Intel Rolls Out Three More ‘Upgradeable’ Processors

Last September, Intel rolled out its first-ever ‘upgradeable’ desktop processor, Pentium G6951, and since then, the company has kept quiet about its potential successes or follow-up products. Given this, and also the fact that the G6951 and idea behind it was rather controversial, it lead many to believe that both were dead in the water.

With a recent update to its ‘Retail Upgrades’ page, however, Intel has proven once again that it’s unwise to ever assume anything in the technology industry. The company just launched one mobile and two desktop models that can take advantage of the program, and like the Pentium G6951, all three are low-end models before and after their respective upgrades.

With the G6951, an upgrade would enable HyperThreading and a larger cache, but the latest launches work a little differently. Rather than unlock HyperThreading, all three models will experience a frequency boost after-the-fact, while the mobile chip, Core i3-2312M, will also see a cache boost. Intel doesn’t seem to divulge the actual increases in MHz either of the upgrades will produce, but judging by the company’s promises of a +10~23% performance increase, it’s likely to be between 200MHz~400MHz.

Although the aspect of an upgradeable processor is simple, Intel leaves out some specific details on its website about how one can even acquire the required ‘upgrade card’ to take advantage, or the pricing. I looked at a couple of different e-tailer websites, and couldn’t find anything on any of them. It can be assumed that these cards will exclusively be sold at brick and mortar stores, where systems with these processors are likely to be found.

According to the official FAQ, once an upgrade card is purchased, the user can download a Windows application that will ask for the code, and once accepted, it will reboot the machine to apply the upgrade. Back at Windows, the CPU identification will be reflected as the new model in the system properties.

Interestingly, the FAQ goes on to admit that this upgrade is nothing more than a BIOS hack, as if the motherboard is replaced, the upgrade will cease to exist. On one hand, this is almost to be expected, but on the other, it’s unfortunate. If someone upgrades their CPU and has to replace the motherboard, they could very well be out of luck.

After the G6951’s launch, I hoped to see the idea of an upgradeable processor cease to exist after the next-generation launched, but I didn’t get my wish. Whether or not this will be a continuing theme with Intel, we’re unsure. It’d be easy to assume that there’s limited success to be had with a program like this, but when you consider that most people who acquire machines with these processors likely aren’t well-versed in computers and PC technology, it could be here to stay.