Intel Cougar Point Chipset Recall. Is the MSI P67 board affected?

[clm67]

According to the following article, Intel has acknowledged its chipset contains a silicon error. (Meaning you can't just load a new driver to fix the problem)

http://business-video.tmcnet.com/news/2011/01/31/5278452.htm

Intel has stopped supplying the bad chipsets and has made changes to the silicon to correct the problem, then re-started production.

Is MSI going to recall the current P67-based motherboards to replace them with fixed chipsets?

 

[dave_beast]

This is very bad news, and it appears the rollout of new chipsets won't be until April.

All boards with Cougar Point (all 1155 boards H67 P67) are affected, and the problem is degradation of SATA connectivity over time.

 

[Jack the Newbie]

All boards with Cougar Point (all 1155 boards H67 P67) are affected

Please keep this aspect in mind:

The systems with the affected support chips have only been shipping since January 9th and the company believes that relatively few consumers are impacted by this issue.

 

[dave_beast]

Well I had mine on Jan 5th and it's currently going through an RMA process, and as far as I can see it, the only option atm is to get a motherboard with a Marvell controller for SATA.

 

[clm67]

Please keep this aspect in mind:

Firstly,

Me personally, I have a P67S-GD65 that is affected. I have performed many benchmarks and taken screenshots of the results, which I plan to post here as baselines to compare future performance metrics against, so I have a record of the initial baseline performance. Then, when performance does degrade I can show the degraded performance as measured against the initial baseline benchmark results.

With that said, I don't believe MSI is responsible for the problem's origination. MSI simply used the chipset Intel provided. If it has a problem, Intel needs to supply MSI with adequate replacement parts so MSI can make replacement motherboards available to send out to affected users. That second part is MSI's responsibility. This chipset bug was reported within 30 days of the P67A-GD65's release so anyone who was an early adopter should be covered

I do believe that MSI needs to get ahead of the issue by letting their customers know they are actively working to produce adequate numbers of replacement boards, and that RMAs for these parts will be processed in a professional and timely manner. There is opportunity for MSI to really cement its reputation as a company that cares for its users, if they take a proactive approach to this situation. They can also cement theit reputation as a bad company that fails their customers if they choose not to work with the affected users.

 

[sailindawg]

I'm receiving a GD65 today.  How do I know if I'm impacted?  Sounds to me that I'll be sending this board back to Newegg until I'm guaranteed to recieve a board without a faulty chipset.

How do we as end users find out if our boards are effected?

 

[clm67]

Well I had mine on Jan 5th and it's currently going through an RMA process, and as far as I can see it, the only option atm is to get a motherboard with a Marvell controller for SATA.

Unfortunately, that is not an option for me. I use the following devices:

(2) 128GB SSDs on Intel SATA6 (RAID0 for OS)
(4) (1TB) HDDs on Intel SATA3 (RAID0 for Apps)
(1) (2TB) HDD on Marvel (Backup for important info on both RAID0 Arrays)
(1) DVD+-RW on Marvel

There is no way I can limit myself to only the Marvel connectors. It's just not possible.

 

[clm67]

I'm receiving a GD65 today.  How do I know if I'm impacted?  Sounds to me that I'll be sending this board back to Newegg until I'm guaranteed to recieve a board without a faulty chipset.

How do we as end users find out if our boards are effected?

ALL P67s are affected. You're affected. Refuse delivery, or get on the chat with NEwegg to cencel delivery and get a refund.

 

[Bernhard]

Please keep this aspect in mind:

This forum and all the users would be much better served with an official MSI notice as to the range of MBs that are affected and also the plan of action to rectify the situation. It is not uncommon for manufacturers to recall products that are known to have potential deficiencies. Toyota being a good recent example of recalls.
This one will be true test of a company's care towards its loyal customers and we will see which MB manufacturers take the lead in setting the example.
I just made up my mind. The imminent P67 purchase will be postponed and I will watch the forums for details.

 

[clm67]

This forum and all the users would be much better served with an official MSI notice as to the range of MBs that are affected and also the plan of action to rectify the situation. It is not uncommon for manufacturers to recall products that are known to have potential deficiencies. Toyota being a good recent example of recalls.
This one will be true test of a company's care towards its loyal customers and we will see which MB manufacturers take the lead in setting the example.
I just made up my mind. The imminent P67 purchase will be postponed and I will watch the forums for details.

Here's the official Intel Announcement.

http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2011/01/31/intel-identifies-chipset-design-error-implementing-solution

 

[Ywap]

Intel states that only sata 2-5 is affected, not 0-1.

As a P67A-GD55 owner am i?m suppose to use the upper two white ports that say "sata1_2"?

 

[HU16E]

As a P67A-GD55 owner am i?m suppose to use the upper two white ports that say "sata1_2"?

The two white SATA III ports closest to the CPU are ports #1 & #2. Lower white port is SATA III Port #1, & the upper (right above it) is SATA III Port #2. The other two white ports are #7 & #8 which are SATA III Marvell controlled.

Edit: P67A-GD65. Consult your manuals for your specific boards layout.

 

[clm67]

Intel states that only sata 2-5 is affected, not 0-1.

As a P67A-GD55 owner am i?m suppose to use the upper two white ports that say "sata1_2"?

As an owner, you're supposed to be able to use any of the ports. I've requested an RMA from MSI

 

[black_lightning]

Well I can confirm the symptoms of the errors on my board.  I just thought it was a hard drive starting to fail, which I did think was weird because it worked fine on my last system and is less than a year old.  Was moving all the files off it onto another one too.

As it seems only a certain number of chips are effected, wondering if I can exchange it and hope for a better one, can't be worse...  Fry's says 15 days tho for motherboard return which is just past due on mine... but is return and exchange counted as the same thing?  Otherwise I'd have to wait for an MSI RMA...

 

[HU16E]

Well I can confirm the symptoms of the errors on my board.  I just thought it was a hard drive starting to fail, which I did think was weird because it worked fine on my last system and is less than a year old.  Was moving all the files off it onto another one too.

As it seems only a certain number of chips are effected, wondering if I can exchange it and hope for a better one, can't be worse...  Fry's says 15 days tho for motherboard return which is just past due on mine... but is return and exchange counted as the same thing?  Otherwise I'd have to wait for an MSI RMA...

And the board model is? Talk to your reseller, exchanges & all that vary from different parts of the world.

Added: It would be nice if Intel would possibly provide a download to the end user a utility to 'selftest' check if our P67 chips are suspect or may be of the defective batch.

 

[Nybwe]

Well I can confirm the symptoms of the errors on my board.  I just thought it was a hard drive starting to fail, which I did think was weird because it worked fine on my last system and is less than a year old.  Was moving all the files off it onto another one too.

As it seems only a certain number of chips are effected, wondering if I can exchange it and hope for a better one, can't be worse...  Fry's says 15 days tho for motherboard return which is just past due on mine... but is return and exchange counted as the same thing?  Otherwise I'd have to wait for an MSI RMA...

If they're anything like SuperBiiz you'll have to wait for a resolution from MSI.

For recalls, you?re going to have to go through the manufacturer. So in your case you will have to contact MSI because our company does not handle recalls.

 

[Ywap]

The two white SATA III ports closest to the CPU are ports #1 & #2. Lower white port is SATA III Port #1, & the upper (right above it) is SATA III Port #2. The other two white ports are #7 & #8 which are SATA III Marvell controlled.

I think you?re talking about the GD-65, i have GD-55. Anyway, i switched to the only two white ports i have and hope for the best

 

[HU16E]

I think you?re talking about the GD-65, i have GD-55. Anyway, i switched to the only two white ports i have and hope for the best

Thanks! Correct. Made edit to my post above.

If they're anything like SuperBiiz you'll have to wait for a resolution from MSI.

Well that's nice of SuperBiiz. You know dang well 'they' will be sending 'their' stock back under a recall if it that happens.

 

[black_lightning]

And the board model is? Talk to your reseller, exchanges & all that vary from different parts of the world.

I have the P67A-GD65.  So I do have the added marvel controllers I can use for now on top the 6gbs ports.  Still annoying, never had to RMA anything before, how long does it typically take?  Couple weeks without being able to use my main computer...

 

[clm67]

I have the P67A-GD65.  So I do have the added marvel controllers I can use for now on top the 6gbs ports.  Still annoying, never had to RMA anything before, how long does it typically take?  Couple weeks without being able to use my main computer...

It depends on how pro-active MSI is concerning this recall, and how soon Intel can ramp up production of the corrected version of the silicon.

MSI can't replace your board if Intel can't get them the parts to do so.

Personally, I will not accept a "re-worked" board. (meaning, a board that has been sent back to MSI and had its SATA chip replaced) I've seen too many "re-worked" boards returned with problems in other areas because of the handling of them during the recall process.

FYI, Newegg has removed ALL Sandy Bridge CPUs and ALL H67 and P67 motherboards from their site. Makes sense to remove the CPUs since you can't plug them into anything that isn't affected.