Well, about the recall. Kinda. It's now letting some manufacturers buy the faulty stock, but only if the computers they build won't be impacted by the flaw.

I can't decide whether this is genius or insanity.

Here's the case for genius: The exact flaw relates to two specific SATA 3 Gbps data lines offered by the chipset but the chipset has other SATA lines too. In a notebook computer, for example, only two 6Gbps SATA connections will ever get used--one for the hard disk and one for the optical drive. There won't even be the physical sockets for any additional SATA storage. So if manufacturers don't use the faulty ports, they'll have a fully functioning computer.

Additionally, Intel is probably selling the "faulty" silicon for a knock-down price, and that could mean lower-priced yet cutting-edge hardware for all of us (hooray!).

Here's the case for insanity. Intel has effectively tiered its 6-Series "Cougar Point" chipsets into two ranges: broken and fixed. If you buy a new computer with a Sandy Bridge chip in the coming year, you will have to ask the sales representative if it has the good or bad chipset.