Intel

PC makers take different approaches to honoring Intel's extended warranty for CPU crashing issues — survey shows disparity between warranty periods

(Image credit: Future)

The Verge reached out to multiple PC makers to inquire about how they will handle Intel's warranty extension for 13th- and 14th-gen processors regarding the instability issues .

Intel released extended warranty details for 13th- and 14th-gen chips affected by the instability issue, listing 22 SKUs in total. Intel says that all listed Boxed Chips worldwide are covered by the two-year warranty extensions. But if you bought a tray processor or a pre-built system, you must coordinate with the retailer that supplied your chip for any return or replacement.

Since Intel left the decision to extend the warranty to each respective seller, it's interesting to see the policies of each major computer maker regarding the Intel warranty extension.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
CompanyPolicy
AcerResponded, but no official update yet
Alienware / DellProcessors diagnosed with instability issue will be replaced "to ensure that all costs are covered", but no mention of warranty extension
AsusTwo-year extended warranty for affected desktop CPUs
Corsair / Origin PCFour-year total CPU warranty on 13th- and 14th-gen Intel processors from date of purchase
CyberPowerPCAutomated response sent link to standard one-year warranty for parts
Digital StormAll previous and new systems with Intel 13th- and 14th-gen CPU will include an extended five-year warranty coverage for the processor only
Falcon NorthwestIntel 13th- and 14th-gen desktop processors on Intel's list will now be covered for a full five years
HPWill honor Intel's extended warranty of two years on impacted processors
iBuypowerWill honor Intel's five-year extended warranty
LenovoNo response yet at the time of writing
MaingearWill be extending the processor warrant on all PCs equipped with affected 13th and 14th gen Intel Core processors to five years from the date of purchase, including delidded 14900KS processors
MSINo response yet at the time of writing
NZXTResponded, but no official update yet
Puget SystemsExtending our warranty on affected CPUS to 3 years for any customer affected by this issue, regardless of warranty purchased

These are some of the biggest PC makers whose responses have mostly been positive. Out of the 16 companies that have been surveyed, six said that they would honor the complete two-year extended warranty on the affected Intel processors, bringing the total coverage to five years. On the other hand, five companies gave some form of extended warranty, but not the whole five years from Intel, and an additional five are yet to reply or release an official statement at the time of writing.

We hope that every company that builds PCs using Intel chips comes up with a solid extended warranty policy. That way, its users do not have to worry about their chip crashing and burning right as its warranty ends.

Extending the warranty will incur additional costs for Intel and its OEM partners. However, it is also the one thing that Intel can do to help win back the trust and confidence of its customers. If Intel's partners care about its customers, they should give Intel users some assurance that they will not end up with an expensive brick on their desk after the warranty expires and not consider the extended warranty exclusively an Intel problem.

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Contributing Writer

Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.