[infogulch]

You have this backwards. Well, mostly. Having a separate die is definitely not the other option. A separate die would cost millions of dollars to develop, test, and produce separately, even for a smallish feature like this. The resulting price hike to cover the R&D would push the product even farther out of the competitive market than they are now.

No, the only two options are the ones Intel and AMD have already taken: artificial segmentation via feature flags, or just opening it up entirely.

I don't really like the artificial segmentation thing but I can't seem to reconcile that feeling with my feelings on software licensing, which doesn't bother me but can be the exact same thing.

[tdb7893]

The artificial segmentation I don't like because I view it as a market failure. In a more competitive market they probably wouldn't be able to segment it like that