MSI Responds To Intel Sandy Bridge Recall

MSI is now on the same recall train as Acer, Toshiba, HP, and Samsung in the aftermath of the Intel Sandy Bridge chipset design flaw discovery. MSI has just released an official announcement to assure its customers that they are working quickly with their retailers, distributors and other channel partners to take care of the problem. They encourage their customers who wish to return their MSI Intel P67 and H67 motherboards or affected gaming notebooks to contact the original place of purchase for more details. They also offer an alternative for customers to register via their website by April 30, 2011 to ensure eligibility for return/replacement options. See the full details and press release after the cut.

Press Release:

MSI North America Responds to Intel 6 Series Chipset Issue

With Replacement or Upgrades for Affected Units

Customers Can Register Online for Replacement of Affected P67 and H67 Motherboards

Or Upgrade for Affected Notebook

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. – Feb. 3, 2011 – MSI Computer Corp., a leading manufacturer of computer hardware products and solutions, today announced that it has stopped shipments in North America of Sandy Bridge products following Intel's announcement of a design issue in the recently released Intel® 6 Series chipset. The company is quickly responding to this issue by working with retailers, distributors and channel partners to stop all shipments, MSI is also offering end users replacements and upgrades for the affected motherboards and notebooks respectively at its Intel® 6 Series Motherboards and Notebook Support page: us.msi.com/snb_replacement.

MSI North America takes the quality of its products and service to its customers very serious, therefore the company is working closely with Intel to accept the return of Intel P67 and H67 motherboards, as well as its HM67 gaming laptops. MSI's All-in-One PCs based on the new generation of Intel Core i processors are not affected, and are still scheduled to launch in late March 2011.

MSI encourages end users who want to return their MSI Intel P67 and H67 motherboards or affected gaming notebooks, to contact the original place of purchase for more details on the return or refund policy. Alternatively, end users can register their Intel 6 Series notebook or motherboard with MSI by April 30, 2011 at us.msi.com/snb_replacement to be eligible for the following options.

HM67 gaming notebooks: End users are eligible to receive an upgrade to MSI's next generation gaming notebook upon its availability.

P67 and H67 motherboards: End users are eligible for a replacement with the new B3 stepping of the Intel 6 series motherboard when it is available in channel.

Shipping: To make the replacement as smooth as possible, MSI will provide end users with a UPS 3 Day shipping label for returns, and will deliver the brand new item by UPS 3 Day shipping, both at no cost.

"MSI is wholly committed to both our customers and to the overall quality of our products," noted Andy Tung, vice president of North American sales for MSI. "While we work with Intel to resolve the chipset issues, we want to make sure our customers know their concerns are our top priority. We believe offering future replacement options will help alleviate some of the discomfort this issue has caused."

For questions regarding replacement of MSI Intel P67 or H67 motherboard and HM67 notebook, end users may contact MSI at SNB_Support@msi.com.

For news from Intel on chipset design error, please visit Intel's newsroom at: http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2011/01/31/intel-identifies-chipset-design-error-implementing-solution.

Following is an excerpt from the Intel statement:

"As part of ongoing quality assurance, Intel Corporation has discovered a design issue in a recently released support chip, the Intel® 6 Series, code-named Cougar Point, and has implemented a silicon fix. In some cases, the Serial-ATA (SATA) ports within the chipsets may degrade over time, potentially impacting the performance or functionality of SATA-linked devices such as hard disk drives and DVD-drives. ... For computer makers and other Intel customers that have bought potentially affected chipsets or systems, Intel will work with its OEM partners to accept the return of the affected chipsets, and plans to support modifications or replacements needed on motherboards or systems."

About MSI

Founded in 1986, MSI strives to design and manufacture superior technology and innovative products, while offering outstanding customer service. MSI has continued to uphold a business philosophy that stresses "Award-winning product quality and outstanding customer service." MSI specializes in the design and manufacture of mainboards, graphics cards, desktop PCs, All-in-One PCs, wireless communication products, and Notebook PCs. To learn more about MSI's complete product lines, please visit: us.msi.com