Want to use all the capabilities of your CPU? Then pay up!
Software upgrade vouchers are something that we're used to. A simple code can either unlock previously dormant features or it can initiate a download of upgrade files. This sort of system is used for games and even operating systems like Windows 7. But now it's being put to use in Intel CPUs.
An Engadget reader spotted on the shelves a Best Buy a $50 upgrade card that claims to upgrade the processor inside the Gateway SX2841-09e, which is a Pentium G6951 dual-core LGA1156 Clarkdale processor.
The upgrade card appears to promise an upgrade from 2- to 4-way multi-task processing and a larger cache, speeding up data-heavy applications. Specifically, that means the enabling of HyperThreading and an extra 1MB of L3 cache for a total of 4MB.
To "unlock" the full features of this CPU, a user must go to the Intel upgrade website and install the upgrade application. From there, a PIN from the upgrade voucher must be entered for the upgrade before the reboot completes the process.
Right now, this "upgradeable" CPU is being tested in select markets, so it likely isn't a sign of things to come – at least not in the enthusiast high-end.
How do you feel about this kind of model? Do you feel that you should be getting 100 percent of the capabilities of the hardware you own, or are you pleased that you have an upgrade option that you can pay more for when or if you need it?
I'm not sure if this is a dull idea or not, it could be like me buying an 8 core for £400, and then paying £100 per upgrade for another core heh. So it's like upgrading your processor without actually upgrading it physically?
I don't know.
"I wonder if we could charge for that..."
This reminds me of the ECU upgrades that are avaialble for cars that give 20% or so power increase, albeit, I'm guessing the Intel upgrade doesn't invalidate your warranty
Cheap and easy upgrade potential though so may not be so bad.
If it turns out the hardware costs cover manufacturing and then you have to pay again on top of that... no thanks.
If it turns out that you get the hardware cheaper because of the degraded performance and Intel hedge their bets on your upgrading to cover their costs... then this becomes more palatable.
The thing is, you're paying for the hardware by spec, not by potential.
so simple idea....but it will save them billions in designing and manufacturing.
And let's hope that prices will drop at that point also xD
amen