Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2000/05/24/intels_cape_cod_fishy_smell/

Intel's Cape Cod fishy smell – official

It's the Dear John letter from Satan Clara

By Team Register

Posted in On-Prem, 24th May 2000 12:12 GMT

Whenever a reseller or distributor gets a letter from Intel starting off with the words Dear Valued Customer, she or he expects trouble. And so it proved when they received the following missive from Satan Clara notifying them of a certain Coddish stink coming from the CC820. Here is the letter the channel got, reproduced in full.

Hillsboro logo

May 10, 2000

Dear Valued Customer,

The Intel Desktop Board CC820 Product family has been placed on product build hold and shipment hold due to intermittent system reboots and hangs. Intel has found that some boards/systems using the Intel 82805AA Memory Translator Hub (MTH), including the Intel Desktop Board CC820, may be sensitive to system noise caused by the simultaneous switching of signals on the MTH buses. In some instances, this issue may potentially lead to data corruption failures.

The system reboot/hang occurrence is very intermittent and was only recently confirmed on the Intel Desktop Board CC820. Heavy memory usage (such as a synthetic memory test) increases the occurrence rate, but intermittent system reboots/hangs have also been observed in normal operating environments. There is no board/system level resolution for this issue at this time.

This issue does not impact boards or systems using the Intel 820 Chipset with RDRAM* memory such as the Intel Desktop Board VC820.

Because the Intel Desktop Board CC820 has been placed on product build hold and shipment hold, customer deliveries of the CC820 will be impacted. Check with your Intel Representative for details.

Intel is recommending that customers do not ship any products using the Intel MTH component. As a result, Intel also recommends that customers put their Intel Desktop Board CC820 based products on immediate build and shipment hold at this time.

Product refunds/returns will be addressed through Intel's product warranty procedure. Details are still being worked at this time and will be communicated as soon as possible. Please contact your Intel Customer Support representative for details.

Intel stands behind the products we sell. We appreciate your continued support and we work hard each day to build upon your trust in the quality and reliability of our products. How our customers feel about our product matters greatly to us and we appreciate the opportunity to serve your computing needs, both now and in the future.

As an alternative to the Intel Desktop Board CC820, we recommend the following:

The Intel Desktop Board VC820 is a high performance desktop board based on the Intel 820 chipset. This board uses high bandwidth RDRAM* to provide maximum speed and responsiveness in even the most demanding applications. The VC820 desktop board features the latest Pentium III support (in the S.E.C.C. 2 packaging), ATA/66 hard drive and AGP 4X support, and a full size ATX footprint for maximum expandability.

The CA810E Desktop Board provides an integrated system solution that combines a rich video performance, on-board Creative* PCI audio, and support for PC100 SDRAM. The CA810E also has an Intel 10/100 LAN option for networking or high bandwidth Internet connections. The CA810E supports Intel utilizing a socket 370 interface only.

Thank you again for your patronage and please accept our assurances that we are working harder than ever to bring you the highest quality, highest performing computer products.

Sincerely,

Intel Corporation