[citation][nom]jkflipflop98[/nom]Wow you people are idiots. AMD and Intel have been doing this since they started making chips. ALL i7 processors start off as extreme editions. Then the speed bins and features are laser-cut out to drop the chip down to it's requested bin. Not everyone wants a $1000 processor, ya know.[/citation]
Not all silicon is equal, and the numbers of actual working to spec processors made are far from 100%. Both AMD and Intel use the non-fully functional processors, test them out, and disable parts that do not work, and sell them at a lower price point. That way everyone is a wiener. I've seen people unlock the 4th core on a 3 core phenom 2, but none were fully successful at making the processor as functional as a stock 4 core it was meant to be because well, it just didn't work out.
Theres also another way, when companies see profits, they also slightly re-engineer the architecture to conserve in production, and bring us a lower price point.
To me, heres what the cards mean... They churn a massive profit from every processor, so much, that they can bring the price down for lower performance and still make money, AND to get some more money... they have select customers that are willing to pay some more. Its a way to reach every penny in your pocket. Lets say you always upgrade when your comp gets pretty old and you have enough money for a new one. This creates a way for you to artificially raise hardware performance when you notice that your comp isn't fast enough anymore. The sad part is, it doesn't change it that much, so the 50 dollar upgrade won't actually delay the big upgrade.