Reports of a chip bug has led PC makers to stop the sale of some computers. The bug involves a chipset, known as Cougar Point, that helps the central processor communicate with other parts of a computer such as the memory and hard disc drives. Already about 8 million Cougar Point are reported to have been distributed so far although only around 100,000 have been used in finished computers so far, according to Intel. As a result, PC manufacturers such as HP, Dell, Lenovo and Samsung have stopped selling computers that are suspected to contain the faulty chipsets. They include 7 Samsung PC models, 4 Dell models and Lenovo & HP laptops. Affected customers will be eligible for a refund, replacement parts or new machines.
If ignored, the chipset bug which was discovered during high-voltage and temperature tests by manufacturers, could potentially lead to hard disc failure with around 5% likely to fail within a three-year period. Due to the bug discovery, HP has now had to cancel an event scheduled for mid-February that was initially organised to showcase a range of business laptops that uses Cougar Points.
Talking Point
Will news of the chipset bug discourage users and manufacturers from taking interest in Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge processors?
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Luqman
February 5, 2011 at 12:20 pm
Yes, I think this problem is going to affect intel, because those manufacturers will not want the same thing to happen again, unless intel is goin g to compensate them a lot.
raymund
February 18, 2011 at 4:33 am
Business loss for hp, dell, samsung, and lenovo. It should have been preveted.
dan
February 24, 2011 at 10:57 pm
These issues are costing computer and laptop companies so much money. Not only are there issues with chips but I see many issues with failed hard drives and LCD screens right out of the box. Dell, Lenovo and HP roll out so many of these machines and repairing each one is costing them an arm and a leg. Quality control has declined for many of these companies manufacturing LCD screens and hard drives. Samsung is one of them that is quickly getting a bad reputation for failing components.
Miles
March 1, 2011 at 8:29 pm
So, this bug targets the inter-communication system of a PC? Is it true that PC’s are more prone to bugs than MACS?
Admin
March 13, 2011 at 10:41 pm
They tend to be, although there are many possible reasons for this as most, if not all Mac users would agree.