Silicon Lottery Store Offering Prebinned Intel & AMD Processors Shutting Down

[Uskompuf]

Silicon Lottery is a boutique online store offering prebinned Intel and AMD CPUs that have been tested to reach guaranteed clock speeds when overclocked. The store has been operating for seven years but have recently announced that they will be ceasing operation on October 31st. This news comes as the culmination of multiple factors that have been impacting the store including a shift from Intel to prebin their K-series processors reducing their overclocking potential. This maximization of existing silicon also meant that there was limited opportunity for the store to find enough faster processors to sell. The final influence was the move by Intel to switch from thermal compound under the IHS to solder Tim with their 9th generation CPUs which severely limits the thermal advantages gained from delidding. The general component shortages and delays associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have also impacted the business, the complete statement from Silicon Lottery can be found below.

Our online store will be closing on October 31, 2021. Any orders placed for our delidding service will need to be delivered to us by November 30, 2021 for completion. For warranty or other assistance after we close the store, contact us at the email listed on your packing slip.

We have had a fantastic time these past seven years at Silicon Lottery. This business has grown and made an impact on so many people, more than I ever imagined was possible. I personally appreciate all of you that I've been able to talk with over these years, from troubleshooting to general questions to speculation. It's been so easy to connect with so many of you through this hobby we share.

We're shutting down not for just one reason, but for a combination of many. As you may be aware, overclocking headroom has been dwindling these past several years with manufacturers offering higher frequencies at stock, better boosting algorithms, and tighter bins between models which reduces overclock frequency variation (the 11900K is essentially a binned 11700K, so with the 11900K we're binning what has already been fairly heavily binned). This type of product segmentation is nothing new, but having such minor differences between two models is a more recent shift. Intel has also switched from a polymer TIM back to a solder TIM starting with their 9th generation CPUs, which has reduced the thermal benefits achieved from delidding. In addition, supply issues have taken a major toll on us, even before the pandemic started. Our orders with distributors for the last few releases have been nightmares of delays upon delays.

With all of this in mind, sales have fallen below the point where it makes sense for us to keep the store open. We know many of you are eagerly wanting Alder Lake CPUs, and we're sorry that we won't be able to fulfill your needs this time. We have seen your emails rolling in these past couple of weeks, and we're sorry for not getting back to you guys earlier as we've been busy juggling this decision.

While we will be closed for the foreseeable future, it's not necessarily goodbye forever. If things change in the market, in particular if overclocking headroom and variation increases for whatever reason, it's possible we will get things rolling again.

We wish all of you the best, and to keep having fun tweaking hardware!

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[ir_cow]

Shame, I liked the deliding service. $30 was super cheap to have someone else take the risk. Plus you don't need to buy the tools for a one time use.

 

[eidairaman1]

I knew they were going to be short lived...

 

[lexluthermiester]

It's kinda sad, but also predictable. That kind of business model depends on a steady state of affairs and the tech industry just does not stay steady. Even without the pandemic, the writing was on the wall..

I knew they were going to be short lived...

Let's be fair, a 7 year run isn't bad for such a niche market company.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Yeah sent my 7900x to them for delid sure didn't buy one from them

Delid didn't last very long because they went by some intel Z height and the lm leached out about like thermal paste pump out happens
Redid it myself and lowered it for real contact and sold it months later and got my 9940x.

I've had pretty good luck from micro center on chips so sl for chips no thanks.

 

[chrcoluk]

They had established that pre binning was some kind of model that can work and the manufacturers have kind of taken this on themselves, so yeah not entirely a shock.

I also never understood the merits of buying the lowest binned chips from them, you was buying a guaranteed silicon lottery loser.

 

[R-T-B]

I bought precisely one CPU from them, a 5.0Ghz binned 6700k. It did what it said. They were expensive but offered a good service. They also offered their binning stats to the public. Sad to see them go.

I also never understood the merits of buying the lowest binned chips from them, you was buying a guaranteed silicon lottery loser.

They were sold below retail. That gave them something resembling value to some.

 

[WhitetailAni]

RIP. Silicon Lottery was a cool site and while I've never bought anything from them I know they were loved by some.

Though it does make some sense, most chips now run close to their limits out of the box compared to before when you could easily squeeze 500+ MHz out of your overclockable CPU (lookin' at you, Phenom II - clock of 3.2 GHz and I got you to 4.4 GHz).

 

[Outback Bronze]

a 5.0Ghz binned 6700k.

Wow! They were tuff to get 5Ghz out of. Nice CPU!

 

[R-T-B]

Wow! They were tuff to get 5Ghz out of. Nice CPU!

It was. Made Kaby Lake near skippable. Of course, it cost a fair bit.

 

[las]

Their best binned chips were almost double MSRP price, no wonder. Why pay 100% more for 1% real world performance gain? Never understood that. My retail CPUs have generally been great overclockers, and even if they would have been mediocre, I would never pay top dollar for one that hits 100 MHz more.

 

[zlobby]

I knew they were going to be short lived...

It was a flawed idea. Sooner or later it was about to go down.

 

[Parn]

Overclocking back in the old days was all about free extra performance. If you're paying twice the MSRP for some kind of guaranteed OC that yields about extra 5 - 10% performance, it defeats the whole purporse of OC. Or maybe because bragging rights is more important than free performance nowadays.

 

[Fatalfury]

So Indirectly, Intel CPUs stuck on the 14nm process for past 4-5 Generations killed them.
there is just no more headroom for overclocking..Intel itself extracted even 0.1% performance uplift by pushing max clockspeed +power consumption beyond limits.
so that it just didn't matter anymore.

Maybe when intel moves to 5nm and AMD moves to 3nm there might be room for overclocking..(but Manufactures themselves release multiple factor-overclocked models anyway) until then..so long Silicon Lottery.

 

[ZoneDymo]

I knew they were going to be short lived...

does the .... indicate sarcasm? I think 7 years is not bad at all for that they do

 

[FreedomEclipse]

It was a flawed idea. Sooner or later it was about to go down.

I wouldnt call it a 'flawed idea'. Flawed ideas dont make money and this one clearly did but its unfeasible to continue due to circumstances we could have all see coming even from the first few weeks/months they opened shop. If intel had buttoned down the hatches, used solder and binned the CPUs properly then the business would have died within the first year of launch.

While it wasnt something that was going to ever last forever. They came out and made hay while the sun shined even if it was in a niche market.

Their business succeeded. They made money otherwise they would have threw in the towel and shut shop a lot lot sooner.

They saw a tiny hole in the market where they could make some money and thats what they did. Its not their fault that Intel upped their game but you could say it was inevitable. Sooner or later it was bound to happen but the business worked for 7 years.

People think selling icecream is a flawed business because people only eat icecream when the weather is hot. But i have seen plenty of people come in and buy icecream in winter even if the numbers wont match the warmer/hotter months. Money is still made.

 

[zlobby]

I wouldnt call it a 'flawed idea'. Flawed ideas dont make money and this one clearly did but its unfeasible to continue due to circumstances we could have all see coming even from the first few weeks/months they opened shop. If intel had buttoned down the hatches, used solder and binned the CPUs properly then the business would have died within the first year of launch.

While it wasnt something that was going to ever last forever. They came out and made hay while the sun shined even if it was in a niche market.

Their business succeeded. They made money otherwise they would have threw in the towel and shut shop a lot lot sooner.

They saw a tiny hole in the market where they could make some money and thats what they did. Its not their fault that Intel upped their game but you could say it was inevitable. Sooner or later it was bound to happen but the business worked for 7 years.

People think selling icecream is a flawed business because people only eat icecream when the weather is hot. But i have seen plenty of people come in and buy icecream in winter even if the numbers wont match the warmer/hotter months. Money is still made.

Well, if their plan was to stay afloat for 5-10 years, it seems they are pretty much on spot.

If they had an illusion that they will buy yachts and huge properties in Malibu, though luck. Their segment is extremely niche and extremely volatile. They were completely dependent on factors beyond their control. In my book that's a huge darn flaw, just going with the flow and hoping you won't crash in the rapids.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Well, if their plan was to stay afloat for 5-10 years, it seems they are pretty much on spot.

If they had an illusion that they will buy yachts and huge properties in Malibu, though luck. Their segment is extremely niche and extremely volatile. They were completely dependent on factors beyond their control. In my book that's a huge darn flaw, just going with the flow and hoping you won't crash in the rapids.

TBH you shot your own argument in the foot IMO.

youre throwing up a lot of assumptions. How would you know if they were aiming for yachts, mansions, private jets and stuff? You dont because they were out there simply to make money and they made money.

Its not like they said "We need to buy a bigger boat and many mansions. pls halp lawl" on their website.

If a businesses sets out to make money, and it makes money Then that is a successful business however niche it is and however long it lasts.

Only an idiot would assume that it was a business that would blow up and put them on the map next to people like Bill Gates, Bobby Kotick or Andrew whatshisface from EA. Everyone knew it wasnt a business that was going to make money by the cruise liner loads.

A pop up business can exist for one day but make a profit, then that is a successful business even if they wont ever be back.

 

[CyberCT]

I bought two CPUs from them. The later one, delidded 9700k binned to 5.1ghz, runs cool and quiet. Very satisfied with the service and this is a shame because my next PC build I'd want a binned chip to run in an ultra small, portable ITX PC. Running at lower clocks and super low voltage would make that possible.

 

[Slizzo]

Before I got my 10940X, I was running an SL 4.8GHz binned 7820X. It was great value at the time, I paid $500 for a guaranteed 4.8GHz on all 8 cores.

At the time, that was pretty crazy freq for the money.

 

[Turmania]

I knew someone who bought 6 of the same cpu. Tested them out and kept the best performer sold the others. He made a huge profit on 3 of them and sold the other 2 at a slight loss. In the end he got more money then he spent which means his best performer cpu came free.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Think P95 killed sl binning lol

 

[defaultluser]

Spend $500 extra to get 2% higher performance (compared to the average overckipck

Ohm, and that is in-addition to the high cost pf a CLC to keep up with that 2%!

Only a perfectionist would spend nearly a thousand dollars price premium on meanness-but-guaranteed top performance

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Intel passed a lot of thermal defective chips that couldn't do all core 5.3 with less than 1.5v++++

Where as first release were out of China and could do all core 5.3 with a hair over 1.4v

When sl found this out they were probably wishes they charged more for China chips because the rest need exotic cooling not an aio lol

 

[las]

So Indirectly, Intel CPUs stuck on the 14nm process for past 4-5 Generations killed them.
there is just no more headroom for overclocking..Intel itself extracted even 0.1% performance uplift by pushing max clockspeed +power consumption beyond limits.
so that it just didn't matter anymore.

Maybe when intel moves to 5nm and AMD moves to 3nm there might be room for overclocking..(but Manufactures themselves release multiple factor-overclocked models anyway) until then..so long Silicon Lottery.

Why are you talking about Intel only, Zen had pretty much no OC headroom from day one and AMD even said this themselves (officially) and said overclockers should pick up Non-X variants if they expect to overclock "alot"

CPUs, like GPUs, simply boost very well now. Overclocking is not really needed, some of us do it anyway, for fun and some free performance but in real world usage there is not really a huge difference in performance anymore and this is great, I don't really care.

Why leave 10-20% performance on the table, so that only 0.1% of users (overclockers) can extract this? It's better to give that performance to all the users with boost algorithms, just like GPUs have been doing for years.

I would rather that Intel and AMD themself binned the chips and sold these as a different SKU, so you are not paying an insane premium like SL wanted for their top binned chips. Cut out the middle man. This is what Intel did with i7-8086K, i9-9900KS etc.

Would love to see some more AMD XT CPU models too, everytime. 5000 series did not get these like 3000 series did, however I would like to see them closer to launch of a new series instead of a mid-gen refresh.