Faulty e8400?

[JPreston]

It seems clear that these chips aren't working as a lot of people (me included) expected. But does that mean they're faulty?

Yes it does - they are either running ~20 degrees hotter than they should be based on review samples and seemingly every unit outside Europe or (given their low power draw and the laws of physics, more likely IMO) the sensors are reporting the wrong temperatures.

If the sensors are reporting vastly inaccurate temperatures so as to make useful temperature monitoring impossible, then this is a fault and it is completely irrelevant whether the false temperature is above or below the maximum safe temperature for the chip - the fact is, that is not the temperature the chip is running at. The inability to monitor temperature anywhere near accurately is the fault.

Not having a pop at scan in particular here (in fact should this not appear in the hardware section?) but even if this should turn out to be a temporary BIOS issue I'm aghast that a retailer will sell me both a chip and a board described as supporting that chip with BIOS version x, then when this issue occurs try to claim that neither item is faulty. Assuming we all know how to install a CPU correctly then either the chip is faulty, or the board does not (yet) support the chip even though it was sold as such.

[Saracen]

I agree with you, JP, if the problem is with the temps being reported.

But I've seen reports, which may or may not be correct, that it may be BIOS' not correctly interpreting data. If so, then it may be that the chip itself is working just fine, but that a BIOS flash will sort the issue.

On the other hand, I've also seen reports claiming that this is not the case.

Which is right? Dunno.

Whether the chip is running hot, or it isn't but the sensor is incorrectly reporting it as such, I agree, it's faulty. But if the temps are within spec, and the DTS is accurately reporting temps, and it's motherboards (or BIOS, or temp monitoring software, or whatever) that are interpreting incorrectly, then they aren't faulty.

And personally, I'd also agree that even if the reported temp is within Intel spec, if it is grossly inaccurate it's still faulty, because other actions (like fan speeds, and resultant noise) may well be dependent on that reported temp.


I have no idea which it is. Until we do, it's hard to assert the chip is faulty. From what I've read, it may yet prove to be faulty .... or not.

[scruffy]

Heads up for anyone having differences between BIOS/Windows program read temps, Speedfan 4.34 beta 38 is up for download and it appears to be working a lot closer to the mark for a lot of people.

Anyone previously having wacky temp differences between cores had any luck with this? (too lazy to reinstall e8400 this end hehe)

[Bhavv]

This isnt scans fault, the fault lies with intel. I have an Aeroengine 2 case and removed everything and fully dusted it before installing my E8400.

14 cm front fan, 2x 12 cm side fans, each directly above the CPU and GFX, and a 12 cm exhaust behind the CPU. And an asus silent knight 2 which is freaking huge compared to the stock cooler.

42 degrees celcius in bios on my CPU.

[Mick@SCAN]

scruffy,

please pm me your invoice number, if you believe that the cpu is faulty we can certainly raise an rma and test the product.

[atmadden]

This isnt scans fault, the fault lies with intel. I have an Aeroengine 2 case and removed everything and fully dusted it before installing my E8400.

14 cm front fan, 2x 12 cm side fans, each directly above the CPU and GFX, and a 12 cm exhaust behind the CPU. And an asus silent knight 2 which is freaking huge compared to the stock cooler.

42 degrees celcius in bios on my CPU.

You have the same board and cpu as me. I don't get any temp problems but I am using the latest 1.8 beta3 bios from the MSI forums. You can update your bios by using a bootup floppy/cd/usb and flashing that way much safer than the web or any other update method. Instructions are in offical bios files. I have a cpu from roughly the same time as people who are having problems so if you could update your bios this issue could be put to bed once and for all.

[scruffy]

Just a little Monday morning bumpage!

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