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When it comes to add-ons, EA and its nickel-and-dime strategy to expandable video game content is generally considered king of the unlockable roost. But adding functionality via paid downloads doesn't only work for Xbox 360 games – it works for CPUs, too! Intel introduced the idea of boosting CPU performance via a software upgrade last year with the Pentium G6951. It must've been a success, because the chipmaker's offering the same service for three more of its products.
AnandTech pointed us to the "Intel Upgrade Service" page on Intel's website, which supplied the details. Check out the chart above to see what upgrading the Core i3-2312M, Core i3-2102M and Pentium G622 achieves. Intel ran the processors through a number of benchmark tests both before and after enhancement and reported anywhere from 10 – 23 percent increases in speed, with the Pentium seeing the most drastic changes. You can check it all out on the Upgrade Service page.
Reading the site, it seems like the process will be the same for the new upgrades as it was for the Pentium G6951; you'll need to purchase a physical upgrade card at a store, then run Intel's installer and enter the scratch-off code manually. Intel hasn't released pricing for the new upgrades, but if they're in line with the Pentium G6951 offering, expect the service to cost around $50.
Comments are closed on this article
DDRDiesel
August 16, 2011 at 5:52am
Allow me to explain something you people don't understand:
They sell these processors UNDERCLOCKED on purpose in budget machines. Then, with the help of these cards that can be purchased at a later date, the performance in the chip is unlocked and now works at it's full potential. I think it's a great idea. After all, how many people buy Pentium and Celeron chips in LAPTOPS for overclocking anyway?
DDRDiesel
August 16, 2011 at 5:52am
Allow me to explain something you people don't understand:
They sell these processors UNDERCLOCKED on purpose in budget machines. Then, with the help of these cards that can be purchased at a later date, the performance in the chip is unlocked and now works at it's full potential. I think it's a great idea. After all, how many people buy Pentium and Celeron chips in LAPTOPS for overclocking anyway?
HeartBurnKid
August 15, 2011 at 3:17pm
i can't wait for some hacker to come up with a keygen for this. The ensuing legal battle will be epic.
Brad Nimbus
August 15, 2011 at 11:55am
lol kings of the unlockable roost.
Brad Chacos you are officially my favorite MaximumPC online editor type person. :P
Seriously though on one hand I'm not a big fan of this. If you pay top dollar for hardware it should work at its highest potential right from the box. I love intel and I love my 2600k but if I had to pay to overclock that would be some major bullshit. On the other hand the first processor looks to be a mobile setup and in my opinion that would be pretty cool. Check out the price difference between a i3 laptop and an i5 laptop, yes the i3 will never be as fast but a $50 upgrade is much better than a $200 one.
somethingelse
August 15, 2011 at 11:50am
Yo Intel. Can you release an update for my i5-760 to allow VT-d? I don't care about the HT or faster clocks, I just want VT-d so I can do VGA Passthrough in Xen. Or are you waiting for me to shell out $300 for an i7-870 instead?
Holly Golightly
August 15, 2011 at 11:34am
This is a terrible business practice. Processors should be able to overclock at the owner's will. Greed, greed, greed. AMD all the way. Go team red!!!
