Intel disclosed an electrical problem Monday that can cause computers using its flagship Itanium 2 processor to behave erratically or crash. The CNET News reports goes on: A computer maker found the electrical problem in stress testing earlier this year, and Intel confirmed it was a problem with the chips, not the software nor other parts of system design, said company spokeswoman Barbara Grimes. The problem affects both 900MHz and 1GHz versions of the Itanium 2, code-named McKinley. However, it doesn't affect a faster 1.5GHz successor - called Itanium 2 6M and formerly code-named Madison - that is set for release in mid-2003, she said.

The problem likely is uncommon, Insight 64 analyst Nathan Brookwood said. "These machines have been out there for a year, and it only now is showing up, so it's got to be pretty rare. If it's something that was more commonplace, we would have seen it a lot sooner, or they would have found it in their alpha or beta testing." Full Story