Intel top markings: MALAY vs. COSTA RICA?

[Compman55]

Not sure anymore how many fab plants are left, but back in the day I remember malay, costa rica, phillipines, and some other one.

So my question is currently with the haswel cpu's, is there any benefit to have one from one particular plant?

Specifically being these plants don't make the silicone, but rather, package it, I was wondering if that may explain why some people get hot chips, some get ok ones, and others get nice cool ones.

 

[Homeles]

Not sure anymore how many fab plants are left, but back in the day I remember malay, costa rica, phillipines, and some other one.

So my question is currently with the haswel cpu's, is there any benefit to have one from one particular plant?

Specifically being these plants don't make the silicone, but rather, package it, I was wondering if that may explain why some people get hot chips, some get ok ones, and others get nice cool ones.

Silicone is what's used in breast implants.

Anyway, it's not likely to have a measurable impact. The machinery they use is undoubtedly the same. The main thing to consider is that chips have high variability -- some run hot, some run cool. It's a lottery. With every new node, that randomness increases.

Intel's fabs (not the plants you mentioned) use a strategy that they call "Copy Exactly!" to reduce variability between their own fabs.

Basically... Intel has this down to a science. I don't know about other fabs, since they don't tend to speak publicly on such issues.

 

[Arkaign]

Way way way way WAY back in the day (pre-Core series), Malaysian Intel chips were demonstrably better OCers. I don't think that's the case any more, AFAIK.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Not any difference. The 2 places more or less supplys to 2 different markets. In europe for example you (almost) only get from Malaysia. And if I recall right in the americas for example they seem to always be from Costa Rica.

 

[Phynaz]

Intel Packaging and Testing facilities:

Heredia, Costa Rica
Chandler, Arizona
Chengdu, China
Kulim, Malaysia
Penang, Malaysia
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Jerusalem, Israel

 

[PliotronX]

Perhaps in the testing phase they are binned differently :whiste:

 

[flatty]

Malaysia

 

[amenx]

Shouldnt be any difference which fab its assembled or tested. But OC'ers have noticed that there can be differences in overclockability (or temps) in some batches and may have associated the place stamped on the back of the chip as having something to do with it as well. But I think this is less common then before, and batches have much greater consistency than previously (ie, vs C2D days).