Coppermine meltdown stops Dell shipments

A bug in Intel's high-end Pentium III chips has forced Dell Computer to curtail shipments of Optiplex GX110 desktops.

An errata in the processor, which is based on the company's state-of-the-art Coppermine process, can cause a PC not to boot every time its power button is pressed. Intel says the bug has not been found in mobile Pentium III chips.

Dell says it is stepping up its quality control efforts, and will suspend Optiplex 110 production until the problem is fixed. The delay isn't expected to exceed a few days.

The full story is posted at www.zdnn.com .