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Weekend tech reading: Intel to sell CPU upgrades via software
Intel to offer CPU upgrades via software for selected models Intel has posted an upgrade service page on their website which indicates that Intel will again be offering upgradeable CPUs. This is not totally unheard of since Intel offered a similar service for Pentium G6951 a year ago. Back then, $50 bought you Hyper-Threading and 1MB more L3 cache, and the SKU of the CPU changed to G6952. This time Intel has expanded the lineup and the upgrade service is available for three CPUs... AnandTech
Leaked AT&T letter demolishes case for T-Mobile merger Yesterday a partially-redacted document briefly appeared on the FCC website --accidentally posted by a law firm working for AT&T on the $39 billion T-Mobile deal (somewhere there's a paralegal looking for work today). While AT&T engaged in damage control telling reporters that the document contained no new information -- our review of the doc shows that's simply not true. Broadband Reports
Mario pressured to jump to iPhone as Nintendo Wii, 3DS slump In "Super Mario 3DLand," Nintendo will make its iconic Italian plumber battle turtle-like Koopa Troopas on its 3-D player. The company instead should develop titles for Apple's iPhone, investors say. The rift highlights the dilemma President Satoru Iwata faces as consumers shun Nintendo devices to play games on iPhones, iPads and Facebook website. Bloomberg
Hands on with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive A few back reports surfaced on the internet that Valve was inviting top CSS players and select community leaders to their headquarters. The purpose of the meeting was completely unknown to everyone and speculation ran wild but we knew something important was brewing. Yesterday, August 11th, we all found out why we were here. ESEA News
Apple to eliminate printer drivers Apple has filed two patent applications that describe an approach as well as file formats and APIs to eliminate the printer driver as a requirement for users to access a printer and print documents. Software drivers have been one of the big inconveniences in mainstream computing. ConceivablyTech
Windows Security wrap-up: praise for Vista and a historic first It’s not often that you hear the words “Windows Vista” and “world-leading” in the same sentence. So security expert Chris Paget’s ringing testimonial for Windows at last week’s Black Hat conference is newsworthy. CNET’s Seth Rosenblatt covered the talk. ZDNet
DICE confirms Origin client required for all PC copies of Battlefield 3 No matter where you buy your copy of Battlefield 3, you'll have to go through Electronic Arts' new PC gaming platform, Origin, to play. DICE has confirmed Battlefield 3 will be tethered to Origin, and that includes DVD copies of the game. GameSpy
Bing beats Google on search effectiveness While Google may control the lion's share of the search market, queries made through Microsoft's Bing search engine lead users to click on a Web page at a significantly higher rate than queries made through Google, according to data released Thursday. InformationWeek
BART San Francisco cut cell services to avert protest As politicians in London debate whether or not social media services should be shut down to prevent possible crimes, an American transit company did just that. Washington Post
Cupertino.org posts more details about Apple's new 'spaceship' campus The City of Cupertino posted more details about Apple's "spaceship" campus that was first revealed in June. The project includes the following... MacRumors
Yahoo stock drop raises takeover possibility Yahoo stock has fallen so low now that a suitor could reportedly buy it and make a profit by simply selling the stakes of Asian companies it is invested in. TechFlash
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User Comments (29)
Post a comment|
negroplasty
on August 14, 2011 3:31 PM |
Not to me they aren't. |
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Guest
on August 14, 2011 3:37 PM |
Ditto. I mean, where the hell does it stop ? FFS, Intel's profit is in the 12 billion dollars range. |
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Mizzou
on August 14, 2011 3:54 PM |
Good grief, next you'll be paying to unlock a core at a time. |
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Guest
on August 14, 2011 4:45 PM |
LOL, when you buy a hardware product like a CPU, the hard earned money you pay for it should include everything! What a total scam. |
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RH00D
on August 14, 2011 5:31 PM |
This is why I'm glad I gave my money to AMD instead. inb4 AMD sucks. |
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Archean
on August 14, 2011 5:49 PM |
Not that I feel vindicated, but generally I always found that I hardly ever need to look beyond first few search results to find what I am looking for. +Mizzou May be someone is smoking something very strong at Intel, to come up with such ****. |
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red1776
on August 14, 2011 6:13 PM |
I'm saving up to get the L3 cache!!! I cant wait! |
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RH00D
on August 14, 2011 6:56 PM |
red1776 said: I'm saving up to get the L3 cache!!! I cant wait! Sarcasm detected. (I hope.) |
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Mizzou
on August 14, 2011 6:58 PM |
I'm saving up to get the L3 cache!!! I cant wait! I'll see your L3 cache and raise you an unlocked multiplier :p |
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red1776
on August 14, 2011 7:05 PM |
Sarcasm detected. (I hope.) yes... I'll see your L3 cache and raise you an unlocked multiplier
I don't think I can afford that! |
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Artix
on August 14, 2011 7:09 PM |
L3 cache wuts that? I still run my games on my toaster! |
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red1776
on August 14, 2011 7:14 PM |
L3 cache wuts that? I still run my games on my toaster!  Wow! you must have a 4 slicer! (Slice Line Interleave) (sounds like an old system) Oster or Voodoo |
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Mizzou
on August 14, 2011 7:15 PM |
Not that I feel vindicated, but generally I always found that I hardly ever need to look beyond first few search results to find what I am looking for.  +Mizzou May be someone is smoking something very strong at Intel, to come up with such ****. Wait a minute, does this mean my 965EE is really a Gulftown just waiting to be liberated ... I might have to reconsider |
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lawfer
on August 14, 2011 7:21 PM |
red1776 said:
L3 cache wuts that? I still run my games on my toaster! Wow! you must have a 4 slicer! (Slice Line Interleave) Hahaha |
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dividebyzero
on August 14, 2011 7:24 PM |
A few passing thoughts... 1.Seems a sizeable untapped performance reserve built into these 32nm CPU's- to be able to offer an across the board core freq increase without disturbing the TDP 2. Intels' process tech must be pretty good that even the salvage/low spec CPU's are locked down on features/core freq v TDP are an Intel choice rather than a necessity from defective dies 3. Kind of makes me wonder what range of CPU's (core, TDP, L3) we would be seeing if Intel felt that it's market dominance was under threat.
I'm saving up to get the L3 cache!!! I cant wait! The increased L3/core freq. on the 2312M > 2393M actually makes a degree of sense. Swapping out a mobile CPU is both an extreme PITA (in relation to desktop) and usually warranty voiding. The software upgrade would likely be cheaper in time, effort and cash than the hardware route. Not that many people would ever likely upgrade their laptop CPU, but at least it's an option that wasn't available before. Hopefully upgraders/service outlets dont attempt to fleece customers by offering "cheap" performance upgrades. |
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red1776
on August 14, 2011 7:30 PM |
3. Kind of makes me wonder what range of CPU's (core, TDP, L3) we would be seeing if Intel felt that it's market dominance was under threat. Could be a result of very good yields as well I suppose. Meet the price points with underclocked parts (rather than defective) with the chance of making a few more bucks later. (the difference between your assessment and mine being that I'm thinking the parts are good, just laying dormant rather than defective.) |
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dividebyzero
on August 14, 2011 10:16 PM |
(the difference between your assessment and mine being that I'm thinking the parts are good, just laying dormant rather than defective.) Strange, thats my take also.
CPU's are locked down on features/core freq v TDP are an Intel choice rather than a necessity from defective dies I got the distinct feeling that Intel were deliberately hobbling good CPU candidates just to fill out the model line-up. Sorry for any confusion if the wording didn't match the interpretation. |
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treeski
on August 14, 2011 11:41 PM |
With regards to the whole Intel debacle... is it possible we might pay less for processors and then find 3rd party routes to unlocking the otherwise locked potential? |
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gwailo247
on August 15, 2011 12:45 AM |
Well, in the case of the two non-mobile i3's, I suppose you could just overclock them, as it does not appear to offer any extra benefits in terms of cache. I guess this might be good in situations where you can't put on any aftermarket cooling, but from what I hear, these SB chips overclock really well on air alone. The mobile CPU does offer extra speed and cache, and so might not be a bad deal. As long as it does not cause the notebook to overheat. 10% performance increase for $50 is too much, 20%, puts it in the maybe category. |
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Gars
on August 15, 2011 3:07 AM |
treeski said: With regards to the whole Intel debacle... is it possible we might pay less for processors and then find 3rd party routes to unlocking the otherwise locked potential? you mean jailbreak? or even pirating? gotcha! |
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Mindwraith
on August 15, 2011 4:21 AM |
makes sense to me. this way you don't have to pay for higher processing speed if your not going to need it. |
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Guest
on August 15, 2011 5:23 AM |
As soon as the blokes from the carribean get hold of the intel unlock codes, Small clouds of smoke will rise in to the sky all over the world! Or free upgrades for all! huzzah!! |
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colinf
on August 15, 2011 6:34 AM |
Mindwraith said: makes sense to me. this way you don't have to pay for higher processing speed if your not going to need it. or...they could just sell it for that price, instead of adding a premium to unlock whats already there intel hates overclockers |
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Guest
on August 15, 2011 11:53 AM |
If people complain about a file on their disk with the payable download content, jus imagine this. |
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Archean
on August 15, 2011 12:12 PM |
intel hates overclockers If they did, they wouldn't sell K series CPUs. It is just that they want to do it for you, provided you pay them |
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