14 DAY TRIAL // No doubt end-users are well aware of the flaw discovered on Intel's 6-Series chipsets, but it seems the company has come quite close to alleviating the problem, as its new chipsets are set to move on to the B3 stepping.
Intel's 6-Series Cougar Point chipsets were officially introduced some time ago, as platforms for the Sandy Bridge processors.
Unfortunately, they were found to have been designed with a certain flaw that can lead to the degradation of SATA 3.0 Gbps ports.
It is this flaw that it will have to spend quite a few funds to correct, but it seems one may not have to wait overly long for the fixed chipsets.
As found by reports, the Santa Clara, California-based company will offer chipsets with the B3 stepping to OEMs starting on February 14.
In fact, not just the 6 Series of desktop and mobile core-logic sets, but also the C200 series, for servers and workstations, will be updated.
This means that the complete list is C202, C204, C206, Q67,Q65, QM67, HM67, HM65, B65, UM67, QS67, Z68, H67, H61 and P67.
This is in tune with how Intel previously said that its first batch of B3 stepping chipsets would be available before the end of the ongoing second month of 2011.
The B3 stepping involves a BIOS update ((Revision 1.1.4 of the BIOS Specification Update and Reference Code), new S-specs and MM numbers and a minor metal layer change from B2 to B3.
Said metal layer does not really change functionality or design specifications, but it does improve lifetime wear out.
Of course, while makers of hardware will get these new chipsets soon enough, their new motherboards will take a while to build, so end-users rooting for platforms free of the aforementioned flaw will still have to wait a while.