Digital Home Thoughts: Yes, That Software Really Can Upgrade Your CPU

"Hold onto your hyperthreaded horses, because this is liable to whip up an angry mob -- Intel's asking customers to pay extra if they want the full power of their store-bought silicon. An eagle-eyed Engadget reader was surfing the Best Buy shelves when he noticed this $50 card -- and sure enough, Intel websites confirm -- that lets you download software to unlock extra threads and cache on the new Pentium G6951 processor."

I am of two minds about this whole concept. On the surface, I can see why a lot of people are upset over this, many promising that AMD will now be their CPU of choice. On the other hand, it does make business sense, and for the typical consumer, especially one on a budget. I guess I have to side with Intel on this one. I cannot see how it would affect the hardcore geek, who would either avoid this CPU altogether, or buy one and "upgrade" it through various means. For your everyman, it means that they can get something on budget, and later, when they have more money they can simply "upgrade" their CPU without having to pay an expert to open up your computer and swap CPUs or the more likely option, just buy a new computer when the old one is too slow, spending way more money than is needed. I just wish that the upgrade they performed was more substantial than what it does with a bit more cache and hyper-threading. I personally do not see myself ever buying a CPU based on this concept, but know some who could benefit. Anyone else?