June 28, 2004 – Intel Corp. is recalling an unspecified amount of chips after discovering a manufacturing flaw that could cause systems to crash or not boot properly.
The problem with the “Grantsdale” chipset, a component of the Pentium 4 microprocessor launched just a week ago that handles communication functions between the central processor and peripherals such as memory and digital media (e.g., audio and video), reportedly involves a failure to completely remove thin film deposits during the manufacturing process. The company said that very few faulty chips made it beyond Intel’s inventory or PC manufacturers, and that it has corrected the manufacturing process and already is shipping fixed Grantsdale chips.
Intel today is expected to unveil its newest chip, Xeon, that can work with both 64-bit and 32-bit applications, a response to AMD’s already-released Opteron chip and a partner to Intel’s Itanium aimed at high-end business applications. Intel claims the initial version of Xeon, for use in business workstations, will top 3.6GHz.