Recently, Intel announced that there is a problem with the Cougar Point chipset family that is effecting SATA 3 Gb/s ports, which eventually can lead to their degradation. What this means is that over time SATA linked devices such as hard disks and DVD-drives would lose functionality when connected to these chipsets. If you purchased a P67, or H67 motherboard previous to this announcement, then you have an effected motherboard. Intel has said that this problem would be activated through temperature and voltage over time, and is estimated to effect approximately 5% of systems over a three year period. Intel has said that this will cost the company around $700 million in profit loss and replacement/repair costs.
With such a huge release this past month, I am disappointed with Intel. If you happened to purchase a Sandy Bridge build since its release, your processor is still fine. If you choose to use the same P67 or H67 motherboard chipsets you purchased your worst case scenario would be turning on your computer one morning to find that that the SATA port to your hard drive degraded, and you no longer have access to your data. Sounds terrible, but your data would still be fine and accessible by other means. My opinion would be that if you have purchased a Cougar Point board previous to this announcement, then you return it through the manufactures warranty and wait another month when the revised boards are released.
So to anyone who happened to purchase a Sandy Bridge build this past month, I apologize on behalf of Intel, and hope it all works out for the best. If you have not already read Intels Press Release, then you may want to.
Thanks,
Corey