Time-Bomb Ticks in No-Name PC Motherboards, Reports CMP's EE TimesMillions of Low-Cost Computer Motherboards are Subject to Unexpected Failures That Could Trash DataPRNewswire There may be a ticking time-bomb in millions of low-cost or no-name brands of Pentium motherboards. According to an exclusive report in this week's EE Times, these motherboards do not meet Intel's power specifications and are therefore subject to unexpected failures and a loss of data and files for unsuspecting consumers. The problem boards skimp on the number and quality of capacitors that are required to smooth out voltage spikes around the central processing unit (CPU) -- or the brain of the computer -- a U.S. electronics executive told EE Times. "Your processor locking up may not be (caused by) your software -- it could be cheap power-supply components on your motherboard," said the executive, Bob Dobkin, a Vice President at Linear Technology in Milpitas, Calif. "This is potentially a bigger problem than the Intel Pentium floating- point bug because there are millions of computers that could go bad." The root of the problem is that it's far tougher to design a motherboard with Pentium and higher CPUs than it was to use the earlier-generation 286, 386 and 486 chips. The reason is the more stringent voltage and requirements of today's 32-bit CPUs. The full report can be found on the publication's Web site, EE Times Online, at http://techweb.cmp.com/eet/news/97/951news/time.html. CMP Media Inc.'s EE Times delivers news of both business and technology to engineers and technical/corporate managers at electronics and computer systems manufacturers in the United States. CMP Media Inc. provides publishing, marketing and information services to the broad high-technology spectrum -- the builders, sellers and users of technology -- through print and electronic media. All of CMP's publications and online products can be accessed through the company's TechWeb® site on the World Wide Web (http://www.techweb.com/). Print titles include EE Times, Computer Reseller News, InformationWeek and WINDOWS Magazine. -0- 04/29/97 SOURCE: CMP Media Inc. CONTACT: Steve Rubel, 516-562-7434 or srubel@cmp.com, or Catherine |