Intel will now charge for CPU features
Intel is ready to implement its new SDSi (Software-Defined Silicon) mechanism, which will allow its Xeon processors to install new features and updates immediately after purchase. Intel’s Sapphire Rapids will be the first chip series to introduce this feature and will be focused on workstations, servers, and other large devices.
These extra features and upgrades cost you extra money, and this isn’t the first time Intel has locked processor features behind a paywall. In 2010, Intel launched the “Intel Upgrade Service” and added extra clock speeds and extra cache to some Core i3 processors if you paid more.
This feature was never a hit, and Intel discontinued it after heavy backlash. The internet was furious at the impact of hardware design on microtransactions. Microtransactions are also not popular with the gaming community where you have to pay more for skins and content, especially for a game that you have already paid for.
Also Read: Intel Attacks Nvidia And AMD With Their First Graphics Cards
And it seems that history is repeating itself once more. Eric Kosovec, a programmer at GitHub said:
It’s only a matter of time before we get this onto end users’ CPUs and have to pay monthly for overclocking or even monthly for usage. You should be ashamed of yourself as a developer.
Intel doesn’t reveal much about its new processors, also defending the backlash it’s currently facing. The company’s new SDSi program is scheduled to start in spring 2022.
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