its nice to know that people are taking charge in taking care of the enviorment and can lead the way.. also we wont be sitting next to lead that is being heated... this is a really good move

I was tryin to think of a clever Superman reference but couldn't think of one

Why until now Intel is doing that?

Didn't AMD removed lead from their process many years ago?

How harmful can intel be to the environment?

That's really good . . .can't complain about that. If only the rest of the industry would follow with lead, mercury and other metals.

cool Im happy about the environmental decision and hope other companies follow this example.

Does anyone know which would be better for speed and durability:

mix of tin, silver and copper or lead?

But, is such a small amount of lead any kind of threat?

Micheal, The rest of the electronics industry has been switching to lead free for the last several years. Intel is behind the curve, at least for it's processors. Almost any electronic part can be had in a lead free form. I think it was new EU regulations that started the trend.

The small amount of lead in each processor isn't a big threat, but considering every single computer chip in every electronic device had lead, it has become a huge problem.

a small amount of lead in a processor might not be bad on a personal level, but multiply that by the literally millions of processors they sell on a yearly basis and how, in about 3-4 years they'll all end up in the junk heap. That's a lot of lead.

Doesn't this introduce the possibility of tin whiskers?

"But, is such a small amount of lead any kind of threat?" -enewman

In short, yes.

Remember how many millions of chips Intel makes. Even if there are very small amounts of lead per chip when you add the millions of chips together which will eventually be scrap it adds up quick.

no matter how small the amount of lead....just take into consideration the number of people who have pc's.....and look at it from that perspective

lead=better durability ,better soldering .
ex: military soldering it's all lead .

lead soldering(wave soldering) it's cheaper 1/2 pricea at least .

lead is found naturally in the enviroment,
if the chips are scrapped what the lead in them and the lead in the ground. who gives a shit

What you forget is that the lead is changed from its natural state just like uranium is. It becomes more toxic than normal. Which ends up bad for trees, animals and humans. Imagine the lead dropping into your water supply. If it comes to a point that the water is to contaminated with lead wou will become sick and could get cancer or die.

I like that they are doing this. As for if AMD did Im not too sure. If they are behind Intel in technology and fabrication then I doubt it. But if they did then great.

As for which will perform better, I belive the mix with silver would as it is a better conductor. Not as good as gold but has a higher heat resistance than gold does. SO I think that losing the lead solder would make fabbing a lil harder but would be more beneficial than lead.