14 DAY TRIAL // Intel seems to be facing some serious technical issues with its desktop quad-core line-up. We have previously reported about the chip manufacturer's quad-core processors running in short supply, but it seems that the problems will continue in the following months.
Intel's Q9540 and Q9550 Yorkfield-based offerings are not to be found anywhere for now. Scan, the biggest UK e-tailer has no units in stock, and it has already announced that its first desktop quads are likely to arrive in August, although that is just an estimation.
Some retailers have a few units on stock, but the short supply has resulted in the units being severely overpriced. OCUK, for instance, lists the Q9450 chips at an amazing price of ?293.74, which is way beyond the ?260 recommended selling price.
The low-end Q9300 chips are to be found easier, and some UK online retailers list it for about ?162.95, with only 54 processors in stock. Other retailers list less units for slightly larger prices, ranging from ?169.20 to ?169.95. However, the Q9300 sports half the cache of higher-end chips, and can only reach 2.5 GHz, but it supports the 1,333MHz FSB, as opposed to Q6600's 1,066MHz.
Intel claims that the manufacturing yields for its quad-core line-up are OK, and the short supply is exclusively due to the huge demand in its 45-nanometer quad-core parts. The chip manufacturer also claimed that the company is currently looking to release more production space at its fabs, in order to ramp up production.
However, Intel is currently having more fabs than any semiconductor manufacturer, and the explanation is only half true. The chip manufacturer is currently concerned with keeping up its supply of server processors, as AMD's Barcelona-based Opteron chips are a direct threat.
However, given the fact that AMD does not have a competitive rival on the quad-core desktop market, Intel does not feel the need to deliver more units of its flagship desktop CPUs.