14 DAY TRIAL // Gestures of goodwill aren't really easy to come by, but at least they aren't altogether absent from the IT market, as proven by a PC part shop in Akihabara - Tokyo's major shopping center for consumer electronics and PC parts.
We'll get the bad news out of the way: you won't get to benefit from this nice little deal if you don't live in Japan's capital.
The reason is that the shop offering it, DIY Shop FreeT, demands that buyers bring over their damaged Ivy Bridge CPUs for inspection.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves. We'll lay out the deal now: a PC part shop is offering a discount to people who damaged their Intel 22nm CPUs when trying to pry off the integrated heatsink.
One wouldn't think a few degrees would cause this much fuss, but the fact that Ivy Bridge CPUs run hotter than Sandy Bridge ones hasn't been received all that well.
Sure, there haven't been any boycotts or shouts of outrage like those incited by the Mass Effect 3 ending, but Intel's design choice wasn't received well either.
About two weeks ago, it was discovered that replacing the thermal paste beneath the IHS (integrated heatsink) significantly improved heat conduction.
Alas, prying off the IHS involves the risk of damaging the CPU die, effectively ruining the CPU. Sure, the chances aren't as high as they would have been if Intel had used fluxless solder, but they are there nonetheless.
There are now people around the world who've irreparably damaged their chips, which means they will have to get new ones. To offer a helping hand, of sorts, a DIY shop in Akihabara is offering 1000 yen discounts on brand new Core i7-3770K chips ($13 / 10 Euro).
What's more, they came up with copper mock-ups that would-be overclockers could use to practice the process of removing the IHS. It isn't an overly difficult maneuver, and it only involves a penknife, but it does rely on gentle and careful movements, otherwise you can scratch the CPU die.
We wouldn't mind seeing other stores from around the world offering similar deals.
