Intel wants to charge $50 to unlock stuff your CPU can already do

By +Frank B.
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Grand Master

+Frank B. Subscriber²

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Intel wants to charge $50 to unlock stuff your CPU can already do

9-18-10-intel600.jpg

Hold onto your hyperthreaded horses, because this is liable to whip up an angry mob -- Intel's asking customers to pay extra if they want the full power of their store-bought silicon. An eagle-eyed Engadget reader was surfing the Best Buy shelves when he noticed this $50 card -- and sure enough, Intel websites confirm -- that lets you download software to unlock extra threads and cache on the new Pentium G6951 processor. Hardware.info got their hands on an early sample of the chip and discovered it's actually a full 1MB of L3 cache that's enabled plus HyperThreading support, which translates to a modest but noticeable upgrade. This isn't exactly an unprecedented move, as chip companies routinely sell firmware-locked chips all the time in a process known as binning, but there they have a simpler excuse -- binned chips are typically sold with cores or cache locked because that part of their silicon turned out defective after printing. This new idea is more akin to video games that let you "download" extra weapons and features, when those features were on the disc all along. Still, it's an intriguing business model, and before you unleash your rage in comments, you should know that Intel's just testing it out on this low-end processor in a few select markets for now.

Source: Engadget

Grand Master

+jamesyfx Subscriber²

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I think this is... actually not that stupid.

If my logic is right anyway.

... Haven't loads of cheaper CPU's in the past merely been the same as the more powerful ones but with bits 'locked off'? If so this new thing might save people the hassle of buying a completely new CPU.

Feel free to roll eyes at my post but I'm sure I've heard something like that in the past. :blink:

Mentor

Electric Jolt

Posted
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This might be a good move. If they can make CPUs cheaper and then charge to unlock more potential than that basically means to round up the hackers and crack the security used and unlock it without paying more. Then we would be paying for a whole lot less for a good CPU and then easily just unlock the power it really holds without paying extra. ;)

It's like a jailbreaking your iPhone or rooting your Android phone. :D

Grand Master

metallithrax

Posted
Posted

I think this is... actually not that stupid.

If my logic is right anyway.

... Haven't loads of cheaper CPU's in the past merely been the same as the more powerful ones but with bits 'locked off'? If so this new thing might save people the hassle of buying a completely new CPU.

Feel free to roll eyes at my post but I'm sure I've heard something like that in the past. :blink:

I have heard the same - and this just seems to make sense. You buy a chip that is limited(for reasons I don't know), and they offer a cheap(ish) option to make it better. If it is cheaper than buying an equivelant chip, then I see no problem. Otherwise it is wrong.

Neowinian

phantasia

Posted
Posted

I think this is the first time I post something here!

I can imagine in the future, something like... "Want to push for those extra FPS on your gaming rig?" "Purchase the ability to increase the speed of your CPU from xGhz to yGhz!! Only 59.99$!!!"

Grand Master

+jamesyfx Subscriber²

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^Yup, I believe staff in places like Best Buy will be pushed to recommend these kinds of things in the future, along with product protection, internet security and microsoft office. :p

Great, another KPI to go with the 30+ they already have. >_>

Grand Master

+Ryster Subscriber²

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Seeing as it costs Intel exactly the same to manufacture that CPU wether you unlock those extra features or not, what justification have they got to charge more to enable things on it?

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