Dell Faces Overclocking Issue on Quad-Core Desktops

Dell has stopped taking orders for one model of its high-end desktop PCs, citing issues related to overclocking quad-core processors from Intel.

Dell's XPS 720 H2C is a US$5,939 computer designed to boost video game performance by combining two Nvidia Corp. graphics cards with Intel's Core 2 Extreme chip, "overclocked" by Dell to run at a higher frequency than Intel intends. The computer uses a liquid radiator to dissipate the extreme heat generated by the setup, a more expensive design than standard air-cooled PCs.

On Wednesday, Dell told customers it would no longer accept orders for the "bin +3" version of the computer, which runs Intel's QX6800 Extreme Edition processor at 3.73GHz instead of the 2.93GHz it was designed for.

"We apologize for having to do this, [but the] truth is that we do not have a line of sight to enough supply of QX6800 processors that can tolerate the Bin+3 overclocking," Dell's digital media manager, Lionel Menchaca, said on a company blog.

"At this point, our engineering team is doing everything they can to get more Bin+3s out of our original supply but this is expected to be a slow process," he said.

Dell asked its customers to cancel their orders and choose an XPS 720 PC with a slightly slower QX6800 chip or with a slightly less powerful QX6700 chip running at the same speed.

[Via Pcworld]