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

By +Frank B.
in Back Page News

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Grand Master

ichi

Posted
Posted

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.

I you want to go with car analogies, it's more like buying a car and then paying to get the ECU tuned or upgraded. The car was working perfectly fine when you bought it, same as with the CPU, and you got exactly what was advertised. It just happens that you can pay more to get some extra performance without replacing the engine/CPU with a new one.

Experienced

7Dash8

Posted
Posted

I don't see anything wrong with this. Intel thought it was feesable and consumers will pay to upgrade.

OMG you don't see anything wrong with a company trying to make money?? Intel is evil, this is an evil idea. It should be free like everything else.

Grand Master

webeagle12

Posted
Posted

this is way too funny.... i bet they learned that from airlines....

watch me... once this go through and people fall for it, it's going to be like airline business. They will start adding extra fees for everything. sad....

Community Regular

Mr aldo

Posted
Posted

Why not? You get several editions of Windows on a DVD these days so why not do the same with hardware?

No, that is somewhat different. You have to pay a different price for different versions of Windows (though the pricing ought to be different ._. W7 Starter ought to be no more than $50 :p), and unless Intel knocks $50 every processor they do this on, it's bologna!

Experienced

Nihilus

Posted
Posted

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.

+1

Hackers will hack this so yeah. This will fail because of that.

I wouldn't be so sure, you don't see people unlocking the multipliers on non-extreme chips so I don't see why Intel couldn't lock other features.

Grand Master

Rigby

Posted
Posted

I wouldn't be so sure, you don't see people unlocking the multipliers on non-extreme chips so I don't see why Intel couldn't lock other features.

Really big difference between chips that are physically locked and this which is designed to be unlocked via software.

Grand Master

Buttus

Posted
Posted

so now you can buy a computer with 1 core, 1 gig of ram, 8x speed DVD drive, etc...

but you can pay extra to unlock a couple cores, a few gigs of ram, speed up your DVD drive...

like a custom built computer, with no building involved!

LOL :pinch:

Grand Master

rajputwarrior

Posted
Posted

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

they would and have. remember people with ipod touch's having to pay for firmware/OS updates?

Grand Master

cork1958

Posted
Posted

I'm currently looking into building a new computer. I was leaning towards Intel but after seeing this, my new rig will now be AMD. Sorry Intel but after seeing this I will not be purchasing any of your CPU's in the future.

AMD has always ruled anyway!!

Intel is just a con job business now a days.

Grand Master

ahhell

Posted
Posted

AMD has always ruled anyway!!

Intel is just a con job business now a days.

:rolleyes:

So considering that nothing AMD has out now can even remotely compete with an I7 means nothing right?

Grand Master

Motoko.

Posted
Posted

:rolleyes:

So considering that nothing AMD has out now can even remotely compete with an I7 means nothing right?

I don't hear anyone complaining about Phenom II's performance.

Aside the fact that performance has a partial claim in this matter, Intel's business model does not benefit consumers in anyway, they're essentially charging for what should already come with the product originally.

Grand Master

xpablo

Posted
Posted

Kind of stupid idea to begin with, why not just charge $50 more for the full power of the cpu to begin with?

Also what's next auto manufactures going to do the same? buy this 201x Mustang with 300hp off the showroom floor, but wait later on you can go to

the dealer and buy a card to get the firmware on the cars computer updated and you'll get 500 hp instantly afterwards.

It's marketing and a money grab. I've always been an Intel fan boy, I'll stay the course for now, but if Intel starts stupid moves like this with their

mainstream proccessors it maybe be time to go AMD.

Collaborator

sic133

Posted
Posted

It's a gimmick, plain and simple. Unlocking functionality for something that is already in the product is stealing. It's like buying a brand new car and they tell you you can only open 1 door (the driver's) but it has 4. They will sell you a special key so you can open the other three for a *minimal fee.

*minimal fee = a few thousand.

It's immoral and wrong. Stop it, Intel. You know better.

Collaborator

sic133

Posted
Posted

Yet, AMD's processors are still garbage. I'll keep my Intel Xeon. ou can have your weak 6 core AMD processors.

And yet, you go and take the discussion to where it was not intented in the first place. The topic is about Intel's business practices, not their performance. Nothing beats the i7, yes, we know that.
Grand Master

Draconian Guppy

Posted
Posted

Yet, AMD's processors are still garbage. I'll keep my Intel Xeon. you can have your weak 6 core AMD processors.

et, AMD's processors are still garbage. I'll keep my Intel Xeon. ou can have your weak 6 core AMD processors.

Old System: CPU: AMD Athlon X2 64 3800+ 2.00GHz, Mobo: HP a1700n Video: nVidia GTS250 512MB, RAM: 2.5GB DDR2 533, HDD: 2x500GB + 1x120GB

New System: CPU: Intel Xeon x3440 2.53GHz, Mobo: EVGA P55 LE Video: nVidia GTS250 512MB, RAM: 4GB DDR3 1333, HDD: 2x500GB

Technology is very unpredictable, couple of years intel was king of the hill, then amd, then intel, then amd and for teh time being intel. Your sig is proof :)

And I don't mind not buying an UBER ultra fast intel i9 when I can have a better bang for buck, withouth having to pay extra for it!

Community Regular

murkurie

Posted
Posted

It's a gimmick, plain and simple. Unlocking functionality for something that is already in the product is stealing. It's like buying a brand new car and they tell you you can only open 1 door (the driver's) but it has 4. They will sell you a special key so you can open the other three for a *minimal fee.

*minimal fee = a few thousand.

It's immoral and wrong. Stop it, Intel. You know better.

no, this is more like upgrading the ecu as someone said or tuning the engine for more power, only opening 1 door, would be reduced functionality, this is performance there selling

Collaborator

sic133

Posted
Posted

no, this is more like upgrading the ecu as someone said or tuning the engine for more power, only opening 1 door, would be reduced functionality, this is performance there selling

It's exactly what this is! The CPU is already capable of certain performance when it leaves the factory but they reduce or lock -whatever you want to call it- (either Ghz speed, cores, etc) so that you can UNLEASH the full functionality (what you paid for in the first place ;) ) for a little more. Think about it, it's not the same as upgrading, don't let them confuse ya.
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