Intel Announces Error in 6 Series 1155 Sandy Bridge Chipset

There are always concerns being an early adopter of technology when paying a premium to pave the way for other consumers. If there is an issue with the hardware, the early adopters are usually the most susceptible to any potential problems. So is the case with customers who recently purchased the new Intel Sandy Bridge 1155 motherboards.

On Monday, reports started to circulate of a design flaw discovered in the Sandy Bridge Series 6 chipset code named Cougar Point. The discovered flaw can affect SATA ports on the new Sandy Bridge motherboards leading to degradation in performance and functionality of hard drives, CD/DVD ROMs and other SATA connected devices.

With the implementation of SATA 3.0 being relatively new and a key selling point on many new motherboards, this issue may lead customers to potentially rethink current upgrades, or stick with trusted platforms like the previous generation 1156 or 1366 motherboards.

Intel has already announced a silicon fix for the problem, estimating a cost of nearly $700 million to repair or replace all affected systems.

Intel has been implementing this fix on all the new boards they produce. The new motherboards are expected to ship by late February with full volume anticipated by April. These boards will still need to pass down through distribution channels so customers will likely be able to get replacement boards by sometime in March.

The Sandy Bridge series motherboards have been a highly anticipated product based on the social buzz Intel had generated through a marketing blackout in January. With sales going strong on the new boards since Jan. 9, this has been the first major flaw in their recent product lines. Intel has promised to work with customers and stand behind their products in order to resolve any issues customers may experience.

For now we will just need to wait and see whether the problem presents itself in all the boards that have already been sold, or whether it becomes a roll of the dice that only affects some users. As with all new hardware and the early adoption of technology, we run the risk of discovering flaws that were unforeseen during the design process. It's unfortunate when it happens with a highly anticipated product like this.

Intel, "Alert for Intel® 6 Series Express Chipsets and Intel® Xeon® C200 Chipsets users"