $15 which blew up on me and nothing was ever wrong with my mainboard etc. His PSU I am sure would have had all the necessary components and protections etc,.

I will let you all know what Intel says. I am going to assume his case is a 1% chance really super duper unlucky. maybe something went wrong with those 1 billion transistors on its own and was bad since creation who knows.

 

[john5220]

It's the American way. Most Americans I know have barely left the country. Their idea of being well traveled is spending a week in a country sight seeing and they may have only done that once or twice. They've never spent significant time actually LIVING in another country let alone one that is significantly less wealthy than the US.

you are spot on I would say.

We may not be as badly off as places like Africa and India but I can safely say we are nowhere near that of the US.

For example a lot of Americans don't understand things like import duty and vat etc. Over in the US you might pay 6% tax to florida if you buy on Amazon etc?
When it enters a much less developed country the tax will hit around 50% of the total price.

So that $220 i5 becomes the price of a unlocked K i7.
Americans are very fortunate people. If I bought a HDTV apart from paying massive tax to clear, I would have to pay a gigantic shipping fee to get that down here. lol

I have been to the US once, my dad took me on vacation a couple years ago, we have family in Miami.
My impression is America is the greatest place on earth, I have never seen anything like it, its different in real life compares to movies its a really beautiful place.

 

[ShintaiDK]

When it enters a much less developed country the tax will hit around 50% of the total price.

It has absolutely nothing to do with that. And 20-25% sales tax is not uncommon.

 

[tential]

It has absolutely nothing to do with that. And 20-25% sales tax is not uncommon.

Since when was 20-25% equivalent to 50% that he just stated?
Taxes on certain products can hit above 100% in less developed countries.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Since when was 20-25% equivalent to 50% that he just stated?
Taxes on certain products can hit above 100% in less developed countries.

We got 180% tax on cars in Denmark.

 

[Bradtech519]

If I had a CPU just up and die without being overclocked/running too hot on that old of a PSU. I would probably buy a new quality branded power supply & possibly motherboard. It could be that the PSU has lost over current protection & over voltage protection becoming defective with age and has fried the CPU & might fry a new CPU too along with other components. I found on a different forum that someone also had an Asrock board with a core i5 2500. They came to the consensus that the Asrock motherboard Power regulator might also have been taking multiple CPUs being put in the board. They could be wrong & it's the PSU doing it though. I've never seen it happen & would still look at the PSU as the culprit. Only way to really know is keep feeding the same PSU & that same Motherboard new CPUs to see what happens & go off a process of elimination.

 

[tential]

We got 180% tax on cars in Denmark.

So take those types of tax rates and apply it to living in a poorer nation...
I don't see what's so hard to understand.

 

[john5220]

Since when was 20-25% equivalent to 50% that he just stated?
Taxes on certain products can hit above 100% in less developed countries.

you are absolutely correct

luxury items like Gold and Diamonds hit 100% here.