The fact that Intel is only delaying Broadwell by 90 days is an indicator that the issue is not a major one, or that the problem has already been fixed and they are waiting to implement changes to the production version of the new CPUs. If the problem were bigger we would expect to see a much longer delay in the release of Broadwell. As it stands the word from Intel is that things are still “on track” for production to begin in 2014 with some of the first samples to manufacturers being sent out in Q1-14 as opposed to Q4 2013.

Broadwell (for those of you that have been living under a rock) is the successor to Haswell and is supposed to bring an estimated 30% improvement in power efficiency. It intended to work in more than just desktops with SKUs that are aimed at laptops, desktops and much more mobile products. This delay could have an impact on Intel’s attempt to break into the mobile market in 2015 even if it is a small one.

The mobile market (phones, tablets etc.) is a very fast one and any delay in launch will impact sales and market acceptance. Fortunately, for Intel, there is little chance of hurting desktop and laptop sales for Intel as AMD has been unable to match them on a performance level for a number of years (which is not a good thing). We will keep an eye on things (as usual) and will let you know if we can get more information about the root of the problem or any updates in the release timing. For now Broadwell looks like it will be hitting the market in early 2015.

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