CORPORATE USERS wanting to buy Itanium machines are being told that the processors are going through rigorous testing but the INQUIRER can now confirm there is a serious bug with 733MHz and 800MHz versions of the processor preventing them from shipping.
According to a source at a large Swiss bank - Compaq - one of Intel"s major PC customers has warned it that there are reliability and other problems in the die of the processor that prevent the product from being shipped.
Other, major PC customers, however, are shipping products as Intel frantically attempts to resolve the erratum, or errata, before going public with the problems.
The T6 problem, as we first reported here, will not affect shipment of the up-and-coming McKinley processor but is associated with the 64-bit product that Intel first shipped in May.
The news is a serious blow to Intel, coming as it does after a failure to ship the Itanium processor for what seemed like years.
An Intel representative said that the company did not discuss "sightings" of such problems but did say that such sightings were common with new introductions.
It wasn"t appropriate to discuss particular details, Intel said. Over 20 OEMs have shipped such product since May, he added, and were continuing to ship products.
The other OEMs are still shipping.