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Intel has found a serious flaw in their new Sandy Bridge CPUs, and it will mean severe delays for new computer models destined to use the new CPU, which also includes the graphics unit within the same processor.
The delay, and the cost of fixing the problem, is set to cost Intel a whopping $1 billion dollars.
The problem affects already shipped systems that use Sandy Bridge, although because the CPU was only launched in January, not too many users are affected. But even then, Intel says that 8 million CPUs already shipped do contain the flaw. Intel says that users can continue using the system while waiting for a fix, but also warned that up to 5% of system could fail within 3 years. The flaw relates to the support chip, Cougar Point, and the failure would affect disk IO connections, such as to hard-drives or optical disc drives.
Intel recently courted controversy by adding a DRM-like system to Sandy Bridge CPUs, and then later tried to explain why it wasn't DRM (even though it was).
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The delay, and the cost of fixing the problem, is set to cost Intel a whopping $1 billion dollars.
The problem affects already shipped systems that use Sandy Bridge, although because the CPU was only launched in January, not too many users are affected. But even then, Intel says that 8 million CPUs already shipped do contain the flaw. Intel says that users can continue using the system while waiting for a fix, but also warned that up to 5% of system could fail within 3 years. The flaw relates to the support chip, Cougar Point, and the failure would affect disk IO connections, such as to hard-drives or optical disc drives.
Intel recently courted controversy by adding a DRM-like system to Sandy Bridge CPUs, and then later tried to explain why it wasn't DRM (even though it was).
More:
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