Intel to Charge 50 USD for Unlocking CPU Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sun 19th Sep 2010 20:32 UTC, submitted by sawboss
Intel On a Windows Vista or Vindows 7 disk, all versions of the operating system are present, from Starter to Ultimate, and everything in between. So, if you want too upgrade to a more capable version of Windows down the road, all you need to do is pop the Windows disk in, let Windows Anytime Upgrade do its thing, and you're done. It seems like Intel is experimenting with a similar technology... For its processors.
E-mail Print r 1   · Read More · 101 Comment(s) http://osne.ws/idn
Thread beginning with comment 441764
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
RE[2]: This is nothing new...
by tylerdurden on Mon 20th Sep 2010 08:14 UTC in reply to "RE: This is nothing new..."
tylerdurden
Member since:
2009-03-17

No, what you described is only a part of the binning process. Not all binning is done to increase yield by creating SKUs which can reuse parts which are not 100% compliant.

By the time a process is mature enough, most manufacturers will actually sell literally the same part at different speed/performance grades that have nothing to do with the functionality of the part and more to do with the specific price targets the manufacturer wants to hit.

For example, many SOC parts are now sold with specific sections/functionality of the chip disabled to meet price points for specific models. Even though, technically most of those SOCs are fully 100% functional. It is cheaper to do the disabling before the packaging stage than creating a new mask/fab line for a specific iteration of the SOC.

Reply Parent Score: 2