The channel will see a shift in focus in the Intel processor shortage in the next few months. According to Alex Morse, desktop product manager at Intel distributor AXiZ, it is likely that the market will experience a shortage of Celeron processors until Q3 this year, while the Pentium III supply will improve in the short term.
"As a result of this shift in supply, customers will have to consider looking at purchasing Pentium III product as opposed to Celeron - which will be a major change in South African buying patterns," she says. "To date, we have seen a demand for more Celeron, but this could change according to our supply availability in Q3."
One of the reasons for this Celeron shortage is that Intel is changing its manufacturing technology from .25m technology to .18m technology.
"Customers should also be aware of the fact that the Pentium III 500/550Mhz is not end-of-life, but is in fact Intel`s entry-level Pentium III processor," adds Morse. "Supply of these products will be available throughout the third quarter of this year."
Morse also points out that while there is currently a good split of product between SECC and FCPGA processors, this will change as the latest, higher speed processors are more readily available in FCPGA packaging.
Other Intel issues at the moment include that of the withdrawal of the CC820 motherboard. The Intel CC820 product family has been placed on product build hold and shipment hold by Intel due to intermittent system reboots and hangs.
Intel has found that some boards/systems using the Intel 82805AA Memory Translator Hub (MTH), including the Intel Desktop Board CC820, may be sensitive to system noise caused by the simultaneous switching of signals on the MTH buses. In some instances, this issue may potentially lead to data corruption failures. There is no board/system level resolution for this issue at this time.
"Intel has offered a refund or replacement product under its standard three-year limited warranty for the CC820 board," says Morse. "At the moment, the most expedient program is the refund option for customers, however the replacement program will offer a VC820 board with 128MB RDRAM. Anyone with concerns about a CC820 board that they have purchased from AXiZ should contact their local AXiZ office or read the latest news slot on our web site www.axiz.com.
"Intel is currently busy outlining a comprehensive replacement policy for the CC820 board. However, we anticipate that the program will only be up and running towards the middle of June. We will continue to keep the market informed as soon as we have information available," she adds.
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Axiz
AXiZ is a leading computer component and peripherals distribution company in South Africa, with offices in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and Pretoria and a staff complement exceeding 200. Founded in 1989, AXiZ has evolved from a supplier of memory modules and processors to be the leading distributor of branded end-to-end PC components, from motherboards, processors and PC cards to networking products, storage products, software, monitors, peripherals and graphics cards. In addition, AXiZ provides services such as a PC and server configuration service, customer deliveries, and training and education.