2 Bad Intel boards

[not important]

I just received my 2nd Intel D865PERL MOBO from ZipZoomFly. The first was no good and it seems this one is also DOA. I did on the bench assembly, as always, and all of the components (PSU-RAM-Video Card) will work on another board. I can't believe that I got two bad Intel boards!

[newbuilder14]

I'm not surprised, ZipZoomFly is acquiring a bad habbit of shipping bad boards in my opinion. I learned this the hard way when I ordered an Asus board from them and I had to go through numerous component checks before I ruled out a bad board. It may be by mistake or just DOA, but I seem to think I was sent a bad board and/or returned. When I received a new one from Asus, all was well, and it was obviously in much better condition than the one I was sent.

[glc]

Wow - for 100 bucks you deserve a brand new board in a factory sealed box. I'd be calling their customer service.

[not important]

I tried to call them several times. They put you on hold for a short time, then you receive a message to leave them a message for someone to contact you. I called them about 1:30 PM PDT on Monday and have yet to hear from them.
While I'm ranting........The Intel box was sealed with the usual round holographic Intel seal but there was a note inside the box that said the MOBO was replaced with a new one and they returned my original accessories. I am very curious to know how the box was sealed with an Intel seal? The static bag was also sealed but the box seal has me wondering about that.
I suppose I would be wise to contact Intel about a replacement.

[TimPoet]

Their customer satisfaction rating has suffered in the past 6 months. Their lifetime rating at Resellerratings.com is 8.49 but the last 6 months it's only been 6.09.

Seems like they are in a decline.

[glc]

Good chance that at this point in time, the only replacements from Intel will be refurbs. They stopped making 478 boards quite a while ago. Too bad you are having problems with it - in its time the D865PERL boards were excellent, I've installed quite a few with no issues, none have failed yet (that I know of, anyway). I had to switch to Asus P4P800's when I couldn't get them any more. I dunno where ZZF dug their current ones up from.

[not important]

I called Intel and they were VERY helpful. The Lady said she would check their inventory, so I assume they have one. They are sending me an RMA. At this point, I don't care if it's refurb or not. As long as it works and I don't have to deal with ZZF.........ever again.
Thanks for the help and listening to my whining.LOL

[glc]

Please let us know how it works out.

[not important]

OK, Here's the update.
I received my 3rd Perl 865 MOBO........this one was from Intel. I did the bench test and got nothing but the green MOBO light, same as the other two. I called Intel support ad we went through all of the usual tech support steps and came up with nothing. They offered to send me another board to replace it but the tech guy was understandably skeptical about the board actually being my problem. Finally, just for kicks, I told him that I had another CPU that I could try so I removed a P4 3.0 from another PC and inserted it into the Perl MOBO. The CPU fan turned on and everything worked. I put the 3.2 back in the Perl and nothing. The 3.2 will still work on the old MSI MOBO that it was originally in but refuses to work in the Perl board. I was going to put it in the board (Intel G865) that the 3.0 came out of but I have had enough for one day. I'm sure I will try it tomorrow just to satisfy myself. The tech guy had me read him the numbers from the 3.2 chip and he told me it was still under warranty and they would replace it. I agreed to that and that is where the issue stands for now. I still don't understand why the 3.2 CPU will work in one board and not the other but this had most assuredly been a learning experience for me.

[glc]

Maybe the PERL needs a bios update?

[not important]

According to the tech man, it has the latest BIOS. How could the BIOS be changed if it won't power up?

[kram 2.0]

Originally Posted by not important According to the tech man, it has the latest BIOS. How could the BIOS be changed if it won't power up?

Physical chip replacement - in this case, you would need to contact the manufacturer to procure the chip with the correct BIOS, then use a chip-extractor tool to remove and connect the new chip to the board.

kram

[not important]

Originally Posted by kram 2.0 Physical chip replacement - in this case, you would need to contact the manufacturer to procure the chip with the correct BIOS, then use a chip-extractor tool to remove and connect the new chip to the board. kram

Thanks kram.

[Panama Red]

I've done bios upgrades on mobo's that don't support a new processor. Sempron's in a 754 socket mobo. Had to install a recognizeable cpu, then use a floppy to do the bios upgrade, then install the new cpu.

[not important]

I put the 3.2 CPU in the Intel 865 board and it will not work there. I put it back into the MSI board and it works. I will be sending it to Intel for a replacement.

[kram 2.0]

Ideally, if you have a CPU that works, you would want to use that instead of chip-extracting. However, ordering a new-BIOS chip is usually low-cost or free (cost me shipping through Asus) so if you don't already have a CPU that works, that would be the best alternative. I wrote an account of a time I had to do BIOS chip extraction in one of my articles if you want to take a quick peak. Bottom paragraph.

kram

[not important]

Thanks kram I'll keep that page on file. I sent the 3.2 off to Intel today for a replacement. I feel confident that the new 3.2 CPU will work on the Perl board without any problems.

[XJBluto]

I too had trouble with ZIpZoomFly. I bought an ASUS MOBO and an AMD CPU. Both received, Both faulty. Waiting for the RMA product to come in. ZIp Zoom fly is better than NewEgg , which is way slower. I am thinking that Internet sales is the Shizznet

[not important]

I received the new 3.2 CPU from Intel today. Put it in the board, fired it up and all is well!
Joe is pleased.

[TimPoet]

It's good to have things working well.

Glad to hear it.

[kram 2.0]

Thanks for the follow-up. The BIOS must have been very frail - I'm happy you have it working, nonetheless.

kram

[not important]

Apparently the BIOS was not the issue. The CPU was defective....... although I still do not understand why it would still function properly on the old MSI board bit no other board.

[TimPoet]

Originally Posted by not important .... although I still do not understand why it would still function properly on the old MSI board bit no other board.

I find that rather puzzling....