(Intel) CPU fab sources (Made in Malaysia, etc...) does it genuinely matter?

Hardware CPU
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In my 9900K search, I’ve found the better ones are Made in Malaysia and the ones without the fancy box tend to be Made in Vietnam.

With Xeons, I had a kinda bad time with Made in Costa Rica but not as bad with Made in Malaysia.

Why does the fab location matter so much? Do some places just spit out better silicon? Does it matter as much for a 5Ghz all core at 1.3V on a 9900K I get a Made in Malaysia CPU rather than a Made in Vietnam CPU? (Definitely not a Made in Costa Rica CPU because I have had it with those CPUs.)

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No does not matter, I can imagine it would increase the OC chances all that much. When in was manufactured would probably be more important as to how far along they are with improving yield, quality, binning etc. I would guess they all lead and lag at different times.

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Well, when I showed @wendell my E5-1660, he said “Costa Rica… There’s your problem.”

So IDK how much that holds true.

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Thats super old stuff, It is possible there were issues back then. Were you trying to do non standard things with them?

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Yes… It was Sandy Bridge and it OCed like crazy.

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I would say that it doesn’t really matter.
It will be a matter of silicon luck mainly.
Overclocking is not a guarantee on every cpu really.

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The factory matters, not where it is. Like any factory, some are better than others.

I’d wager that not all of intel’s facilities are identical and some will be better than others.

Be it due to age of equipment, wear and tear on equipment, skill level of operators, etc.

All the products will meet spec but some will have more headroom than others.

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That’s the answer I was looking for. Thank you. So this does mean steer clear of Costa Rica fab CPUs.

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I’m not sure. I suspect it may vary from generation to generation depending on intel’s fab refresh schedule, etc.

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This does make me reconsider Made in Vietnam 9900Ks (the standard folding box ones) and look to the used market for Made in Malaysia.

My Made in Malaysia 10920X is still pretty decent. It’s fastest core can do 4.7Ghz at 1.24V with only a -1 AVX offset.

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