Earlier this week, Intel announced that it had identified a major bug in a 6 Series chipset support chip, with the code name of "Cougar Point," which is an integral part of its new second-generation Core (aka "Sandy Bridge") processing platform. This will have major financial implications for Intel (halting shipments and replacing or repairing hardware could cost up to $700 million), but will also affect eager customers who bought Sandy Bridge hardware as soon as it was available. Read on for additional information about the error, and what it may mean for you.
1. This is not a CPU problem. Sandy Bridge Core i5 and Core i7 processors remain fine; only currently shipping P67 and H67 motherboards on which the 6 Series chipset is located are affected by the glitch.
2. It's SATA-related. The Cougar Point problem specifically affects the motherboard's SATA controller, causing onboard SATA ports to degrade over time and possibly reduce performance of hard drives, optical drives, and other SATA-driven devices.
3. Not all SATA is affected. Newer and faster 6-Gbps SATA ports are fine—the problem occurs only in slower 3-Gbps ports. Of course, desktop Sandy Bridge motherboards have more 3-Gbps ports than 6-Gbps ports (the spec provides for four of the former and two of the latter).
4. Not everyone will notice this issue, at least right away. The error is reportedly a relatively hard-to-notice one that crops up only after very long periods of usage (Intel estimates a speed degradation of 6 percent over a three-year lifespan), so ordinary users probably won't notice anything yet. (Intel's hardware partners discovered it when doing intensive stress-testing on Sandy Bridge hardware.)
5. Desktop PCs are hardest hit. Because Intel has shipped out a lot more Sandy Bridge desktop hardware than laptop hardware, most users of mobile systems will probably not be affected. They're protected in another way, too: In a statement, Intel explained that because the 6-Gbps SATA ports are not affected, and few notebooks use more than those, "many notebooks will never even have a chance of seeing the issue."
6. You can't fix things yourself. Because the problem is related to integrated hardware itself, a simple driver installation or component swap-out won't do the trick. You'll need new hardware. Contact Intel's support department, or support for the manufacturer of your motherboard or computer for information about how to obtain a refund or replacement. For more information about this, read PCMag's article, "I Bought a Faulty Intel Sandy Bridge System, Now What?"
7. Don't expect solutions immediately. Intel has stopped production on its 6 Series Chipset hardware, and is expected to begin shipping an updated version of the 6-Series chipset in late February, with full-volume production reached again by April. Intel is not, however, officially recalling all affected Sandy Bridge products.