HP warns of data integrity bug on Itanium processor

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Close Intel partner Hewlett Packard told its customers over the weekend of a problem with a bug (erratum) on the Itanium processor.

Although Intel actually posted the bug details on August 14th, HP has just told its customers about the problem, with the first Merced Itanium.

In a notice to customers, HP said the problem can cause data integrity problems on systems using the Merced.

The servers it affects include the HP rx4610, the rx9610, and the i2000, and also the HP (Compaq) ProLiant DL590/64.

HP said that the problem doesn't occur with Itanium 2 chips included in its rx2600, rx5670, the zx2000 and zx6000. Nor, said HP, does it happen on any PA-RISC, Alpha or "other" Intel processors.

HP said: "This issue is not unique to HP".

News source: The Inquirer - HP warns of data integrity bug on Itanium processor

It added: "There is a very low probability that customers will encounter problems due to this error. The problem has not been seen or reported by any HP customer. However, because HP is strongly committed to delivering high quality products, HP is diligently workingwith Intel to develop an update to the affected processor. These updated processors will be distributed in a kit from HP in January 2003."

The firm said that kits should be ordered as early as possible and advises customers to contact their HP Itanium Centers of Expertise.

It won't charge for updated buggy chips, it said.

(2 replies) #1 dismuter on 16 Dec 2002 - 14:41

Does anyone who read Neowin actually possess or considers buying an Itanium chip? If not, then it's not the kind of news which is interesting. Especially since HP is just repeating what Intel said a few months ago. All this will do is bring on comments like "Itanic sux0rs, AMD rulez". It's nice to see the Inquirer drop the "Itanic" nickname though.

#1.1 danbalsh on 16 Dec 2002 - 14:55

[neoquote=#1.0 by dismuter]Does anyone who read Neowin actually possess or considers buying an Itanium chip? If not, then it's not the kind of news which is interesting. Especially since HP is just repeating what Intel said a few months ago. All this will do is bring on comments like "Itanic sux0rs, AMD rulez". It's nice to see the Inquirer drop the "Itanic" nickname though.

[/neoquote] I bet there are some people who use these Servers, remember you don't just have to be a geek to use NeoWin you can also be some sort of Proffesional to

#1.2 JaggedFlame on 16 Dec 2002 - 16:44

For home users, Itanic seems to be an appropriate nickname... it's bulky in terms of performance, and it costs way too much to be any benefit. I guess the Athlon 64 will be something to look forward to on the home front.

(2 replies) #2 vacs on 16 Dec 2002 - 17:59

Jaggedflame: For the 103848374983rd time: Itaniums are not meant for "homeusers"! Therefore the Athlon 64 (clawhammer) is no competition for the Itanium... And forget about owning a 64-bit CPU with 64-bit OS and only 64-bit games, application and drivers until 2004. Some people seem to believe that with the release of the Athlon 64 everything is going to be 64-bit and much faster

It won't happen that fast... So the only interesting thing about the Athlon 64 will be its 32-bit performance and I hope for AMD that it will rock...

Last edited by 11384 on 16 Dec 2002 - 18:05

#2.1 Tom Servo on 16 Dec 2002 - 19:01

Application and game developers can already make 64bit compiles that will run on your 32bit OS and 32bit drivers, giving the application itself a boost. E.g. the Unreal2 engine has been 'ported' to the Athlon64. All licensees can easily output 64bit versions of their games if they 'port' their proprietary code. (porting being more like recompiling actually, and/or just recoding the assembler parts is required)

#2.2 JaggedFlame on 16 Dec 2002 - 22:23

[quote]For the 103848374983rd time: Itaniums are not meant for "homeusers"! Therefore the Athlon 64 (clawhammer) is no competition for the Itanium...[/quote] Strange, I don't seem to recall the last 103848374982 times you told me that. I know that Itaniums are not meant for home users. I was just responding to this quote: [quote]Does anyone who read Neowin actually possess or considers buying an Itanium chip?[/quote]

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