The defective Xeon was in a 2009 Mac Pro, so it would have been a Westmere-era processor. Even though I was certain the problem was a bad core, the guy at the G

The defective Xeon was in a 2009 Mac Pro, so it would have been a Westmere-era processor. Even though I was certain the problem was a bad core, the guy at the Genius Bar refused to believe it was the processor. He finally grudgingly agreed to replace the processor if I really wanted, but assured me it wouldn’t solve the problem. Unsurprisingly though, it did. The other processor was an i7-14700K, and it was about eight months old when the problems started to manifest. The processor was never overclocked, and had a pretty chunky heatsink (with no fewer than three fans) so I’m pretty sure it was never run out of spec. Intel ended up RMAing the processor without too much hassle, so I get the sense that what had happened was not entirely uncommon, and they really want to avoid any bad press relating to it. I’m not convinced Intel’s thermal protection is all that effective these days, after reading reports of people claiming their processors have become physically warped. Apparently a popular PC mod involves replacing the “flip-down” CPU bracket with one that screws in at all four corners, supposedly to help prevent warping.