The aftermath of Intel’s 13th/14th Gen Core controversy mostly comes down to replacing damaged units, as the official fix is now available to keep the CPU from potentially damaging itself due to a microcode bug. However, one major distributor in Hong Kong has stumbled into a small issue when processing replacement requests: there are no more replacements left.
Core i9-14900K Runs Dry
In this case, it’s Synnex Technology International that declined a customer’s request to replace his broken Core i9-14900K, and local publication HKEPC has received a tip from this user who goes by the surname ‘Chen’.
According to Mr. Chen, he requested for a replacement in September 4th, despite news reports at the time suggesting that shortages are to be expected, of which he was prepared to wait it out. However, he was contacted by Synnex through WhatsApp, informing him that the request has been denied and it will offer a full refund in cash instead, which is HK$4,200 (~RM2,336).
With no options left for his damaged 14900K, Mr. Chen told the publication that he has “given up on Intel,” and has sold all of his parts to his friend’s Core i7-12700K build (which is not affected by the degradation issue). As for himself, he kept the SSD, and plans to make the switch to Team Red instead – with AMD’s latest-and-greatest Ryzen 9 9950X.
Pokdepinion: That’s one customer lost right here, Intel.
