Flaw in Intel Chipsets Vexing Computer Makers

Intel Corporation's discovery of a flaw in a chipset design is causing headaches for computer makers. Of about eight million faulty chips already shipped to manufacturers by Intel, only about half a million have been built into systems already and no one is sure how many have actually been delivered to customers.

Intel has said it will repair or replace all of the affected systems and has already set aside $700 million to cover the costs of the recall and repair project. But while computer makers won't be left holding the bag financially, it still amounts to a giant headache for them. It's also likely to delay the release of desktop and laptop models containing the defective units.

Intel, which makes chips that power about 80 percent of the world's computers, said the flaw could cause connections to DVD drives and disk drives to degrade over time, causing data errors or interruptions.

Intel estimated that about 5% of computers with the faulty chip would have failed within three years.

Not immediate

If you were unlucky enough to snatch up a new machine with the flawed chipset, don't despair. You will probably not encounter the problem initially and the eventual replacement of your entire machine or its motherboard will resolve the issue.

The affected chipset is not a part of the CPU – the actual “brains” of a computer. It is part of the motherboard controller that handles data flow to and from onboard devices.

While some laptops may be affected, the majority of the affected machines are desktop, computer companies say.

Mostly mum

Computer companies responded, sometimes grudgingly, to press inquiries but most did little or nothing on their Web sites to provide information about the flawed chipset to consumers. Their “news” sections mostly bubbled over with enthusiastic verbiage about new products, awards and promotions. Here's how various computer manufacturers are handling the problem:

Dell

Dell said the flaw affects its XPS 8300, Vostro 460, Alienware M17x R.3 and Alienware Aurora R.3 machines, as well as several forthcoming models including the XPS 17 with 3-D.

Dell said it will support customers under its warranty policy and also accept returns. Dell said that once it gets the replacement chips, it will provide a motherboard replacement that corrects the problem at no cost to customers.

More information is available on Dell's Web site.

Hewlett-Packard

H-P said a relatively small number of its products, including both laptops and desktops, have been affected so far. Customers can return or exchange the defective machines. H-P said it has canceled a mid-February event at which it planned to launch of range of new business laptops.

No information about the chipset flaw could be found on H-P's Web site.

Lenovo

Lenovo's U.S. Web site was down and no information was available when this story was being written.

Samsung

Samsung said it has released six PC lineups with the chip in Korea and one in the U.S. It is offering either refunds or exchanges. No information about the problem could be found on Samsung's Web site.

Asus

Asus said it has already “shipped significant product” with the faulty chipset. All warranties will be “reset” to give customers enough time to carry out exchanges, the company said. No information about the problem could be found on Asus' Web site.

Sony

Sony said it has not yet shipped any machines with the faulty chips.

Tablets not affected

One bright spot is that most tablet computers don't use the affected chipset, possibly providing a boost to such tablets as the Motorola Xoom and the Android 3.0 Honeycomb.