Intel reportedly prepping soldered desktop chips after all

[ziitch]

I just don't know about this. Being able to buy a CPU and motherboard separately made it easier to build according to certain specifications and the kind of budget you have. In the end I think it's going to be a lot more work for the motherboard companies because now that means if they create a motherboard model, they have to put ALL the motherboard + CPU combinations into consideration, determine which ones people want, and hope your predictions are right. It ends up being a risk for the motherboard companies as they could be stuck with a lot of unsold motherboards - And too many of those will make them go bankrupt. It's a risk for Intel as well, as some enthusiasts do value the ability to choose their CPU to install on their motherboard, which means several enthusiasts will likely switch to AMD if they keep the socketed designs.

 

I also noticed that there was nothing mentioned about CPU fans either. Are we still able to swap them out, or will we be stuck with the stock fans? The better CPUs tend to overheat if you use the standard stock fans, and you'll need an aftermarket cooler in those cases - They'd be almost completely shutting down an entire market if that was the case!

 

Either way, this is a move that Intel really needs to think through. IMO a complete switchover is just too much of a gamble - They're going to lose a lot of people that way. Introduce a few boards with the soldered-in CPUs first, see how the public and critics react, get some real production and sales costs instead of just speculation, and then decide from there. Personally, I think that they're going to find that the risk isn't worth the extra $25-$30 saved per board isn't worth it when motherboard companies end up making larger numbers of a motherboard model just so that are different versions that use a specific CPU (and then they end up not selling well).

Edited January 20, 2013 by ziitch

[FMod]

In the end I think it's going to be a lot more work for the motherboard companies because now that means if they create a motherboard model, they have to put ALL the motherboard + CPU combinations into consideration, determine which ones people want, and hope your predictions are right.

Quiz: How many latest architecture CPU does Intel currently manufacture?

 

No looking. Provide your own answer.

 

Seriously, can't you at least google it?

 

Four.

Dual-core with cut graphics - Celeron, Pentium, some i3

Quad-core with full graphics - Desktop i5, i7, laptop QM

Dual-core with full graphics - Laptop processors

Quad-core with cut graphics - added recently

 

 

 

 

 

This is how many models there are.

You as an enthusiast don't choose the CPU to install. You buy the same CPU that Intel decides to unlock certain features of. They aren't anything like carefully sorted by Vcore either, except for laptop ULV parts.

 

 

It ends up being a risk for the motherboard companies as they could be stuck with a lot of unsold motherboards - And too many of those will make them go bankrupt.

Oh, it actually doesn't hurt sales. It hurts mobo makers on returns, but not on this.

 

A model doesn't sell? You send some money to intel and they send you a package of CPU unlock codes. Then you can unlock them all yourself or you can put the code into the drivers, which the user has to install anyway. Bam, now instead of a bunch of lowly single-core Celeron G440 you have full-featured Core i3 2130.

 

Yes, they already have CPU unlock codes. Some models of Sandy Bridge can be turned into higher models using a program you download and a code you buy. It's a terrible deal at $50, but it's there.

 

And since chipsets are also the same silicon (in fact they'll be moved into the CPU area), they'll in all likelihood also use unlock codes for new chipsets. So a motherboard maker only needs to make

two

motherboard models. Then pay intel for a code to make it the desired chipset and CPU combo.

 

I am of course looking forward to taking stabs at signature verification algorithms... that might become the new overclocking. Or might not.

[Vecna6667]

what about faulty cpus bundled with the motherboard,

if its built into the motherboard, whats stopping them.

What's stopping them now?

 

I don't see any AMD CPU for Intel's LGA sockets or vice versa.

 

That is because Intel and AMD came to an agreement around the early 90s that made AMD CPUs require a different motherboard from Intel. Intel had sued AMD because AMD had been reverse engineering Intel's 286, 386, and 486 CPUs and selling them at as a little bit faster and cheaper than the original Intel version that could fit in the same motherboard. Intel's naming of the Pentium because they couldn't trademark a number, the shortened product cycles in the PC market, and uncertain issues of using Intel's microcode made AMD go a seperate path from Intel eventually with the K-5.