sandy

Intel said today it would begin shipments of fixed Sandy Bridge chipsets in mid-February.

The chipmaker announced a week ago that it had stopped shipments of the "Cougar Point"--aka, the Intel 6 series--chipset that accompanies its second-generation Intel Core ("Sandy Bridge") processor owing to a flaw that can affect, in a small percentage of systems, access to a hard-disk drive, optical drive, or other device that connects to a computer using SATA technology.

"Intel has started manufacturing on a new version of this support chip. Intel now expects to begin shipping the new parts … Read more

How long is the wait for new PCs and Macs packing fixed versions of Intel's latest and greatest silicon? That question has PC makers, not to mention performance junkies, on tenterhooks.

Update: Note that Intel updated the shipment status on Monday after this article was posted.

Intel announced on January 31 that it had stopped shipments of the "Cougar Point" chipset that accompanies its second-generation Intel Core ("Sandy Bridge") processor owing to a flaw that can affect access to a hard-disk drive, optical drive, or other device that connects to a computer using SATA technology. … Read more

Intel's Sandy Bridge chipset flaw is bringing some Best Buy new product rollouts to a screeching halt, according to representatives contacted at Best Buy stores.

Intel said Monday that it had stopped shipments of the chipset that accompanies its second-generation Intel Core ("Sandy Bridge") processor owing to a flaw that can affect access to a hard-disk drive, optical drive, or other device that connects to a computer using SATA technology.

As a result, PC makers including Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Toshiba have pulled systems from online sales as well as suspending sales at retailers like Best Buy.

Though … Read more

Too busy waiting for Robonaut 2's big pregame appearance Sunday to keep up with all matters Crave this week? Here's what went down while you were hoping NASA's humanoid bot is rooting for your team.

• The Verizon iPhone is here--and so are the AT&T and Verizon ads.

• Speaking of the iPhone 4, this is why it takes good low-light photos.

• What to do if you got caught up in Intel's Sandy Bridge oops.

• Donald's verdict following a hands-on with Honeycomb on Xoom: "I'm a fan." What about you?

• Readers' picks for hot bargain TVs. But is now the time to buy 'em?

• Turn your head into a cushy pillow!

• Another week, another iPad 2 rumor... … Read more

Despite all the (virtual) ink we spend on hip 11- and 13-inch laptops, the bulk of laptops sold are still in the midsize category. For most consumers, that means a 15.6-inch display, but we consider any laptop with a 14-, 15-, or 16-inch screen to be part of that midsize category. These are the laptops you're most likely going to find sitting on an office desk, in a den, or in a dorm room. We've even seen our fair share of them wedged into airplane seats and in coffee shops, as awkward as that always looks.

If you're set on a midsize laptop, one piece of advice we've offered for the past couple of years is to consider a 14-inch system rather than a more common 15-inch one. While you're trading away a little bit of screen size (but not any screen resolution), we've consistently found that 14-inch midsize laptops offer better overall industrial design, specifically because the standard laptop keyboard fits much better in a 14-inch chassis than a 15-inch one, leaving much less dead space on either side. And, by shaving off a little size and weight, these 14-inch models are easier to carry around--which is important, as we've seen many commuters struggling under the weight of oversize laptops. … Read more

Hewlett-Packard announced today that customers can return products that use Intel's faulty Sandy Bridge chipset, following a similar announcement yesterday from Dell.

Intel said Monday that it had stopped shipments of the chipset that accompanies its Second-Generation Intel Core ("Sandy Bridge") processor due to a flaw that can affect access to a hard-disk drive, optical drive, or other device that connects to a computer using SATA technology.

Customers can "return their affected product and choose a comparable product or receive a refund," HP said today in a statement. The world's largest PC maker repeated … Read more

Hewlett-Packard and Dell as of this afternoon were still advertising laptops with the Sandy Bridge processor--despite the fact that Intel has halted shipment of Sandy Bridge's accompanying chipset due to a flaw.

Intel announced yesterday that it had stopped shipment of the Second-Generation Intel Core (Sandy Bridge) chipset due to a circuit design "oversight." The defect in the "Cougar Point" chipset--which accompanies the main Sandy Bridge processor--can potentially affect access to a hard-disk drive, optical drive, or other device that connects to a computer using SATA technology.

Today, it was possible to order a Dell XPS 17 online, for example, with a Second-Generation Intel Core i7-2630QM processor and a delivery date of February 22 (the link to that Dell product page was not accessible from the Dell XPS 17 sales page front door, but was generated from a product search on Google Shopping). This system configuration was generated despite a statement from Intel yesterday that it had "discovered a design issue in a recently released support chip, the Intel 6 Series, code-named Cougar Point, and has implemented a silicon fix...[Intel] expects to begin delivering the updated version of the chipset to customers in late February and expects full volume recovery in April."

A Dell saleswoman said she was not aware of the Sandy Bridge flaw and gave a quote with a build time of "a couple of weeks."

Today, Dell issued this statement. "Dell and Intel are in communication regarding the design issue in the recently released Intel 6 Series (Sandy Bridge) support chip, code-name Cougar Point. This affects four currently available Dell products, the XPS 8300, the Vostro 460, the Alienware M17x R.3 and the Alienware Aurora R.3, as well as several other planned products including XPS 17 with 3D. We're committed to addressing this with customers who have already purchased one of the four products and will provide further details on this as it becomes available," Dell said. … Read more

With Intel's surprising Sandy Bridge news suggesting new computers featuring the processors might see delays, we couldn't help but ask ourselves whether the Sandy Bridge issues mean new MacBook Pros will come later rather than sooner.

First of all, we have no idea when new MacBook Pros are hitting next. However, assuming they're due for a refresh within the next few months, a few things seem likely: They're going to receive new Sandy Bridge processors, including the older Core 2 Duo-toting 13-inch MacBook Pro. And, they'll likely arrive after the competition. At least, that's … Read more

Update: Unedited desktop vendor responses added to the bottom of the post. We'll add more as they come in.

Following the news this morning about the serial-ATA chip flaw in Intel's new Sandy Bridge-supporting chipsets, we immediately thought of the two (soon to be three) Sandy Bridge-powered PC's we've reviewed since the January 9 launch.

In addition to the PCs we've gotten our hands on from Falcon Northwest and Origin (and soon Maingear), virtually every other large and small desktop vendor has been shipping Sandy Bridge-equipped PCs for the past few weeks.

In light of this chipset flaw, whether you've spent $5,000 on a gaming system or $1,000 on a more modest desktop or all-on-one, you'd be right to want to know whether you need to send your system back, as well as who is going to pay for and parts, labor, or shipping costs.

First, the problem. According to Intel: "In some cases, the Serial-ATA (SATA) ports within the chipsets may degrade over time, potentially impacting the performance or functionality of SATA-linked devices such as hard disk drives and DVD-drives."

A vendor who requested anonymity (Update: Intel is now on the record with the details of the flaw) told us the problem actually affects serial ATA ports two through five on a six-port motherboard. The affected ports are all Serial ATA II, so if you ordered a higher-end Serial ATA III/6.0 hard drive (and the vendor connected it to the right port), you should be safe (upgrade path anxieties not withstanding). If you do have components connected to the afflicted ports, we're told you may not ever see the issue. Intel told Anandtech regarding the frequency of the flaw: "over 3 years of use it would see a failure rate of approximately 5 - 15% depending on usage model." If the issue does manifest itself, you will experience slower read and write performance, but data integrity, according to Intel, won't be an issue.… Read more