Intel Unlocking The P4?

[LED]

Read an article at Hardocp rumoring Intel will release an enthusiasts chip that has an unlocked multiplier. Just to take the enthusiasts market away from AMD. If NW cores could hit 4ghz.....Mmmmm. If the beast ever exists, will have to take a look at the price. But then who's to stop lil OEMs from selling them in systems clocked higher than Intels best? Doubt the unlocking thing will happen. Intel wouldnt stand for that.

Might also make Hyperthreading available in the P4s. That's pretty significant.

This sig runs too hot.

 

[eden]

Matisaro posted a few months ago such a rumor, from a cousin he claims works for Intel. He couldn't get more info due to NDA, but that there was a possibility of unlocked CPUs. Also if Dell is caught overclocking the stock speeds, Intel would pull out, and Dell would die, no?
It would be nice to see unlocked P4s, this would push AMD to also stop that silly long trick to unlock Palominos. A pencil trick would be nice, though the IHS....

--
The sound of determination is the echo of will...

 

[FUGGER]

The P4M is unlocked.

Speedstep technology reduces the multiple on the fly to reduce the machines speed. The FSB remains the same. not exactly what you wanted, just pointing out the obvious.

You are limited to what your mind can perceive.

 

[Dinski]

I don't believe. It's not logical.

<font color=orange>ÃÎËßÌ ÇÀËÚÊ ËÀÏÍÈ, ÃÎËßÌÀ ÙÀÍÃÀ ÂÄÈÃÍÈ!</font color=orange>

 

[orbz]

Unlocking the multiplier probably won't happen.

From [H]:

<i>"More Guys Talking, More things Heard:
One of the great things about “The Rumor Mill” is that, as soon as you get a good solid lead on something, you get information totally to the contrary. We posted earlier on the possibility of Intel getting ready to jump back into the enthusiast mindset themselves by not only selling CPUs that are unlocked but marketing the feature as well. We now have reports to the contrary saying that for obvious reasons, Intel will continue through with current plans, not opting to introduce unlocked processors at this time. Honestly...that is what makes “The Rumor Mill” so fun, people talk, and you hear things. Some things will pan out while others never see the light of day."</i>

<i><font color=blue>The only difference between 200 fps and 300 fps is the blink of the eyes.</font color=blue></i>

 

[svol]

Well if Intel will sell unlocked models of all speeds (even sub 2GHz) for almost the same price I can gues what will happen: there will be stores that sell those CPUs at higher speeds for the same price as the normal ones... making more profit.

Due to the current economical depression it is forbidden to laugh at work.

 

[Mordy]

Intel will release an enthusiasts chip

Thats impossible. Not to mention the other part of the rummor.
<i>This is my 666 post</i>

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by mordy on 08/01/02 02:11 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[chuck232]

666th post huh? Wow? Is that a milestone for you ?

:lol: Finally, I get a capitalized title!! WOOT!! :lol:

 

[eden]

Why are the clouds turning dark so suddenly... I am seeing red cracks too!!!

--
The sound of determination is the echo of will...

 

[shallowbaby]

sounds like the rumor is credible. intel wants market share and since they've been targeting businesses and the 'noneducated' public up until now, it seems natural that they go on to target AMD's own life line, the enthusiasts.

the problem i'm seeing is that, yes, you CAN get an unlocked p4. BUT, bet that you'll be paying a lovely price for it too. if you're a real enthusiast, it should be well worth it. and for the insanely rich, they can say the have the best cpu that kicks butt all over the place.

another dagger into hammer, and this time it may be striking the jugular. but, nah. there will always be people who like the price/performance even though its performance is half that of the best performer. "wassup fool, i oc my p4 to 5 g's today"-A.... "so, my 2.5ghz has better price/performance, poopie monster."-B

<font color=green> there's more to life than increasing its speed -Ghandi</font color=green>

 

[grassapa]

It would be cool if Intel launches enthusiast chips. if Intel is worried about companies overclocking chips and selling them at higher price, then intel should make all the companies and resellers (who sell Intel products) to implement like a "multiplier rating". what that does, is that they have to give number where the multiplier is set in the chip, that way consumers know which are overclocked, which are not.

real philosophy of life: "do onto others what you dont want them do onto you"

 

[shallowbaby]

i like to think that intel will be smart enough to go beyond that. they'll sell two version of the same cpu. the one that is unlocked and overclockable will have a higher price (like that's even possible). resellers would probably want to sell their computers cheaper, so they would choose the locked ones. enthusiasts can buy boxed ones that are unlocked. i wouldn't be surprise to see tomshardware getting their hands on one later this year.

<font color=green> there's more to life than increasing its speed -Ghandi</font color=green>

 

[shallowbaby]

i think they'll call it "P4 3GHz with TAKE! (True AMD Killer Extensions)

<font color=green> there's more to life than increasing its speed -Ghandi</font color=green>

 

[eden]

The way I see it, if resellers change the multi and sell at higher speeds, and Intel finds out, they just stop providing chips to them. The resellers would arguably die, since Intel's chips are what feed their 80% stock of chips. Threatning to remove something in the market world CAN be effective IMO.

--
Is the opportunity to earn money by working, free?

 

[slvr_phoenix]

The way I see it, if resellers change the multi and sell at higher speeds, and Intel finds out, they just stop providing chips to them. The resellers would arguably die, since Intel's chips are what feed their 80% stock of chips. Threatning to remove something in the market world CAN be effective IMO.

True enough in theory. But then, most major OEMs buy their parts OEM style. So the only OEMs that would touch it would be minor ones. (Like the shack-sized Compu-Plus! building on the corner of 4th and Main.) They're so small that it wouldn't really be feasable for Intel to track them down and shut out sales to them, if they even buy their CPUs directly from Intel.

So really, there's nothing that Intel can do.

Then again, what's to stop a shady OEM from OCing a 1.6a or 1.8a and selling them in a box as a 2.1b or 2.4b? OCing isn't <i>just</i> done through the multiplier after all.

On a personal note, I'm all for unlocked <i>retail</i> CPUs.

Bill looked down, frightened.
"I said <b>VENUS</b> fly trap."
Bill's relief was evident.

 

[imgod2u]

The P4M is unlocked.

Speedstep technology reduces the multiple on the fly to reduce the machines speed. The FSB remains the same. not exactly what you wanted, just pointing out the obvious.

This is not true. The throttling circuit on all of the P4's also reduce clockrate, but the multiplier is still locked and the FSB stays the same. The way speedstep works is by blocking every other clock, so they are not required to go through the chip. This effectively reduces heat and power consumption. It is also how the throttling on the P4's work.

"We are Microsoft, resistance is futile." - Bill Gates, 2015.