RaptorCS Power9 Blackbird PC: An expensive mistake
Timothy Pearson from Raptor here.  I&#x27;d like to first extend apologies from the apparently poor support experience from Raptor Computing Systems -- that being said, there are a few exceptional circumstances in play with this system:<p>1.) This particular case is one that Raptor needed to consult with IBM engineering to determine the correct course of action for.  There is a very rare CPU failure mode (we have only seen it happen twice) that manifests with similar symptoms and a ZCAL failure.  The root cause here is an apparently defective CPU that slipped past IBM final test, and work is underway to make sure that these marginal, but defective, CPUs are caught instead of being shipped out.<p>2.) There is definitely more than one person in support, however Raptor has been overloaded with both spam and off topic inquiries.  Raptor has attempted to manage this load without much success, despite deploying new features such as the troubleshooting guide at <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;wiki.raptorcs.com&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Troubleshooting&#x2F;Support_Request_Checklist" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;wiki.raptorcs.com&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Troubleshooting&#x2F;Support_Reque...</a> we continue to receive support requests that are missing vital information, and with descriptions that are so generic that the problems could range from &quot;PC not plugged in&quot; to &quot;used non-ECC unbuffered RAM&quot; to &quot;tried to install Windows&quot; (yes, all of those have happened, repeatedly).<p>3.) We are currently gearing up for a major push on owner-controlled computing.  Higher level technical resources are assigned to those projects temporarily, which means unusual issues like the ZCAL problem are being resolved at a slower rate than normal.<p>I&#x27;d ask that the general community please bear with Raptor as we work through these problems.  What we&#x27;re doing is <i>hard</i>, it&#x27;s not as simple as shipping a RISC-V SBC in a known configuration, we have the entire complexity of the traditional PC ecosystem in play.  AMD&#x27;s release of the uber-fast (but ultra-locked-down and owner-disrespecting) Rome CPUs has not helped the owner controlled computing world, and I am still of the opinion that POWER is a better long-term investment than RISC-V in the desktop and server space.  FWIW I use a Blackbird desktop as my daily driver, and have not had any complaints with it (in fact it&#x27;s given me less problems over time than my previous daily driver -- a corebooted ASUS KCMA-D8).<p>Raptor has a Wiki with a ton of information available at wiki.raptorcs.com and I am definitely open to further suggestions on how to make the nascent POWER desktop community a bit more self sufficient than it is now.  Remember that x86 vendors don&#x27;t need to offer significant post-sale support, partly because the Linux community has already filled that role, and as a result they can continue to offer low prices, strengthening the lock-in effect.  If owner-controlled computing is to succeed in the marketplace,  we need to figure out the best way to ensure that vendors aren&#x27;t bearing the brunt of those costs and being forced pass them on in higher product pricing.<p>I believe support has reached out to you now that we understand the CPU will need to be replaced.  Can you confirm this?<p>Thanks!