Intel Responds to Overclocking on Non-Z Series Motherboards

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Intel is placing the “final touches” on a CPU microcode update that will be removing “Non-Z OC” capabilities on Intel Bxx and Hxx motherboards.

The past few months have seen a wide variety of motherboard manufacturers provide the aptly named “Non-Z OC” BIOS updates that allow users to overclock Intel’s “K” processors on Bxx and Hxx chipset motherboards.

Considering that Intel officially sanctions overclocking on the more expensive Z87 chipset motherboards, and that “Non-Z OC” functionality could potentially threaten the company’s revenue, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they are currently “placing the final touches” to a CPU microcode update that aims to remove this capability from non-Z87 motherboards.

With regards to actually deploying the update, Intel can be expected to either push the “fix” to relevant motherboard vendors with instructions to release it as a BIOS update, or release it through a Windows Update under the tried and tested guise of a “stability update.”

25 Comments Comment from the forums
  • cburke82
    this is very very weak of intel. I have a Z77 mobo so wont effect me but if the mobo is not produced by intel they need to stop. If they want control of motherboards then they should try to be a bigger player in that market instead of backing out of it.
    Reply
  • Sangeet Khatri
    This is not done.. I mean why the hell do the companies like Intel try to be so closed. As cburke82 said, they do not make these motherboard, hence they should just stay away from this stuff.

    Really Intel is a great chip manufacturer but why do you have to be so closed in everything. I mean Intel also locks the Overclock multiplier in their chips for no real reason just because they want to make more profit by making people get only the thing that they want to sell.

    I mean look at AMD, almost all of their chips have unlocked multiplier and they don't ever Interfere with any of the Motherboard manufacturer and does not peek their nose in everything else. They just launch great chips and let the other manufacturers do whatever they want to.

    I really hate when good companies try to control everything according to their liking, some other examples are Apple (iOS) when compared to the open source Android by Google.
    Why cannot every company by just open like AMD and Google are?
    Reply
  • sarinaide
    Gotta love Intel #cuethesarcasm
    Reply
  • John Bauer-1363825
    11248628 said:
    This is not done.. I mean why the hell do the companies like Intel try to be so closed. As cburke82 said, they do not make these motherboard, hence they should just stay away from this stuff.

    Really Intel is a great chip manufacturer but why do you have to be so closed in everything. I mean Intel also locks the Overclock multiplier in their chips for no real reason just because they want to make more profit by making people get only the thing that they want to sell.

    I mean look at AMD, almost all of their chips have unlocked multiplier and they don't ever Interfere with any of the Motherboard manufacturer and does not peek their nose in everything else. They just launch great chips and let the other manufacturers do whatever they want to.

    I really hate when good companies try to control everything according to their liking, some other examples are Apple (iOS) when compared to the open source Android by Google.
    Why cannot every company by just open like AMD and Google are?

    It's all about $$$. Making money in a business is vital, but when it starts interfering with the customers, then you become a company like Zynga.
    Reply
  • smeezekitty
    This is quite pathetic of intel. If they want to stop it they need to fix their chipset and write off the current users.

    Trying to deploy a secret update is appalling.

    In any case I virtually never update my BIOS and choose which windows updates to install because "if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it"
    Reply
  • SchizoFrog
    To be honest I find the type of comments here to be unjust. At the end of the day Intel spend billions on development and ultimately it is THEIR product, why shouldn't they dictate the rules? Be glad there is overclocking at all.
    Reply
  • cburke82
    11250010 said:
    To be honest I find the type of comments here to be unjust. At the end of the day Intel spend billions on development and ultimately it is THEIR product, why shouldn't they dictate the rules? Be glad there is overclocking at all.

    Well again its not THEIR product. If MSI sells me a mobo then Intel has no business trying to force an update causing me to lose some functions.
    Reply
  • apache_lives
    Its marketing and market domination

    If you were in control of Intel wouldn't you want that extra ivory back scratcher?
    Reply
  • smeezekitty
    11250010 said:
    To be honest I find the type of comments here to be unjust. At the end of the day Intel spend billions on development and ultimately it is THEIR product, why shouldn't they dictate the rules? Be glad there is overclocking at all.

    Would it bother you if company henchman snuck into your house and disabled your television because it was "too functional"?

    Its not quite that bad in the digital world but the concept is essentially the same: Once it is in users hands, it isn't your place to be disabling features.
    Reply
  • Morkintash
    Just why would they do that? Does Intel get some sort of bonus from other motherboard manufactures if the consumers bought a Zxx motherboard over Bxx and Hxx?
    I figured that if people are able to over clock perfectly fine on these "non-Z" motherboards, than there would be more consumers willing to buy the more expensive non locked processors.
    Reply