Intel Pentium II Launch Hit by Flaw Report

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Since a lot of people on this list use PC's, and may be thinking of an
upgrade in the near future, I just thought I would pass this along.
It seems that Intel has done it again...

From: http://www.yahoo.com/headlines/970506/business/stories/intel_1.html

Tuesday May 6 6:40 AM EDT 

Intel Pentium II Launch Hit by Flaw Report

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (Reuter) - Intel Corp. will release its speedy new
Pentium II microprocessor this week, but a glitch in the computer chip
has turned up that could mar the launch.

The world's biggest chip maker plans to roll out the new
microprocessor -- the heart of the personal computer -- Wednesday, and
about a dozen personal computer makers will announce they plan to use
it, said Richard Dracott, Intel marketing manager.

Intel officials said Monday they were looking into reports the chips
may contain a so-called floating point glitch that could cause
computational errors. A similar problem bedeviled the original Pentium
chip in 1994.

A spokesman for the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip supplier said the
problem appears to crop up when a computer performs an obscure
calculation. The company said engineers were running tests on the
chips to determine the extent of the problem but at this time Intel
has no plans to recall them.

The problem appeared to affect only the Pentium II and Intel's
top-of-the-line Pentium Pro chips. It was not immediately clear how
many chips may be affected by the problem.

News of the problem, which was posted on a Web site called "Intel
Secrets" (http://www.x86.org) and reported by CMP Media's EE Times
Online (http://techweb.cmp.com/eet/823), cropped up just as Intel was
preparing to launch the Pentium II on Wednesday.

Analysts said it was not clear if the flaw is as as serious as one
which cost the semiconductor giant $475 million in 1994.

"It does not strike me right now as as big a problem as a couple years
ago," Dataquest analyst Nathan Brookwood said, adding the problem
would crop up in poorly written computer programs that store decimal
numbers in a certain way.

The Pentium II is based on the Pentium Pro, but includes software and
circuitry -- dubbed MMX technology -- that makes it more adept at
handling graphics. In most cases, it works 30 percent to 40 percent
faster than today's mainstream Intel products, analysts said.

Most of the new Pentium II machines will be desktop PCs aimed at
engineers and professionals who use a lot of computing horsepower for
graphics, analysts said.

Although the Pentium II is a souped-up version of the Pentium Pro, it
is the biggest product introduction for Intel in years, said Mark
Kirstein, research director at semiconductor market researcher In-Stat
in Scottsdale, Ariz.

"The Pentium Pro was really a niche product" for high-end desktops and
servers, the computers that control networks, Kirstein said. "The
Pentium II is aimed at the mainstream."

A streamlined design and cheaper production will make it easier for
Intel to churn out the new chip, Kirstein said.

Within a year, most new PCs -- even the ones geared for home use --
will be based on the Pentium II, analysts said.

Intel also is trying to pitch the chip to new kinds of customers. The
company has told video game makers, for example, that the chip can
handle the intense graphics requirements of coin-operated arcade
games.

"We will be delivering significant performance improvement over the
fastest Pentium Pro," Dracott said.

Intel said part of the performance improvement comes from a new
so-called cartridge design.  The Pentium II will be sold to PC
manufacturers in a plastic housing that includes specialized memory
chips. Because the microprocessor and memory chips are packed closely
together on a seperate circuit board, they can pump data to the rest
of the PC much faster, Intel said.

There is one more benefit: It frustrates Intel rivals Advanced Micro
Devices Inc. and Cyrix Corp., which for the first time are a credible
threat to Intel.

AMD and Cyrix make chips that work like the Pentium and sell them to
PC makers for much less. But their chips are designed to fit into the
old slots for microprocessors.

AMD spent the past two years working on the K6 chip, which works as
fast as the Pentium Pro and is 25 percent cheaper, but does not fit
into the new cartridge slot.

Since most of the PC makers are expected to use Intel's cartridge
design, AMD now has to spend time and money to make the K6 compatible.