Intel has launched a replacement programme for all motherboards that use the 820 chipset with SDRAM.

The 820 was originally designed to be used with the new Rambus (RDRAM) memory, but as Rambus was slow in arriving, Intel added in a feature called an MTH (memory translator hub) which allowed SDRAM to be used instead. However, the MTH can create problems like causing the system to reboot or hang.

The company suggests that if you are unsure as to whether or not your system has such a board, you should first visit the Intel website and download a utility which will check your system to see if your board is affected. This utility can be found at www.intel.com/support/mth.

Should you find you have one of the affected boards you should contact the supplier who sold you the board. If it is a CC820 board, then Intel will replace it with a VC820 board, together with 128Mb of Rambus memory.

If you have a board using the 820 chipset, but produced by a third-party manufacturer, then you should contact this manufacturer for specific details of their own replacement scheme.