What the Intel chipset recall means for the channel

by Scott Bicheno on 1 February 2011, 17:22

Tags: SCAN, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)

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Total recall

HEXUS readers will probably already be aware of the announcement from Intel of a design error in the Cougar Point chipset that accompanies the latest Sandy Bridge chips. This has led the chip giant to halt shipments of it with immediate effect.

While the error will apparently lead to the degradation of the chips over time, it turns out that Intel is recalling all of them now, in order to nip the problem in the bud. We suppose it says good things about Intel that recalls such as this happen so seldom, but when they do, they tend to be on a grand scale.

To find out more about how Intel is messaging e-tailers, the channel and end-users about this issue, we spoke to Shelley Raja, MD of tech e-tailer SCAN. "Our contacts at Intel and its board partners have advised us of an almost total recall on all Cougar Point boards," confirmed Raja.

It's not clear what proportion of all the chips Intel suspects of containing the flaw, but it looks like it's recalling the lot just in case. Raja was keen to stress, however, that there's no reason for anyone who has purchased a board or system containing this chip to panic. SCAN is working closely with Intel on the recall and replacement, and the issue isn't expected to affect system performance in the meantime.

"We're working with Intel and the board partners on best business practice," said Raja. He explained that SCAN is sending every affected board it has back to the relevant board partner, and as soon as it has replacements it will contact its customers. There will obviously also be delays for people who have ordered complete systems.

So, while this looks like an unfortunate situation for both the channel and end-users, Intel appears to have done everything in its power to resolve the situation once the nature of it became clear. The recall seems to apply to all e-tailers, retailers and distributors.

We know that both Intel and SCAN read HEXUS regularly, so please do share your thoughts, experiences and concerns on this matter with us and we'll make sure your comments come to their attention.

 



HEXUS Forums :: 7 Comments

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The good things to come out of all the Sandy Bridge debacle are threefold. In this day and age of some companies not facing up to problems it is heartening to see Intel, the mobo manufacturers and the retailers all seemingly working together to resolve the problem as far as purchasers and future customers are concerned. That doesn't always happen in the technology world
Me, I 'm happy I decided to upgrade and overclock my trusted Asus P6T mobo and hold off on its replacement
There is a lot to be said for holding back on a build/upgrade.
Gives the powers that be the time needed to iron out the wrinkles.
Does anyone know an estimation on how long this will take to get fixed?
Intel messed up big time… but fair doos are doing something about it,

Be interesting to see how this affects the company image and stocks and so forth…
Consfearacy
There is a lot to be said for holding back on a build/upgrade.
Gives the powers that be the time needed to iron out the wrinkles.

Indeed there is!

I do agree with tiger in that its good to have seen the held their hand up and say ‘yeah we :censored: up guys, sorry!’ but on top of that they are actually replacing the goods too. Nice one intel.

This should have quite an impact on stocks though? Maybe give AMD sales a bit of a boost.