I bought a Stern parallel or whatever they are called game NIB yrs ago and never had a problem with, it was one of the most reliable machines I have ever purchased.
Mind you this was way before the days of node boards failing, ghosting inserts and pf chipping, so it would make sense to stick with AMD right now given Sterns major quality control issues.
At the end of the day though I am in the same boat as retropin, it doesn't bother me as I no longer buy Stern NIB, way too expensive in this country for what they are.