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


Recommended Posts

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?

Because they want to make more money?

^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. >_>

I think if you are trying to defend the hyper-consumerism of this lifestyle, then it may have affected your morality. Don't get me wrong, I like getting the latest gadgets and fashions and everything else, but I vote with my dollar where I can, and I think we need to find solutions to things like this.

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

I'm you on that one.

I truly don't see the big deal...

If a CPU is $150 and a faster (higher clock speed, more Lx Cache, etc.) is $200, then what's the difference between paying to upgrade the CPU? Thing is, you only spend that $50 and get MORE performance, instead of another $150 PLUS $50... it also gives consumers more choices... buy the cheaper hardware and maybe a month or two down the road decide they need a little more juice. Definitely more cost effective than purchasing a new system all together or a replacement CPU.

I think if you are trying to defend the hyper-consumerism of this lifestyle, then it may have affected your morality. Don't get me wrong, I like getting the latest gadgets and fashions and everything else, but I vote with my dollar where I can, and I think we need to find solutions to things like this.

I'm not defending it at all, I'm just adding a bit more depth to the thread. It's no good if everyone says how much they hate Intel because of this. :p

I'm not defending it at all, I'm just adding a bit more depth to the thread. It's no good if everyone says how much they hate Intel because of this. :p

Oh I know, I wasn't implying you defended which is why I included if :)

It's just people should make an effort to be more informed of what they're buying, this is clearly for those who just want to buy a computer but do not have enough general knowledge about cache sizes or the architecture of their cpu. It should matter to them if they want the most for their money.

its Intel copying Apple business model? for anything stupid, Apple charge you a lot of money.

Apple wouldn't have the balls to do this. Their computers are already outdated on launch :laugh:

Makes sense: you still have a range of different CPUs with different price tags, only that you can upgrade later instead of buying a whole new CPU.

On Intel's side, they can offer several options with a single production line (which they have always done, anyway, only that you couldn't "upgrade" them).

"Where can I download more CPU", anyone? :rofl:

This is like buying a car and not being able to drive it unless you buy a steering wheel. Once bought, the car is yours to keep and do whatever you want with it, but if you want to unluck its full capacities (like driving), you'll need to spend $300 more ($50 in Intel's case).

This is just over the top.

It's not as bad as the 486SX. You got a crippled 486 (coprocessor disabled) soldered to the motherboard and in order to upgrade it you bought a normal 486DX and plugged it into a second socket (which completely disabled the onboard SX chip). Terrible setup.

seems like a prime solution in a business/manufacturing sense.

intel seems to start getting high yields in what would be high ended models. IIRC, they usually shave off defective cache memory or rerouting past defective hardware components (which stretches the critical path) on the die - causing this tier of models we see today (e.g. extereme models probably are "perfectly" manufactured which definitely has low yields -- causing a lot of dough. Every thing else is just a defective form of extreme that was altered after fabrication).

Obviously if they had more higher end yields, it would be quite stupid to permanently cripple a working device. Tiered selling and an option to unlock is a good way to keep the same system & streamline the manufacturing process.

If software can be installed to make it better, then overclockers everywhere get a decent processor with $50 knocked off, courtesy of Intel :D

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Bluesky COO warns social media regulations could destroy competition from small startups by Paul Hill Fears that increasing government control of social media risks regulatory capture by the biggest social media firms were raised again recently. Bluesky’s chief operating officer said in an interview that social media bans for children and tighter regulations for social media firms risk creating a world where there are only a few social media platforms run by companies with the deepest pockets. Regulations on social media firms have been very lax since they appeared for mainstream users in the 2000’s. This gave Meta, Snapchat, and Google time to build up their user bases and get entrenched, with Meta being the most successful. Now that Meta has succeeded, it has been attempting regulatory capture. By pushing for more regulations of social media, Meta hopes to make it more difficult for rivals to challenge it. For its part, it doesn’t need to worry about the cost of regulation because it has a lot of money to spend, whereas startups do not. Speaking to CNBC, Rose Wang, Bluesky’s chief operating officer, said: “I support the protection and the safety of youth, the question that we have then is at what cost, because essentially what I’m scared of is in the long term, we’re headed to a world where there’s about three to five platforms, and extreme heavy regulation of those platforms, and basically the whole compliance teams of these platforms are 10 times the size of our entire team. So, basically, we’re living in a world where it’s almost impossible for smaller entrants to come in and build healthier spaces. These platforms have led to a place where the bottom line is the thing that drives what they do... so I understand why governments have to step in and regulate, because the platforms have done nothing right.” She said that while she is not against regulation, there needs to be more channels between the small to mid-sized players and regulators to help protect them. She says that big tech players, on the other hand, “who we know are circumventing regulation,” need to be regulated. Essentially, the Bluesky position is one of nuance, rather than absolutes. While Bluesky’s proposal may preserve competition in the social media space, it still doesn’t address the massive privacy implications these age verification measures introduce, such as handing over sensitive identity documents to access age-gated content. Source: CNBC
    • it dosnt support onprem exchange. it dosnt support mapi-calls. the views are all worse/limited. its slower. it cant see public folder calendars. we already have webmail. the list of other missing features is pretty huge but i only see it when customers call to say their email isnt working, and 9/10 times its cause they accidentality changed to outlooknew(new). Hold the line everyone!
    • yeah, this looks beautiful. Damn this winter's going to be great.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      DJC50PLUS earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      DJC50PLUS earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Proficient
      Eric Biran went up a rank
      Proficient
    • Dedicated
      Conjor earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Week One Done
      Windows Guy earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      493
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      249
    3. 3
      Steven P.
      71
    4. 4
      +Edouard
      70
    5. 5
      ATLien_0
      69
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!