Nyt vedr. SB bundkort..

Asus stopper for lev. / salg af SB bundkort...



Alle producenter stopper levering og salg af SB bundkort, herunder også Asus der har udsendt denne presse meddelse: http://event.asus.com/2011/SandyBridge/notice/


Taipei, Taiwan (February 1, 2011) - Intel® on January 31, 2011 announced the detection of a design error in the new Sandy Bridge-based Intel® 6 Series support chip, also known as Cougar Point. The shipment of existing Sandy Bridge products has been suspended by Intel®, and the production of an updated support chip has commenced. The design error affects only the support chip, and not 2nd generation Intel® CoreT processors such as the i5 and i7.

Acting on our philosophy and promise of inspiring innovation and persistent perfection, we've created a comprehensive response to this development to safeguard the best interest of ASUS customers around the world. We will provide total warranty services to maximize computing and usability, as each ASUS product is delivered with an uncompromising quality pledge. This includes the hassle-free return and/or replacement of all affected ASUS products. We're doing all this effective immediately - and as a first step, shipments of current ASUS Sandy Bridge-based products have been halted. The suspension covers all distribution and retail channels - ASUS only sells quality-assured products, at all times and across all product segments.

For all customers who already own any ASUS product affected by the design error identified by Intel®, simply visit http://event.asus.com/2011/SandyBridge/notice for detailed warranty and service hotline information. We'll be happy to address any questions or concerns you may have regarding this issue, as well as provide information on future updates to Sandy Bridge technology.

ASUS notebook and desktop products are covered by a warranty service that addresses the design error, with both swap and sales return offered as options to customers.

For motherboards, we've confirmed with Intel® that the Cougar Point design error does not affect SATA ports 0 and 1. Additionally, ASUS has been a pioneer in including extra SATA 3Gb/s and SATA 6Gb/s ports beyond Intel® specifications on a wide range of motherboards. These ports are not affected by this design error, offering customers an option for uninterrupted computing. However, we're also offering you the option of returning any possibly affected motherboard for a swap or sales return. All warranties for affected motherboards will be reset to give you enough time to carry out any exchanges.

ASUS has also started an initiative to contact customers regarding this issue, and we'll cover all channel partners, distributors and registered buyers of affected ASUS products. As mentioned above, you may opt to return any affected products to ASUS for a swap or sales return.

We'll post updates through our official website and other channels regarding any developments or fixes to Sandy Bridge products. Thank you for your understanding, support and cooperation, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

Sincerely,

ASUS




Hot line information






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MSI has been informed by Intel about the design issues in the Intel 6 series chipsets. According to Intel the performance of some of the Intel SATA ports on Intel 6 series products can degrade over a period of 3 years. MSI takes the quality of our products very serious, so at this moment we are investigating product batches that may be affected and, meanwhile, have stopped all shipments to our distributors and resellers. Additionally, we asked resellers to hold sales of the Intel 6 series based MSI products to customers until the issue can be resolved.

Excerpt quote from the Intel statement1:
"As part of ongoing quality assurance, Intel Corporation has discovered a design issue in a recently released support chip, the Intel® 6 Series, code-named Cougar Point, and has implemented a silicon fix. In some cases, the Serial-ATA (SATA) ports within the chipsets may degrade over time, potentially impacting the performance or functionality of SATA-linked devices such as hard disk drives and DVD-drives."

"For computer makers and other Intel customers that have bought potentially affected chipsets or systems, Intel will work with its OEM partners to accept the return of the affected chipsets, and plans to support modifications or replacements needed on motherboards or systems."
Update: Februari 2nd, 2011 with service info for customers in Europe.



Products in the market
As of the 31st of January MSI informed all our distributors, retails and reseller to stop directly the sales of Intel 6 series based products of MSI and to hold any products pending shipments to customers. No need to worry in the case that you purchased an Intel 6 series based product form MSI after the 31st of January because we will take care for you. Consumers can check the section How to get support.

We started the procedure to collect all the current stock in the market. Retailers and reseller can return their Intel 6 series MSI products they have in stock to their point of purchase (distributor) which can return the goods to the MSI distribution centers. If retailers, resellers or MSI distributors have any questions about the procedure they can contact their local MSI sales representative.



Affected models
At this moment there are only a limit models in the market based on the Intel 6 series chipset. You can identify them based on the model name in the list below.
MSI Mainboards (Intel© P67)
? P67A-GD65
? P67A-GD55
? P67A-GD53
? P67A-C45
? P67A-C43
? P67S-C43 MSI Mainboards (Intel© H67)
? H67MA-ED55
? H67MA-E45
? H67MS-E43
? H67MS-E33
MSI Notebooks (Intel© PM67)
? GT680R MSI Notebooks (Intel© HM67)
? CR640
? CX640


How to get support
We want you to have a MSI product which you can trust and rely on. This is why we have 2 choices for your purchased Intel 6 series based MSI products;
1. Product swap
If you are confident and willing to wait we can swap your current Intel 6 series based product in a brand new MSI product which is based on the new B3 stepping of the Intel 6 series which solves the current SATA2 port issues. If you have an MSI 6 series mainboard you can - for the short term - connect your storage devices to the safe white SATA3 ports on your mainboard, for more detailed instructions please click here.

This MSI product you get swapped will have similar or better specs. These new MSI products will become available in April and this way you will miss your product only for a very short period of time. You can identify the new products by a clear sticker on the color box. We will release details about this procedure before the end of February.
2. Product return
If you are not confident about your current MSI based 6 series product MSI offers you the possibility to return the product to your point of purchase which will credit you. Please make sure to back-up your personal data.



News and updates
MSI is commited to quality. You can always find the latest updates or a list with the European service centers on the address: msi.eu/intel-6-series-chipset-issue/.



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GIGABYTE swaps Sandy Bridge Motherboards
Intel 6-series chipsets with B3 stepping available in April

Hamburg, 2011-02-02 - GIGABYTE, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphic cards and other PC components, today announced that it will offer replacement motherboards for all GIGABYTE motherboards with P67/H67/P65/PH67-chipsets by the end of April. Customers who have already bought a GIGABYTE Sandy Bridge motherboard may then swap their motherboards in the store where they were originally purchased.

As explained by Intel®, after a period of usage the SATA 2 ports 2~5 on motherboards based on Intel® 6 series B2 stepping chipsets may experience decreasing performance. Users who only make use of SATA3, which is downwards compatible with SATA 2, are not affected by this issue, and can use their motherboard without any limitations. GIGABYTE implements an additional Marvell chipset on most motherboards, which works independent from the Intel chipset and offers 100% performance.

By the end of April customers can bring their 6 series motherboard to the store where they originally made the purchase. According to Intel's production plan, the 6 series B3 stepping chipset will be available during April, 2011. GIGABYTE will produce and subsequently ship replacement motherboards according to Intel's chipset shipping schedule. GIGABYTE will provide an equivalent new motherboard for replacement.

Customers, who have problems with a GIGABYTE-branded P67/H67/B65 motherboard and its SATA ports as described by Intel, may contact GIGABYTE support via the global online support system GGTS (http://ggts.gigabyte.com). GIGABYTE has additionally arranged the email address sandybridge@gigabyte.de for all related questions about Sandy Bridge, which will be answered with the highest priority.

For further information or enquiries regarding GIGABYTE 6 series motherboards, please contact your local distributor or visit the GIGABYTE website at http://www.gigabyte.eu