Extended warranties for most 13th and 14th generation Intel processors... but brands that don't necessarily play ball.
Stricken by serious instability problems, Intel's 13th and 14th generation processors are due for a major update in August. An update of the microcode linked to these processors that can be applied by flashing the motherboard BIOS. Intel's aim is to put behind it the worrying crashes of its processors - even though they are top-of-the-range - when overloaded. All this would be linked to a " microcode algorithm resulting in incorrect voltage requests to the processor ". Intel recently clarified the problem, stating that " all 13th and 14th generation desktop processors with a TDP of 65 watts or more may be affected by this issue ", before stressing that the microcode update scheduled for August " will provide an effective preventive solution for processors already in service ".
It is therefore important to note that this will obviously not repair processors already damaged. Moreover, Intel has made it clear that it has no intention of organizing a general recall of its chips.
Intel
In the wake of these announcements about microcode, Intel has also clarified the contours of its extended warranty. Basically, Intel chips are covered by a three-year warranty. Intel has announced a two-year warranty extension for the majority of its 13th and 14th generation processors. The majority, not all 13th and 14th generation processors? No, in fact, some models are not concerned, and to make things clearer, the table above details which models benefit from this extension. In fact, there's a simple reason why models up to Core i5-13500 and Core i5-14500 of each generation have been excluded: they are in fact based on the previous architecture - Alder Lake - which is not affected by the problem. What's more, only processors sold in boxes are covered by this extended warranty.
It's worth noting that for processors sold as OEMs - directly integrated into computers sold as complete units - while Intel does provide an extended warranty, everything is handled by the brands themselves, and communication from certain companies leaves much to be desired. On the one hand, we have brands such as Alienware, ASUS, Dell, HP and MSI, which clearly state that they support this two-year extended warranty, so no problem there. On the other hand, we have more vague situations, such as Corsair, which explains that it will only extend the warranty on its machines to four years, without really understanding why. Finally, Lenovo takes a back seat: no details on how this extended warranty will be handled for a brand that simply states that it works with Intel and that, in the event of recurring problems, you should contact customer service. A little light for such an industry heavyweight.
