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990x Engineering Sample Pickle

994 views 22 replies 13 participants last post by  C-BuZz 
#1 ·
So I got what I believe was a good deal on a combination i7 990x / MSI Big Bang / 12 gb Patriot memory combo and was looking over things this morning. I realize that the seller had attached a pic of the CPU and low and behold it's an ES sample. From what they provided as far as screen shots, etc. it is truly a 990x just the ES version. I don't know if I need to make a big deal with this with the seller or not. Ultimately should I try it out or just request a refund and a public shamming of the seller since they said in the sale it was a 990x. The seller said they were sold the chip that way and had didn't realize there was a difference which I may or may not believe. I'm waiting on the package to arrive later this morning. What yall think I should do?
 
#4 ·
Well with a gift card I had I've got 400.00 in the setup which I felt was a good deal for what the deal was. I'm more than willing to check it out and take the chance, I just didn't want to get stuck with something that at the end of the day I could never get rid of when the time comes.
 
#8 ·
The chip would be out of warranty anyway by now I would think so I wouldn't consider it a big deal, ES chips work just fine just make sure to verify the BIOS compatibility if you ever update it.
 
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#10 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ssgtnubb View Post

Will do, thank you for the tip didn't think on that. +rep
Probably isn't a big deal with a chipset as old as X58, but sometimes the later BIOS remove support for the low stepping ES chips like B0, etc. If it runs good I would just let it be, still a monster of a chip. I was able to get my 990X to 4.6ghz back in the day.
 
#13 ·
I bought my i7-990X ES from China one month before they were officially released and my 990X can OC without any problem to 4.5 GHz at under 1.4 V. I can also bench 5 GHz at relatively low voltage. It's a keeper and much, much better than some retail 980Xs for example. I've never had any issues with the chip.
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by intelfan View Post

I'd discuss a partial refund as long as everything works. The chip would be a lot more harder to resell in the future as a lot of places forbid ES chips from being sold. Personally I would switch it out if possible, if not a small refund.
Official all 'ES' chips are, and always remain, the Property of Intel and are not allowed to be resold or distributed in any form. Not that it stops them popping up all over the place,
tongue.gif


I wouldn't worry about it, it'll be fine although resale value might be less than a retail chip. The stepping might be different from a retail CPU, but I'm not sure if the 990x even had more than one stepping..I know the 920's had C0/C1 and D0, D0 being the better clocking of the three.
 
#15 ·
Personally I think its kind of cool to have an ES...in the same way it was cool when I was a kid and my parents would leave town and I would throw a party.

 
#17 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ssgtnubb View Post

Hot damn you pulled out Beavis and Butthead lol
Pretty sure it took the better part of my 20's to regain the brain matter lost from watching that show...

Still one of my all time favorites though.
 
#18 ·
The CO's are just bad in general....the DO's if you find/get a good one better hang on to it....quite a few rather poor/average ones too....
A lot of the 38xxx DO batches are really good and some golden chips in there doing 4ghz at 1.2v....vs my 920 and w3530 39xx batch
wanting more like 1.3v++ ,well my w3520 will do 1.3v at 4ghz my my 920 of that batch must not be very good...it wants like 1.35v+
 
#19 ·
All 990Xs are B1 stepping.
 
#20 ·
I'd be getting a refund no doubt about it for re-sale value alone. If it's an ES chip like you say it will be worth HALF that of the retail counterpart when/if you decide to sell it. And lets be realistic, 990x's are still fetching $450-$600 so your going to want a retail chip if you want to ever sell it again.
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by C-BuZz View Post

I'd be getting a refund no doubt about it for re-sale value alone. If it's an ES chip like you say it will be worth HALF that of the retail counterpart when/if you decide to sell it. And lets be realistic, 990x's are still fetching $450-$600 so your going to want a retail chip if you want to ever sell it again.
Are you being serious? I've always had the impression that ES hold their weight very well considering alot of the ones known out there are great OC'ers. Why you would want to pay less for a chip that is identical in functionality but a better overclocker is beyond me. The thing is past EOL and is being handed around as a sell off so Intel isn't going to care.
 
#22 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by C-BuZz View Post

I'd be getting a refund no doubt about it for re-sale value alone. If it's an ES chip like you say it will be worth HALF that of the retail counterpart when/if you decide to sell it. And lets be realistic, 990x's are still fetching $450-$600 so your going to want a retail chip if you want to ever sell it again.
LOL, and yet there is huge number of people who know es are usualy a lot better chips than retail, besides are you strange or something its already a old chip, buying a chip that old and expecting to resel it later is a bit dumb anyway
 
#23 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpartanVXL View Post

Are you being serious? I've always had the impression that ES hold their weight very well considering alot of the ones known out there are great OC'ers. Why you would want to pay less for a chip that is identical in functionality but a better overclocker is beyond me. The thing is past EOL and is being handed around as a sell off so Intel isn't going to care.
Very. I've found the the 20years dealing with cpu's that ES chips are almost impossible to sell (not to mention the fact it's illegal).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lantian View Post

LOL, and yet there is huge number of people who know es are usualy a lot better chips than retail, besides are you strange or something its already a old chip, buying a chip that old and expecting to resel it later is a bit dumb anyway
FYI genius, a 990x still fetches $500-$600 (if not more) as of right now. This is likely to INCREASE as time goes on. Stop talking crap you know nothing about.
 
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