Gartner Group Inc has leaped into the Pentium controversy and come down on the side of IBM Corp. The Stamford, Connecticut market researcher and consultant is recommending that its clients delay volume Pentium microprocessor purchases until Intel Corp or the personal computer supplier can ensure defect-free machines. Gartner says it is making the recommendation despite the low likelihood of encountering a business- or life-threatening error. Low-volume or individual purchases for users that require Pentium performance but are unaffected by the floating-point problem are safe to continue to buy the chips, it said, but budgets should include incremental administrative costs if chip replacement is necessary – it estimates the cost of having the offending tooth pulled and a good one inserted at from $30 to $200 per machine.
