Intel's Costly Pentium Flaw

In 1994, Intel’s original Pentium P5 (60/66 MHz) and P54C (75–100 MHz) CPUs contained a hardware FDIV bug—a design flaw in the floating point unit’s lookup table—that led to incorrect results when dividing certain large numbers (e.g., 4,195,835 ÷ 3,145,727). The error triggered a full recall with roughly 1 million chips replaced under public pressure—ultimately costing Intel $475 million in replacement and write off expenses.

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