Intel wants to charge $50 to unlock stuff

Shane

Shane

Super Moderator
Staff member
Old news now (4 days old actually)...Again thats why i created the "Tech news thread" but it didnt go far,Anyway...this cant be true? :eek:

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


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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 hardware-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.
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Source:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/18/intel-wants-to-charge-50-to-unlock-stuff-your-cpu-can-already-d/

Surely this cant be true,If it is its a bad move by intel....Pirates will find a way around it :D,No way will people pay for this.
 
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Another money making exercise from intel but hey look at it this way if they are using the money to help build better processors who cares. Let the OEM computer buyers spend their money on locked OEM processor chips while us advanced users build our own riggs without any lockings. :P
 
I already didn't like intel...but now I know I'm staying with AMD. I know it's just for a few OEM machines, but stuff like this is on a slippery slope. That card is the modern equivalent of the old "golden screwdriver".
 
Stop rippin on this idea guys... it's only really affecting those who have gateways and maybe HPs. Those already have locked up BIOS and Intel's giving them a chance to push more for their money without spending a lot of money on a new chip.


It's a brilliant idea.
 
It's a good idea for OEM computers that have a locked BIOS. But other than that, if I had not already switched to AMD, i would have now.
 
StrangleHold said:
Figures, Intel would charge for something AMD lets you do for free.
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Actually with AMD its a luck of the draw... Intel is guaranteeing compatibility. Also, AMD doesnt technically let you do it for free, as AMD had banned the inclusion of ACC on 8 series chipsets, hence why manufacturers had to make workarounds to it.
 
bomberboysk said:
Actually with AMD its a luck of the draw... Intel is guaranteeing compatibility. Also, AMD doesnt technically let you do it for free, as AMD had banned the inclusion of ACC on 8 series chipsets, hence why manufacturers had to make workarounds to it.
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I agree partially with that. It is luck of the draw. But whether or not if its from the chipset or the board manufactures, its free. AMD could have banned it from the bios even on the 700 series southbridge and even new boards if it put pressure on the manufactures, which probably is what Intel has done.

You know when Biostar slipped up with the ACC feature and the core unlocking started, AMD started to lock it down but backed off and just let it happen, they could have even stopped it on the hardware side.

I'm sure the manufactures of Intel chipset boards had it cross their minds too. My guess is Intel put the hammer down and dared anybody too. Then later though, well maybe on the OEM level they could make alittle money on it.
 
What Intel is doing here is not so bad if it is marketed/executed correctly. If they plan to engage the lower end economy computer, they minds well allow them to upgrade their computer without having to search around for a new CPU. Most of the lower end computer users cannot even locate their CPU, let alone their motherboard :rolleyes:.

I certainly hope it is not geared towards higher end PC's.
 
Hsv_Man said:
Another money making exercise from intel but hey look at it this way if they are using the money to help build better processors who cares.
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You should care deeply...otherwise Intel will eventually charge you $1 every time you boot your computer up. Don't laugh...this just further proves they would do it if there were enough people with that mind set.
Plus if they are targeting OEM systems I imagine the heat/power bump could possibly over-do the PSU and over heat the crappy heatsink. I mean its OEM for a reason...nothing quality about those systems.

We can only hope AMD wont follow suit...otherwise our pocket books are going to hurt a lot in the future.
 
Twist86 said:
You should care deeply...otherwise Intel will eventually charge you $1 every time you boot your computer up. Don't laugh...this just further proves they would do it if there were enough people with that mind set.
Plus if they are targeting OEM systems I imagine the heat/power bump could possibly over-do the PSU and over heat the crappy heatsink. I mean its OEM for a reason...nothing quality about those systems.

We can only hope AMD wont follow suit...otherwise our pocket books are going to hurt a lot in the future.
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I'm not sure if you've all seen the stuff intel has been up to lately. I subscribe to a couple magazines and one seems to have an article every other month on intel doing bad business and having to pay AMD millions or billions of dollars in lawsuits.
 
ScottALot said:
I'm not sure if you've all seen the stuff intel has been up to lately. I subscribe to a couple magazines and one seems to have an article every other month on intel doing bad business and having to pay AMD millions or billions of dollars in lawsuits.
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Alittle while back Intel paid AMD 1.25 billion, if AMD would drop all their lawsuits against Intel. Plus gave AMD extended licenses agreements and allowed globalfoundries to make AMD processors even if globalfoundries and AMD split completely. I think to start with AMD could only outsource 30% of processor manufacturing.

But Intel still has lawsuits hanging over there head filed federally, not directly by AMD.
 
how is intel controlling the computer? isnt it in the bios? wouldnt hp or gateway have control? someone explain this to me please
 
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