A critical design flaw has been discovered in Intel's (NASDAQ: INTC) Sandy Bridge chipset, announced the company in a statement released on Monday. The problem affects customers who bought second generation Core i5 and i7 systems that were released for sale in January, and will apparently result in parts of the chipset to degrade over time. While Intel says a design fix is in place, the cost of fixing affected systems as well as replacing the flawed chips is expected to cost $700 million.

At the heart of the problem is how four of the six SATA ports within the chipsets "may degrade over time, potentially impacting the performance or functionality of SATA-linked devices..." noted Intel in its official press release. Based on this information, it is theoretically possible that some systems might be unaffected, assuming that no devices are connected to the affected ports--and ignoring future ability to upgrade.

For now, customers who are already using affected systems are advised to continue using them, as data loss is not expected to result from the flaw. However, they should contact their vendors for a permanent fix, says Intel.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at The Washington Post
- check out this article at CNET News
- check out this press release from Intel 

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