Bug-Free 486 Chips Shipping Now, Intel Says
 
Microbytes Daily News Service
Copyright (c) 1989, McGraw-Hill, Inc.
Intel is now shipping bug-free 80486 chips, with a new version
that corrects problems with earlier chips, a company spokesperson
told Microbytes Daily. Intel is currently shipping two versions
of the CPU. "Stepping" B5 fixes the floating-point and error-
trapping bugs that showed up in B4 and that Intel confirmed in
October; however, B5 requires an external hardware fix on the
motherboard to work properly. The new stepping, B6, fixes all
that.
 
Why would Intel continue to ship B5 if B6 is available now?
Production is still ramping up for the B6 stepping, and "for
those who can't wait for B6, we're continuing to make B5
available," said Intel spokesperson Jacque Jarve. However, Intel
is requiring a commitment in writing from manufacturers that
accept a B5 chip that they will make that external hardware fix
on their motherboards before shipping them.
 
Intel expects to ship "tens of thousands" of 486s by the end of
1989, Jarve said. No word yet on how many of the defective B4
chips have been replaced. Many computer makers that have
announced 486-based systems have said deliveries of those systems
will be delayed while waiting for bug-free CPUs.
 
                              --- Frank Hayes
 
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