Update 9/5 02:05 PDT
Intel has responded to our request for comment.
“Intel confirms that replacement stock for RMA requests on Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen desktop processors is sufficient to address customer demand and apologizes for the miscommunication indicating otherwise. We appreciate our customers’ patience as we continue to process RMA requests as quickly as possible for Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen desktop processors.”
Original story
Intel is reportedly running out of replacements for its faulty range-topping Core i9-13900K/14900K 'Raptor Lake' processors, according to a Reddit post citing Intel customer support. The alleged response from Intel does not refuse to replace failed CPUs, but says that at least some customers in some parts of the U.S. will have to wait three or four weeks to get their replacements.
"Due to stock availability issues, we don't have an actual or same-part replacement available for the reported unit, Intel Core i9-13900K processor, as well as a higher but compatible replacement, and normally it would take 4 to 5 weeks or more before our stocks are replenished," a supposed letter from Intel customer support reads. "We'd like to know if you're willing to wait 3-4 weeks while we check with our planning team about stock replenishment."
We have reached out to Intel for an official comment and we will update this story once we have it.
It should be noted that other customers replying in the same thread said that they got their Core i9-13900K/14900K replacements okayed in a short while both in the U.S. and Europe. Yet, there were customers confirming that Intel sent them notifications about running out of spare Core i9-13900K/14900K parts as well as owners of the said processors advising the author of the thread to get a refund instead, or at least ask how the process work to make Intel more inclined to offer a replacement CPU.
Considering the fact that Intel has extended warranty period for its 13th and 14th Generation Core 'Raptor Lake' processors by two years about a month ago, the company will have plenty of time to replace all the faulty parts encountered by its clients, so there is nothing to worry about. However, three to four weeks without a PC is a trouble for many people as desktop machines are used not only to play games, but also for work.
Intel disclosed in July that some 13th- and 14th-Generation Core processors may become unstable and eventually damaged due to high voltages. The bug affects not only high-end models with processor base power of 125W or higher, but also mainstream 65W CPUs, which are sold in tens of millions of units inside mainstream PCs. While a BIOS patch should fix the problem for healthy CPUs, they cannot fix damaged processors, which is why Intel is replacing them.
