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Is it possible some stores always get lower binned chips?

657 views 13 replies 11 participants last post by  jsc1973 
#1 ·
I always buy processors at the same shop. MicroBytes here in Montreal is pretty much the main reseller with about 10+ locations.

I bought all these chips from them
955 and it wouldn't do more than 3.6-3.7 at ridiculous voltages
965 clocked at around 3.8 tops
1055T did the same as the 965 except hotter
1090T did the same as the 1055T

and now I've got the 8320 and I can't get 4.4 stable with 1.45V and 1.3 CPUNB
mad.gif


I've never had any luck when it comes to the silicon lottery, and I have a feeling it has something to do with where I buy the chips. Is that even possible?
 
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#2 ·
Do you have a situation where you purchased a CPU from another retailer and it overclocked better? I think that one person's experience is too small of a sample size. I don't think I've noticed anything, but I normally order from newegg and amazon.
 
#3 ·
If the store has a low rate of sales, they might sit on older chips longer, while newer chips might overclock better due to the fabrication process improving. (but that can go either way with intel)

There's too many variables in this to make a general statement about chains of stores, unless you know for good that they stockpile their chips on release and then slowly sell em. But that's not very economic. Maybe if they charge a bigger premium to make up for the cost of holding the inventory?

edit: also makes sense to go for FX 8320E because then you know for good it's been produced recently!
 
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#5 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by doritos93 View Post

I always buy processors at the same shop. MicroBytes here in Montreal is pretty much the main reseller with about 10+ locations.

I bought all these chips from them
955 and it wouldn't do more than 3.6-3.7 at ridiculous voltages
965 clocked at around 3.8 tops
1055T did the same as the 965 except hotter
1090T did the same as the 1055T

and now I've got the 8320 and I can't get 4.4 stable with 1.45V and 1.3 CPUNB
mad.gif


I've never had any luck when it comes to the silicon lottery, and I have a feeling it has something to do with where I buy the chips. Is that even possible?
I have owned all those chips and have gotten say 300 or more MHz faster as an average. That being said I don't think the store has anything to do with it.
 
#6 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by doritos93 View Post

I always buy processors at the same shop. MicroBytes here in Montreal is pretty much the main reseller with about 10+ locations.

I bought all these chips from them
955 and it wouldn't do more than 3.6-3.7 at ridiculous voltages
965 clocked at around 3.8 tops
1055T did the same as the 965 except hotter
1090T did the same as the 1055T

and now I've got the 8320 and I can't get 4.4 stable with 1.45V and 1.3 CPUNB
mad.gif


I've never had any luck when it comes to the silicon lottery, and I have a feeling it has something to do with where I buy the chips. Is that even possible?
My list of stinkers is probably 3x as long. I've had such poor luck that I started putting locked intel CPUs into some of my rigs.
 
#7 ·
I order mostly from Newegg. I have mess around with many Phenom II x2/x4/x6. Most Phenom II oc to 3.6-4.0ghz. I mess around with10 Phenom II x2 I can hit 4.0ghz on all of them. I mess around with12 Phenom II x4 I can hit 3.8-3.9ghz and 0 at 4.0ghz on all of them. I mess around with 3 1090T I can can hit 4.0-4.2ghz on all of them. This is all on air. On dry ice runs I can over 5ghz on any of them.
 
#8 ·
I'm only comparing my experience to what I've seen on here. From what I can gather, most guys on OCN either buy from e-tailers or Microcenter lol. And a lot of people on here have better luck than I have had

I guess it was a stupid question to ask, since all stores should receive the same parts. But one thing I'm sure of is that this place I go to definitely sells more Intel than AMD. Like loads more, as parts and in prebuilt systems. They often only have AMD chips in stock and even then, the employees hardly ever know which models are which since they're told to push the Intel stuff it seems. Intel seems to fly off the shelves here in Montreal. Good thing for us AMD guys
smile.gif


I think someones right about the chips sitting on the shelf for longer than other stores. If I'm one of the few to buy AMD from a shop who doesn't sell much AMD, I might get a chip that was manufactured way earlier than say if I bought from the Egg, which has a higher inventory turnover rate, thus getting bum clockers all the time.
 
#10 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by doritos93 View Post

I'm only comparing my experience to what I've seen on here. From what I can gather, most guys on OCN either buy from e-tailers or Microcenter lol. And a lot of people on here have better luck than I have had

I guess it was a stupid question to ask, since all stores should receive the same parts. But one thing I'm sure of is that this place I go to definitely sells more Intel than AMD. Like loads more, as parts and in prebuilt systems. They often only have AMD chips in stock and even then, the employees hardly ever know which models are which since they're told to push the Intel stuff it seems. Intel seems to fly off the shelves here in Montreal. Good thing for us AMD guys
smile.gif


I think someones right about the chips sitting on the shelf for longer than other stores. If I'm one of the few to buy AMD from a shop who doesn't sell much AMD, I might get a chip that was manufactured way earlier than say if I bought from the Egg, which has a higher inventory turnover rate, thus getting bum clockers all the time.
I have noticed that brick and mortar stores move inventory a lot slower. Which would make sense given what you're saying, the CPUs from the store you buy from might be really old batches. In the states, it's common to do something like see generation or two or even older sitting on shelves in a place like Best Buy or Fry's and not having anything newer.
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadGear View Post

I wonder why no one has asked:

What Motherboards have you used?
Is it the same motherboard for all the chips?
What Cooling?
PSU?

These variables also matter, and having one under engineered/perform for your goals might be a limiting factor for all chips.
This, especially the motherboard
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadGear View Post

I wonder why no one has asked:

What Motherboards have you used?
Is it the same motherboard for all the chips?
What Cooling?
PSU?

These variables also matter, and having one under engineered/perform for your goals might be a limiting factor for all chips.
Probably because I didn't ask "how can I get a better overclock". I've had different boards, probably like 4, different PSUs, a Noctua cooler and a custom loop. I know it's possible but what is the likelihood of someone using 5 different processors with the rest of the parts being exactly the same over a 6 year period?

I'm going to continue blaming the store. Next time I'm in for an upgrade, I'm going to prove this theory by buying the same chip from two (or more) different shops and seeing how they clock. I'm surprised no one has done this before actually. It would have to be done at the same time too, either close to a product launch, or close to EOL. I dunno what would be better

Might not even wait for an upgrade, thinking about selling this 8320 and getting others
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by doritos93 View Post

I think someones right about the chips sitting on the shelf for longer than other stores. If I'm one of the few to buy AMD from a shop who doesn't sell much AMD, I might get a chip that was manufactured way earlier than say if I bought from the Egg, which has a higher inventory turnover rate, thus getting bum clockers all the time.
I have a feeling that's your answer. With chips manufactured at a later date, you always have a better chance of getting a higher quality chip. Since Newegg moves a lot of merchandise, they have more turnover and you would likely get newer chips buying from them. In fact, every CPU I've ever bought there has been an above-average OC, and one was killer good. The only good chip I ever got out of a store was my 8350, and that was pure luck because I was early adopter of Vishera.
 
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