Intel
Corporation has announced that it will replace motherboards that have
a defective memory translator hub (MTH) component that translates signals
from SDRAM memory to the Intel 820 Chipset. The company has found some
boards using the MTH (memory translator hub) may be sensitive to system
noise under extreme conditions, and this issue may manifest itself in
intermittent system reboots or system hangs during operation. This noise
sensitivity may result in data loss and/or corruption. Intel will also
replace the current SDRAM memory in the affected systems with Rambus
RDRAM as part of the remedy.
Intel has placed the MTH component and an Intel motherboard that uses
the part on shipment hold even though they stress that the issue is
intermittent and has only been observed on some, not all, boards/systems
that have an MTH component. The noise sensitivity that could cause this
issue is highly dependent on the noise interaction between the board/system
and the MTH component and, in some cases, may cause a reboot or hang.
The problem was first discovered when a customer informed Intel that
intermittent system reboots and system hangs had been observed on a
small number of Intel 820 Chipset-based desktop boards with the Intel
MTH component. The boards were sent to Intel for investigation and the
issue was duplicated at Intel.
Introduced in systems in November 1999, the memory translator hub is
a component that enables SDRAM. The MTH component is used on some boards
and in some systems using the Intel 820 Chipset, including the Intel
CC820 Desktop Board Family with SDRAM. This issue does not impact boards
or systems using the Intel 820 Chipset with RDRAM memory. Estimates
put the number of affected systems at just less than a million.
Intel is recommending that end-users who want to know if their board/system
uses an MTH component contact their computer maker or place of purchase
for more information, or they can download a utility to determine if
they have a board/system containing the MTH component. This utility
can be downloaded at http://www.intel.com/support/mth/diag.htm.
Intel is working with its customers (the computer makers, motherboard
makers and distribution channels) to notify computer users of this issue
and to offer a replacement motherboard, along with new RDRAM. Since
the MTH was not introduced until November of 1999, systems purchased
before this time should not be affected.
The Intel MTH ID Utility has been designed to allow any user with an
Intel processor based-system to test for the presence of a Memory Translator
Hub (MTH) component on their system. If an MTH component is detected,
the utility will report the presence of MTH, the manufacturer of the
motherboard, and the motherboard name.
Intel has adjusted the design of the MTH component to address this issue
by improving the noise immunity of the part. Intel will do testing/validation
with this new version of the MTH. The Intel 820 and Intel 820E Chipsets
will have a new version of the MTH available for boards/systems in Q3.
Intel plans to reserve funds for the cost associated with this replacement
program when the cost can be determined. Depending upon the user replacement
rate, the amount of this reserve could be material at year end. On top
of the cost of the replacement boards, the replacement of SDRAM with
the three times more expensive Rambus memory could mean Intel will set
aside reserves totaling several hundred million dollars. News of the
problem initially drove Intel stock down more than 9 percent.
A previous MTH component issue, reported in March, was related to intermittent
errors on the SDRAM memory subsystem when running a specific synthetic
memory stress test. That issue was fixed by applying a pull-down or
pull-up resistor on SCLKA. -- JD
