For the past few weeks, some owners of Intel’s Raptor Lake desktop PC microprocessors have been chatting on the web about their PCs breaking. Typically, Intel’s chips act as a brain for the computer, but evidence indicated they were sometimes causing the computers to fail instead. Intel ultimately acknowledged the problem, saying it affected Intel Core 13th and 14th generation desktop chips that had been made as far back as 2023.
Now a law firm is investigating a potential class action filing against the tech giant, collecting names of impacted customers who would be considered part of a potential suit.
“If you are interested in participating as a class representative in a class action lawsuit against Intel regarding Intel Core 13th/14th Generation desktop processor issues, please submit your information,” the firm, Abington Cole + Ellery, says on its site.
Intel, for its part, published a series of statements, including a promise to send software fixes for chips that hadn’t yet failed, and replacing those that had.
“Intel is committed to making sure all customers who have or are currently experiencing instability symptoms on their 13th and/or 14th Gen desktop processors are supported in the exchange process,” an Intel representative wrote on the company’s website late last month.
Intel representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the potential suit.
Big mistake
Intel’s troubles with its Raptor Lake chips come just as the tech industry is preparing for the busy fall selling season, which includes back-to-school shopping and various holidays. Additionally, Intel is facing increasing competition from rivals including AMD, Apple and Qualcomm.
Industry analysts have argued that Intel was caught flat-footed by the wave of artificial intelligence investments that have breathed new life into the tech and manufacturing industries. Many competitors, including Apple, Google, Qualcomm and Microsoft, had been adding specialized AI technologies to their devices for years. When OpenAI’s ChatGPT helped kick off an AI boom across the tech industry, investors looked to those companies as critical pieces of this new trend.
Intel has been working to catch up, as has its archrival, AMD. AMD’s latest chips have special features to support AI apps, helping the chips win praise from reviewers and, subsequently, purchases from customers. Earlier this week, AMD told investors that its latest chips with built-in AI functionality were selling better than expected, helping to boost the company’s overall profits.
Now Intel faces this manufacturing issue. YouTube publication Gamers Nexus, which helped uncover the problem, said it would no longer recommend Intel chips until the company could prove its promised fixes actually work.
“When we get hopefully a lack of performance changes and then hopefully some firm commitments on the warranty, we will consider the stance of whether or not we can comfortably recommend Intel CPUs,” Gamers Nexus Editor-in-Chief Steve Burke said in a video uploaded last week.
