Tempers are beginning to fray over the continuing shortage of Intel 80386 microprocessors to the point where one would-be user identified only as a major company told Microbytes Daily If IBM and Compaq get chips and we don’t, we’ll sue. Intel has told customers there will be no large-scale deliveries of the 80386 until at least September according to industry sources, and is taking no new orders for the chips. Existing customers will be given first priority when chips become available, which is leading some to suggest that 18% shareholder IBM may be getting preference – IBM has brought forward first US deliveries of the 16MHz 80386-based Personal System/2 Model 80 041 and 071 by a month, starting ships this month. Some observers say as many as half the 80386s currently being made are defective, but Intel says that no further snags beyond the one that required remasking of the ALU portion of the chip have been found and still expects deliveries to be back on track in the fourth quarter.
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