Shirley's CPU??

So I was on ebay looking for a i7 2920XM and Shirley's CPU is selling them for about $326. Is this right or is it a scam of sorts?

Intel i7 mobile CPU i7 2920xm ES 2.4Ghz | eBay

 

It's not a scam.

But it looks like an early ES version, as you can see on the listing it's actually lower clocked than an OEM i7 2920xm (2.4ghz vs 2.5ghz).

Also you dont know what other problems it has, maybe incorrect or missing temp sensors.

 

Is there anything wrong with an ES, And are things like missing sensors common?

 

On the old core 2 gen, yes missing or faulty temp sensors were very common.

Sometimes other features missing.

But also there were sometimes good features present like extra cache and unlocked multipliers. E.g T7100 ES had double the cache and the ES Q9100 and Q9200 had unlocked multipliers.

 

Shirley is a member of forum and created many threads of benchmarking his ES CPUs.

But some ES CPUs may have lower memory bandwidth support for example I7 quad core 1st gen have only 1066Mhz support. Or at least some of them.

 

I have an 2920xm ES that runs at 2.4ghz. It works perfectly fine. It even has an unlocked multiplier. It's revision D0, which is a preproduction revision, but I've found nothing wrong with it. I've run memory at 2133mhz in dual channel mode with it, but the memory was a bit unstable so I settled on 1866 CAS10. It does have the full 8MB cache. The temperature sensors work fine.

Still trying to figure out how to OC it. BIOS has no options

 

When you figure that out let me know. I interested in seeing how well it oc. I might end up getting one to save a few $$

 

Did you try intel XTU?
Also try EVGA E-LEET.

 

I tried intel XTU, trying the evga thing now.

Update:
e-leet didn't work either.

 

Does your chipset allows for unlocked multipliers?

I'm surprised no one mentioned throttlestop yet.

 

With throttlestop you can change the turbo ratio limit MSR, but it has no effect on the system. It is known for SB CPUs to have to restart in order for the CPU to raise its multiplier. My BIOS will reset the turbo ratio limit MSR even on a sleep/resume, so a restart does not work for me. I have an Insyde based UEFI BIOS, but the BIOS is too new for the 2009 version of EZH2O to support. I emailed Insyde asking for a newer version, but I highly doubt I'll get one. At this point I believe that BIOS modding is my only option.

 

Try to make a request to the guys at bios-mods.com
They helped Alienware users a little

 

Latitude E6520 Turbo Ratio Limits

No one replied

 

The ebay seller discussed in this thread is obviously not the sharpest tool in the box. ES processors remain the property of Intel and may not be sold, so they are selling products they do not own. In addition although the ebayer says "Item location: Hoboken, New Jersey, United States", further down their many listings they say item ships from China. Nice! they also confuse ES and QS.
I really would stay far away.

 

But it is an only way to have extreme verion of CPU in your noebook. Because no one will upgrade to the CPU which costs more than a half of thу top end machine's price.

 

This ES version seems to be alright. It has an extremely early stepping (D0), which may or may not have an impact on stability and power consumption. However, temp sensors do work and it has all the features of a full 2920xm cpu, except its clocked 100 mhz slower. I have been searching for one but alas no success.

 

Obviously the reason for looking at it was the ability to Oc it, and it's cheaper then a QS. Seems like people are having an issue doing so. I guees I'll just have to save up a little and get a QM

 

I've purchased a few ES/QS processors from "shirleyfu1117", including my QX9300. I've never an had issue with one. I plan to buy a 2920XM from them as well.

As long as you can research the "S-SPEC Number", you should be able to find out the details of the processor; whether it has temp sensors, its stepping, etc.

 

People know that those CPUs are ES and most know that it is the property of Intel but it really is the only way to get an aftermarket mobile processor in your laptop. Also, QS is just a late version of ES which is closer to production and usually has most of the features of a production processor, which usually means a locked multiplier, same clock speed, same cache and most sensors working fine. Either way, I haven't heard of Intel going after these sellers or buyers so I wouldn't be too worried about it.

 

Sometimes you get more than you bargained for with an ES chip, for example the ES version of the i7-2720QM processor had more cache than the production version (8MB vs 6MB) which is odd.

 

I have this CPU it works flawless Specs in sig

 

Well that's OK then, phew, for a moment I was worried that they might not know they are party to theft! I know the difference between ES and QS, my comment was in relation to the ebay seller who equates the two as comparable. I know for a fact that Intel goes after ES sellers. They can identify where every single ES/QS CPU was sent and they more often pursue the original OEM they sent the CPU's to. Each legitimate OEM who receives ES/QS CPU's signs a pretty draconian agreement.

In case anyone is in doubt as to Intel's stance :-

Processors — Information about Intel Engineering/Qualification Sample Processors

 

I betcha that Intel only enforces their ES/QS rules when there is a QS/ES processor being sold before that gen is released.

 

Yeah I think so too, since I did not see any ES/QS Sandy Bridge processors on eBay until about the day it debuted, then a few started popping up but it wasn't until about a week later that most of the processors became available.

 

I PM'd Shirleys CPU's asking for confirmation that they are legally allowed to sell ES/QS CPU's. Surprising that so far they have not responded.

 

What answer do you expect at all?

 

Technically it is legal, since Shirley's CPU aren't the ones who signed the NDAs, the OEMs did. If anything, it would be the OEMs in the wrong and Shirley's CPU, and others like it won't get into any trouble.

 

I'm sure the OEM would be in big trouble, but perhaps you also need to review the definition of larceny? The lack of response from Shirleys indicates to me at least that they know the situation and are trying to ignore it....

 

Technically, it is still illegal - Intel just hasn't decided to go after anyone (yet).

 

Or have they?

Engineers arrested for selling Intel test CPUs on eBay

 

The most telling reply from readers of said article was this one:

"So, company I work at makes PC components. We get roughly 200~500 Engineering Example (ES) Intel CPUs. And you are working on 3 or 4 different types of Intel CPUs, SB/SB-E/IB/Xeon. So maybe up to 2~3k chips total at a decent size facility in Taiwan/China.

After weeks of developemental work, I am tasked to dispose of said CPUs. So, instead of destroying, I sell them on Ebay for $250~600 each.

Not worth it, but seen it happen countless times. Any good PC Builder know's how/where this EN CPUs come about. I really have no qualms buying or running one if I can get one. But, it's a risk you take when you illegally sell an item that does not belong to you."

I used ES chips for awhile, but now I stick with OEMs. I don't knock those who do buy/use ES chips at all. I just personally choose to deal with the OEM variants.

 

Seems like a waste to "dispose" of them.

I wonder if it would be legal for companies to just give them away when finished with them; like with various sweepstakes.

Although I don't see any incentive for them to do so.

 

Nice find. ES/QS days on eBay are numbered it seems.

 

As long as Intel continues providing ES/QS chips, it will somehow end up on eBay . It's just such a waste to dispose of these chips when they can bring a tidy profit for whoever sells them.

 

I've seen quite a few posts and threads of nbr members who gave bought from Shirley and were satisfied. So from that standpoint, he is a legit seller.

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He is legit. IMO, a little greedy* though considering how he possibly gets them.



*By greedy, I mean, doesn't negotiate much on price even though he likely has a wide profit margin.

 

Profit margins depends on the seller. If it's an engineer selling those, he pretty much earns a 100% profit. If he sells it off to a company, that company will still likely have a large profit as well.

 

Are we in doublespeak land? A legit seller of illegitimate goods? Does not compute.

 

I doubt "Shirley's CPU" is picking processors out of dumpsters in China/Taiwan.

There is a large windfall for those who initially have the "free" processors, but after that, profit margins would be pretty standard.

And to boot, prices are much lower than OEM, let alone retail CPU's, if you can even find any of those available.

 

I agree with all you said but don't forget that it is not a smart decision to buy ES average quad core for over 200$ if you can sell your laptop and buy now newer laptop with better GPU and Sandy bridge i5 or I7 which will be same or even faster.
I would say that fair price for ES I7-840M is 120-140$ or even less because of lack of 1333 memory controller. Not that 200+$ while extreme I7-920XM costs same 200+$.

 

But lots of times if buying a new laptop, it would be a lot cheaper to buy it with a lower end CPU and upgrading it yourself.

 

In a year yeah. In a half a year after new processors were released... maybe... but doubtful. While all this time you will have to wait till they become cheaper (twice cheaper since a starting price).

Besides I have VAIO f12. The lowest CPU it had was only i5. And also It has different heat-sinks for I7 and I5.

I understand that you may be connected somehow to sellers or else. But the only reason to buy ES Cpus for nowadays prices are XM one. All other can be bought as used OEMs. Because it is not just cheaper to buy average used OEM CPUs but also I believe the only way considering ES prices.

 

I'm not connected to any computer parts sellers or anything else. I just mean a lot of times, the cost to upgrade a CPU from a laptop manufacturer is more than just buying a better chip from ebay. Also in my situation, I plan on buying a barebones Clevo and purchasing a CPU for it from Ebay. And considering the prices and availability, it will most likely be ES.

 

Well the good thing is we have options. Buy a new laptop, upgrade through reseller, purchase es through ebay -whatever suits your needs and budget

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Lol. He isn't a scammer, you will get the illegitimate goods you paid for.

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Exactly. I'm not trying to say one way is better than another.

 

Perfect!

So the guys in blue will have evidence that I was part of the plot too.