EggXpert

Hi Everyone,

We will be collecting information and posting official updates regarding the Intel Sandy Bridge Chipset Issue here. Please check this forum thread periodically as we will do our best to update it once we have more information (subject to change without notice).

• Newegg Customer Service will be actively notifying customers who purchased Sandy Bridge hardware over the past month via email with further information and options in light of the reported chipset issue. If you are among these customers, you can expect to receive an email notification this afternoon or evening (Tuesday February 1).
  
• EggXpert member Kardon originally posted Intel's press release to our Tech News forum, you can view that post and discussion here.
  

 
Here's a video we made for our Newegg TV YouTube channel that gives a bit more of an explanation of this problem, as well as a demonstration of how to configure your SATA hard drives and optical drives to bypass the affected SATA ports:

Helpful Links

Intel
Original Statement - http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2011/01/31/intel-identifies-chipset-design-error-implementing-solution
Identifying your Chipset - http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/sb/CS-032263.htm

Gigabyte's 6-Series Chipset Q&A
http://www.gigabyte.us/press-center/news-page.aspx?nid=984

ASUS
ASUS Resolution & Support - http://service.asus.com/notice/
Initial Response - Open Letter, Model List - http://event.asus.com/2011/SandyBridge/notice/

MSI Intel® 6 Series Motherboard and Notebook Registration
http://service.msicomputer.com/msi_user/snb_support.aspx
http://www.msi.com/news-media/news/1178.html

ASRock - Public Statement
http://www.asrock.com/news/events/201102ex/index.html

Zotac - H67-ITX WiFi Exchange Details
http://www.zotac.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=551%3A-zotac-announces-h67-itx-wifi-exchange-details&catid=1&Itemid=268&lang=un
 

Q&A - Posted 2/24/2011

Q: Can I return my Sandy Bridge motherboard to Newegg for a Refund in April (or whenever new boards are available)?
A: Yes, the Return Policy has been extended for refund or replacement. Please note that this may not reflect on Newegg's "My Account" portal; it is recommended that you contact Newegg Customer Service via phone or live chat for RMA information.

Q: If I RMA through Newegg in April (or whenever new boards are available), do I need to follow the Newegg RMA guidelines by returning all retail packaging & accessories?
A: We would greatly prefer it, so if you're debating whether to throw away your packaging please hang onto it for now. We will be able to accept returns without all the packaging, but we recommend contacting Newegg Customer Service to set up your RMA so they can indicate in the notes that the return may be incomplete.

Q: How can I tell that I'm seeing a "new and improved" Sandy Bridge/Cougar Point motherboard, once they are available?
A: Your motherboard's chipset for the Sandy Bridge platform will be either the P67 or H67; new motherboards will be labeled with the "B3" stepping of those respective chipsets.

Q: Manufacturer Question -- I am an integrator or reseller who has purchased Intel branded desktop boards with B2 stepping of Intel® 6 Series Express Chipsets. What actions should I take?
A: (from Intel) Integrators and resellers that are affected have until June 30th, 2011 to choose one of two options to have these units replaced:

1. Notify the Intel Authorized Distributor where you purchased your boards and the number of replacement boards needed. Your distributor will manage both the return of the old boards and replacement of the new boards when they are available. Intel will pay standard cost of shipping for both boards returned to your distributor and for new Intel branded desktop board based on B3 stepping of Intel® 6 Series Express Chipsets. Please contact your Intel Authorized Distributor for details and timing of this process.
2. Intel Premier Partners also have the option to utilize the Advance Warranty Replacement (AWR) process for all affected Intel branded desktop boards with B2 stepping of Intel® 6 Series Express Chipsets. All other Intel Channel Partners have the option to utilize the Advance Warranty Replacement (AWR) process for up to five (5) units at time, for affected Intel branded desktop boards with B2 stepping of Intel® 6 Series Express Chipsets.

Any additional considerations will be communicated to you on or near the shipment date of the replacement board(s).

Updated Return Policy Information -- added 3/4/2011

Just following up on a question from earlier today regarding the 90-day Newegg Return Policy Extension for affected B2 revision Cougar Point motherboards:

The 90 days is in addition to the originally listed 30-day Newegg Return policy, and applies to Refund or Replacement RMAs. Please note that the automated online RMA system (accessed via "My Account" on Newegg) will not reflect this; you will need to contact Newegg Customer Service to set up an RMA.

    Example A: Purchase Date January 10
                      Normal 30-Day Newegg Return Policy good through Feb. 9th
                      Extended (+90 Days) Return Policy good through May 10th

    Example B: Purchase Date January 31
                     Normal 30-Day Newegg Return Policy good through March 2nd
                     Extended (+90 Days) Return Policy good through May 31st

PLEASE NOTE: If you purchased a B2 revision Cougar Point motherboard in January, Newegg Customer Service will email you directly once the B3 revision of that motherboard is available.  This email states "To guarantee your replacement, please reply to this email within the next 7 business days." We are reserving stock for this purpose, but that stock will not stay reserved if you do not reply and request a replacement within 7 days of receiving your notification email.

I know a lot of people have their sights set on Z68, so here are some fair warnings:

• If we email you that your replacement is ready this week, do not expect that replacement to still be available if you wait to RMA until April or May
• Special accommodations made for B2-revision H67/P67 motherboards will not be extended to Z68 motherboards
• Do not expect to have a first-in-line spot for a Z68 motherboard because you were affected by the H67/P67 problems
  
• There is no guarantee that there will be an overlap between when Z68 hardware is available and when the extended Return Policy for B2-revision H67/P67 motherboards expires

Update for Laptops/Notebooks and Pre-Built Computers – 4/7/2011

Q: What laptops/notebooks or pre-built computers are affected by this issue?
A: Here is a list of items sold by Newegg in January that were affected by the SB design error.
    ASUS – G73SW-A1, N53SV-A1
    Lenovo – IdeaPad Y560p Part # 439723U, 439722U; IdeaCentre K330 Part # 77272LU, 77272KU, 77271TU, 77271SU
    Cyberpower – GX1302 (83-229-240), GX1301 (83-229-239), GX 1303 (83-229-241), GX 1304 (83-229-242), GX 1305LQ (83-229-238)
    iBuyPower – Gamer Extreme 936K, Gamer Extreme 969I, Gamer Extreme 940I
    Dell – XPS 8300, Vostro 460, Alienware Aurora R.3, Alienware M17x R.3
    Samsung – RF711-S02
    MSI – GT680R-008US
    Toshiba – X505-Q8102, X505-Q8104, A665-3DV12
    Acer – AS8950G-9839
    Gateway – DX4850-45, FX6850-51
    Sony – no affected products shipped

Q: What are my options if I purchased a laptop/notebook or pre-built computer that is affected?
A: Depending on your desired resolution, we have three options available at this time.

1. Refund RMA through Newegg
   A Refund RMA through Newegg will provide you with a 100% refund of the cost of your notebook or PC. If you wish to obtain a Refund RMA, please contact Newegg Customer Service.
2. Repair or Replacement through the Manufacturer
   Most of our manufacturers have requested that repairs/replacements be handled directly through the manufacturer or one of their licensed repair facilities. This will involve a motherboard replacement for your notebook or PC, and the return procedures may vary from vendor to vendor. You can find your manufacturer's contact information on any of their product's pages on Newegg.com under the "Details" tab.
3. Replacement through Newegg
   We are asking customers to first contact the manufacturer for repair/replacement options, but we understand that many folks out there would prefer to work directly with Newegg. If this is the case, please send me a Private Message and I will forward your information over to our Customer Service department. Please note that these requests are being handled on a case-by-case basis, and may not be resolved immediately depending on the replacement inventory of the notebook/PC you originally purchased.

 

Further updates will be posted as events warrant!

Best Regards,
Paul

I am assuming we will need to now get this product because the heatsink material used to install the new I7 was affixed to the bottom of the fan copper heatsink.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

 

Thanks for the quick response towards this issue. I was wondering for the return process, how will the shipping and handling charges be covered. Will the customer be required to pay for shipping the defective board back and for the shipping of a new board. I'm asking this since it looks like every P67 is being recalled and am wondering if Intel/Motherboard company's will be offering rebates/promo codes to cover these costs.

will there be cross shipping so we can get our new boards with a minimal loss of downtime? If so, can this be done while ordering a different model board? 

These are high end boards for them to assume that we will only use two ports short sighted. Intel is a large rich company their first move should have been to send us an adapter card to be returned with the defective boards when they finally get new chip sets. As an IT Pro this is the kind of thing I remember the next time I plan a build.

 I guess this is what happens when you are an early adopter.

 Thanks Newegg for the heads up how about a break on an adapter card and free shipping (can't hurt to ask).

I would like to say thanks for the heads up on this.   I have the ASUS P8 P67 Pro so I have 4 SATA II and 4 SATA III connection. I be switching to the SATA III's .  I am asuming the eSATA II connectors are also defective, is that correct?

One note, I remeber one set of the SATA III connectors should NOT be used to boot with.....are the non booting connectors the Marvel Serial      SATA III  connectors?

 I would also like to know if the new boards will be crossshiped (at no charge to us) with new thermal pads or thermal paste? 

 Thanks

Kevin

Just wanted to say thanks for the heads up from newegg on this issue. I currently only am using the SATA III ports so I am okay for now but as others have mentioned I am concerned about down time for shipping the board whenever Intel makes the replacements available. 

My question is, what about Windows OEM.  Will this lock out windows because of the motherboard changing?  If so, will we have to buy a new copy?

I, too, and interested in how the exchange will take place. Ideally, I'd get the new motherboard first and then send in the potentially defective one. It is the motherboard, after all.

I had purchased an Asus P8P67 "PRO" for an i7-2600k CPU, and wow, this combo rocks!  I'm bummed that it will all have to be ripped out in a month for the whatever swap, but until then, I plan on running the system full-on for my HDV video editing work.  Its great that NewEgg reached out to us directly and so quickly.  I had noticed the news on Slashdot yesterday and am sorta dissapointed that ASUS hasn't published anything yet.  I had even registered the motherboard and serial number with them when assembling the computer last week.

Either way, thank you NewEgg for having our backs!  Hopefully CPU goo or best-practice pro-tips will be available when the time comes, and until then, this thread's been bookmarked for the latest gossip.

Alan1187:

My question is, what about Windows OEM.  Will this lock out windows because of the motherboard changing?  If so, will we have to buy a new copy?

Hmm, can't edit my post.  Just went and looked around a bit and it turns out you just use a 1800 number that comes with your oem or is in windows, which you just simply call, explain that you have a home built pc and the mobo needed to be replaced, and they reactivate the key for you.

Alan1187:

My question is, what about Windows OEM.  Will this lock out windows because of the motherboard changing?  If so, will we have to buy a new copy?

 I'm curious about this as well...though I'm pretty sure the answer is yes. 

Noob question: can we connect 3Gb/s SATA drives into the 6Gb/s SATA ports?

TheMantis:

These are high end boards for them to assume that we will only use two ports short sighted ... first move should have been to send us an adapter card

Agreed. The issue here is more about the time involved in disassembling and then reassembling an entire system because of a widespread manufacturer fault. We're talking a number of hours of labor per system, not to mention the return process, to get what we originally paid for.

A simple return/replace, regardless if its free, is not going to resolve this problem for anyone who has already built their system. We're talking many hours of labor that this would cost the customer per affected system. If this were a simple DVD drive swap, there would be no problem with a replacement, but this is building a new system times 2 (disassemble + reassemble) -- for each system.

Using these ports, or ignoring the problem, is simply not an option for most of the users. A 15% chance that you may lose or corrupt vital data? Nope. Purchasing a modern system with only two SATA ports when you were advertised 6+? Nope--nobody custom builds and computer to have just two drives these days.

An option to receive a 4 port SATA card should be offered instead of a replacement so we can have the functionality advertised and paid for, without wasting hours of labor. Wasted hours of labor costs money too (directly in a business or indirectly via personal time loss).

You can be sure I will be moving to AMD and absolutely never purchasing another Intel board early if I have to spend hours fixing Intel's problem.

I just purchased the Asrock P67 extreme6 and i must say they were on the ball. I recieved an email earlier today on the situation. Im glad they are sending replacements because i really didnt want to send this board back, im lucky because this board has plenty of SATA ports to work around with. This is one of the best boards i have ever brought. I mean it. i started out buying MSI boards in early 2000s which them i moved to buying ASUS for years, i tired EVGA for a bit, but i must say every board i ever brought never relly had the total package. Always missing a lil something. This board has everything and then some. It even still has Floppy drive connector. Which i still use. I think its the best for intalling the drivers on the OS install. With that said thank you NewEgg for the email and showing you care. I did ask for an RMA earlier today but after your email i will stay with the board until the replacements come in. Thanks again.

etsberg:

Alan1187:

My question is, what about Windows OEM.  Will this lock out windows because of the motherboard changing?  If so, will we have to buy a new copy?

 I'm curious about this as well...though I'm pretty sure the answer is yes. 

OEM allows one replacement main board. The fix might be to just replace the current chip on yours so, you might get the same MB back.

 

GmsCool:

etsberg:

Alan1187:

My question is, what about Windows OEM.  Will this lock out windows because of the motherboard changing?  If so, will we have to buy a new copy?

 I'm curious about this as well...though I'm pretty sure the answer is yes. 

OEM allows one replacement main board. The fix might be to just replace the current chip on yours so, you might get the same MB back.

 

 

 I'm guessing they will at the very least do an advance replacement, so you will likely get a different board...unless you want to be without your motherboard for a number of weeks.

 This goes back to my above post about massive amounts of time wasted on our part because of intel's error. A simple replacement, free of charge or not, does not make up for all of these wasted hours and added frustration. FYI, if you do have to call microsoft, be prepared for an hour+long phone call as you get transferred multiple times. I've had to do it and its not fun.

 This is why they need to offer an alternative for people who do not want to replace their entire motherboard. A 4-slot SATA card would be a good alternative and would save all of the hassle of disassemble > return/replace > rebuild. That much labor will cost businesses a ton, and home users a huge hassle.

Ya, I'm pretty bummed about this... This was my first build in 7 years and I've been carefully planning and waiting for several months.  The this news breaks...

The really bad news for me is, I'm overseas at an APO address.  Any given shipment can take anywhere from 1 to 8 weeks to go either way.  If there's no cross-shipping, I'm going to be out of a system for a very minimum of 2-3 weeks, potentially as long as 4 months.

 PLEASE please tell me you're going to allow cross-shipping...

Sorry for the double post, can't edit my other one.

I agree 100% with the above post... I would much rather have a 4 port sata card than have to rip out my motherboard and swap it out.  Seems like it could even be a cheaper option for Intel...

Is there a PCIe card that adds SATA plugs internally, or are all of these going to be external plugs.  If so, not sure that getting a PCIe card is a fix I would use.  I have a 120gb SSD internal, two 1-TB internal HDD and an internal DVD drive. 

alligatorsam:

Is there a PCIe card that adds SATA plugs internally, or are all of these going to be external plugs.  If so, not sure that getting a PCIe card is a fix I would use.  I have a 120gb SSD internal, two 1-TB internal HDD and an internal DVD drive. 

 Yep, there definitely is and I think this should be offered as an option vs forcing people to rebuild an entire system. That, or a refund/rebate with a value comparable to one of these cards, since I don't know if intel produces these. Something like input your motherboard serial number as proof, receive rebate in the mail.

I have a technical question here.

Can I use my 3g 7200rpm hard drive in a 6g sata port without problems ( i own a P8P67 PRO) I mean is the port going to be compatible with the hard drive or no?

Just wondering if I can do this until I get the board replaced.

I'm also curious about the MSI rebate.  Submissions have to be postmarked no later than 30 days from purchase, so I have less than 3 weeks to do this.

I'd also like to know if the 90 day warranty extension simply covers exchange, or is it valid for a full refund?  As early adopters, we had to choose between 2 partially crippled chipsets - H67 doesn't allow overclocking, P67 doesn't allow use of the integrated graphics.  Intel is estimating they will have replacement parts by April, but who's to say the Z68 chipset won't be available by then (or be very close)?   I made my purchase decision knowing the Z68 was coming eventually, but I couldn't really wait several months to build a new computer.  It would be nice to have the option to switch to a chipset that allows me to utilize the full capability of my processor, now that I'll be inconvenienced with down-time and a disassemble/reassemble (which, as someone else pointed out, can be a lengthy process).

Great customer service is always appreciated.  Thanks to Newegg for being on the ball with this.

Thank you for the head's up. Since the system is already in use for a time-critical architectural project, cross-shipping of the replacement once available is vital to reduce downtime.

An add-on card as others have suggested would consume PCI/PCI-E bus bandwidth and reduce system performance. A stright motherboard replacement or a chipset replacement that will restore the original advertised specs is important for full utilization of the hardware.

 Certainly understand that this was neither NewEgg's nor GIGABYTE's fault - just a minor defect in production at Intel. As long as we can minimize downtime in receiving the replacement, it's just a minor time expenditure and a chance to re-work the cabling layout while in there.