If you’ve been following our website, as well as other with similar orientation, you can’t have missed all the bombastic announcements concerning Intel’s then-upcoming new CPU generation, codenamed Sandy Bridge, as well as test results for three new CPUs against those from the previous generation, which we’ve recently published. The results were excellent, everything was great, enthusiasts were starting to rejoice over the coming of the new generation, making plans to replace their motherboards and CPUs, and Intel was in a never-better position to cement their position on the desktop and portable desktop market - and that’s when all hell broke loose.

On 31st January, nearly all IT websites announced that the new CPUs’ accompanying chipsets codenamed “Cougar Point”, i.e. those from the 6-series, contained an error that made SATA II (3 Gbps) connectors to simply stop working after a while - officially, these can function flawlessly up to two years, but internet forums were full of users experiencing this problem after merely a couple of weeks already. Specifically, a transistor in the synchronisation circuit of the integrated SATA II controller works on a voltage higher than needed, which eventually causes these connectors to entirely cease to function. What makes this even more interesting is the fact that the 6-series is being manufactured in the already tried-and-true 65 nm production process, unlike other, 32 nm Sandy Bridge CPUs, so it remains a mystery how something like this could have passed unnoticed by the engineering team. On the other hand, the same production process enabled the error to be quickly noticed and rectified, which probably wouldn’t have been the case with newer technological solutions. Intel claims that SATA devices connected to malfunctioning connectors won’t suffer any damage whatsoever, nor will any data stored on them be lost, but motherboard owners are likely to end up with “dead” SATA II ports for a while. As there is nothing wrong with the CPUs themselves, but no other manufacturers’ chipsets are available for the new CPU generation either, Intel has ended up in a highly undesirable position, where they have to cancel all further shipments and suffer the huge costs of rectifying the situation (estimated to 300 million dollars for cancelling the production of existing chips and another 700 million to correct the error and replace the chips produced so far), while partners have had their entire roadmaps for launching new products, especially notebooks, reduced to ashes.

Certain PC manufacturers have tried to salvage what was salvageable. The upside to this entire disaster is that the new chipset has two new SATA III (6 Gbps) connectors alongside the four SATA II ones, which have nothing in common in the electronics department, and consequently suffer no damage from the uncovered issue. Therefore, certain OEM partners have decided, after careful consideration and counselling with Intel, to continue to sell existing PCs containing the malfunctioning motherboards with a single hard disk and optical drive, albeit with a very clear warning to potential buyers that the PC only has two functional SATA ports and that additional hard disks cannot be added, so there you have it. Those that have already bought the more expensive motherboard, targeting PC enthusiasts, aren’t in such a tragic position either, as these motherboards usually have an additional SATA controller (usually Marvel), so that users still have at least four functional connectors. On the other hand, solving the problem in portable computers is nowhere nearly as easy a task, as the design of the miniature motherboards and the accompanying connector layout, all tightly packed, allow for no tampering or bridging, which means that companies that have stepped boldly into the new technology and manufactured a large number of enclosures for their new notebooks have ended up with heaps of unusable plastic.

Intel has already started the production of the revised B3 version of their chips, without the SATA error, and the first shipments hit the shelves in mid-February already. Still, the production is unlikely to reach its full capacity until well into March, which means that new motherboards won’t be available before the end of March, and insignificantly so until mid-April. Simply put, both Intel and their partners are losing more than three months of profit, instead of taking pleasure in the outstanding feedback initially received from the IT community that’s getting cheaper and faster CPUs and grabs for the wallet uncontrollably. The problem with the first revision of the Cougar Point chipset is definitely not going to be forgotten any time soon (especially owing to rabid AMD fans), but, once the dust has settled and new motherboards have appeared, the new generation of Intel CPUs will undoubtedly become a very attractive buy, at least until AMD Bulldozer appears. Vicious circle?