Hey everyone! I'm running into an issue with my Intel i9-13900K. When I try to boot up, I only get a red light on the motherboard. I swapped in a 12900K, and it boots up just fine, so I know the motherboard and RAM aren't the problem. I've tried various RAM configurations, including using two sticks, four sticks, and even just one stick in each slot, but the red debug light persists. I've updated the BIOS and even rolled back to previous versions, but no luck. I made sure to install all the chipset drivers with the 12900K before switching back to the 13900K. I checked the CPU for bent pins multiple times, and everything looks good. This is my fifth build, and I'm just trying to help out a friend. The 13900K is brand new, out of the box. I've made sure no overclocking settings are on and XMP is off. At this point, I'm pretty stumped. Here are the specs: MSI Z690 EDGE WIFI DDR4, RTX 4070TI, Corsair 1000W PSU, 2x Samsung 2TB Pro SSD, and 64GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 3600MHz RAM. Has anyone experienced something similar?
5 Answers
Honestly, I wouldn't even bother with the 13th and 14th Gen chips. They seem like a headache! You might have better luck with AMD.
You’re definitely not alone in this—you should see the number of complaints out there about Intel quality control. Welcome to the struggle of building PCs in 2024!
Thanks! It's definitely a challenging year for builds!
Intel really needs to step up their game. You'd think with all the advancements, they wouldn't have issues like this anymore.
Right? It feels like a common theme with some of their recent CPUs.
Have you checked if the CPU is second-hand? That could explain the issues, but it sounds like you got it new from Best Buy, right?
Yeah, it's brand new and still has the receipt. I'm just hoping Intel can provide some support.
It sounds like you might need to RMA that CPU. From what you've described, you've done all the right troubleshooting. Since the motherboard and RAM work fine with the 12900K, it's hard to deny that the 13900K could be faulty. It's a bummer getting a dead-on-arrival unit, but it happens sometimes with PC parts. Great job on the diagnostics, though!
Thanks for your input! It really feels like a pain to deal with DOA components.
Yeah, it’s frustrating. But hey, at least you can rule out the rest!
I hear you! My friend insisted on Intel, but I might help him see the light in the future!