Intel had planned to deliver its new 875P chipset and a matching new 3GHz Pentium 4 processor on Monday, paving the way for a number of new desktop and workstation models from PC makers including Dell , HP and Gateway.

Intel has "seen some anomalies, and we're going to put the 3GHz Pentium 4 on ship hold, temporarily," said George Alfs, a company spokesman. "We're investigating (the problem) and hope to be shipping soon."

These problems do not affect current chips, such as the 3.06GHz Pentium 4, which has been shipping since November, he said.

PC makers have inventory of the new 3GHz chip, but it is unlikely any of the chips have gotten to end customers yet. Intel is still talking with PC makers about what to do with the 3GHz chips that are in the field.

Launches of complicated new processors, chipsets and other chips are subject to delays, but problems associated with Pentium 4 chips have been fairly rare. Intel postponed the introduction of the original Pentium 4 by about a month because of a minor chipset bug. The last holdup that Intel faced for a major desktop processor launch came during an intense clock-speed battle with chip rival Advanced Micro Devices, when Intel announced and then recalled its 1.13GHz Pentium III.