Why not patch the driver in software instead?
Resistor hack turns a Nvidia GTX690 into a Quadro K5000 or Tesla K10
61–70 of 196 posts
Re: Resistor hack turns a Nvidia GTX690 into a Quadro K5000 or Tesla K10
#62The corresponding reddit thread is quite insightful: "It is far cheaper to make one very good chip for the highest market, and modify it slightly for lower end markets... Now, this is the part you hate: this is the only viable alternative. There's no point demanding different designs for different market segments as that would significantly increase the cost you, the consumer, pays. You can demand chips be sold at lo…
If you're linking to a specific Reddit comment, please link to the actual comment, not just the post it's a comment on.
Re: Resistor hack turns a Nvidia GTX690 into a Quadro K5000 or Tesla K10
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not about principles, it's about economics. This is a matter of price discrimination. Nvidia wants to be sure they have a chance to sell their gear to every single person who has money to spend on graphics cards at a range of price points. Consumers have smaller wallets than professionals, but both have similar needs. So the company performs a "hack" that allows them to extract maximum revenues from each segment…
Yes. That's a wonderful rhetoric, but really what it's saying is that the only people who don't deserve being screwed are the people that make it a hobby to tinker. There's many other areas of life to specialize in, not just technology/engineering side of things. I think general fair play trumps an incentive to learn and hack.
I can also see this in the obligatory car example: your car has the same engine as a nicer model but is just de-tuned with software. Is buying a Mercedes C63 AMG and flashing the ECU to unlock more horsepower effectively "stealing" the SL63 that has the full horsepower unlocked? Of course not, because you still have a C63 and not the SL. In the case of the GPU, you not only get no "professional level" support; you void your warranty (this second part probably also applies to the car).
Is a professional going to risk it to save a few bucks? I'd bet not.
Re: Resistor hack turns a Nvidia GTX690 into a Quadro K5000 or Tesla K10
#64This was compared to software that ships with all the features but requires a serial number to unlock the good ones. However I think this is different, and I think modifying hardware in this way is considerably more moral than using keygens to unlock software. It's hard to exactly state why I feel that this hardware mod is entirely moral behavior while software piracy is not but it's hard to put my finger on the righ…
This makes sense because "buying" software is different than "buying" hardware.
When you buy (a license to use) software, (at least nowadays), you're paying for the right to use the software, not the actual bits on the disc/file.
When you buy hardware, you're paying for the materials and manufacturing effort that produced a physical thing.
Given that mass reproducing hardware is non-trivial compared to software, there is often little/no/paper-thin DRM on hardware. Thus the OP could modify his graphics card.
On the other hand, look at cell phones. Given their legal connection to a service contract that is enforced with SIM cards, providers have a convenient form of DRM to enforce limitations on modifications.
Re: Resistor hack turns a Nvidia GTX690 into a Quadro K5000 or Tesla K10
#65I thought the common knowledge on why the "workstation" cards were more expensive than the gaming cards was that you're paying for the driver development for the pro cards (extra stability testing, CAD software compatibility or whatever). What this guy is doing here is just changing what driver the card tells the computer to use.
So really, this is equivalent to software piracy/unlocking software with a product key. He's not changing the actual capabilities of the hardware, just what driver software it unlocks.
Re: Resistor hack turns a Nvidia GTX690 into a Quadro K5000 or Tesla K10
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
When "binning" refers to the practice of putting premium prices on parts that test as being capable of operating at higher clock speeds or lower voltages, that's good for the consumer. When it refers to die harvesting - selling the chip with a defective section disabled - that's also good for the consumer. When it refers to crippling a chip that has already passed QA, it's a symptom of insufficient competitive pressu…
When it refers to crippling a chip that has already passed QA, it's a symptom of insufficient competitive pressure. I don't know, as I'm familiar with it early in the development of a process node they sell every top-bin-SKU they can make, and as the process matures they just have too many top-bin parts. I can only guess your argument is that in a competitive market they would start dropping the price of the top-bin…
When a working chip is crippled, that's a destruction of economic value. It may be offset in the long run by helping sustain Moore's Law, but that claim is very much in need of evidence. You have to actually consider what the computer market would look like if we could now buy the flagship CPU from 3-4 years ago for little more than the marginal cost on a mature process. That level of performance is good enough for most users, and could be available for ARM kind of prices. Imagine if the Raspberry Pi were twice the price but powerful enough to be your primary machine.
Re: Resistor hack turns a Nvidia GTX690 into a Quadro K5000 or Tesla K10
#67I wonder if this can be done for Intel CPUs? I am sure one has to open the metal cover and change the resistors, since the device id comes with the complete package.
Off topic Its sad that GPUs are very bulky and dissipates heat, discourages me to buy one to play games once in a while. And expensive too.
Re: Resistor hack turns a Nvidia GTX690 into a Quadro K5000 or Tesla K10
#68The corresponding reddit thread is quite insightful: "It is far cheaper to make one very good chip for the highest market, and modify it slightly for lower end markets... Now, this is the part you hate: this is the only viable alternative. There's no point demanding different designs for different market segments as that would significantly increase the cost you, the consumer, pays. You can demand chips be sold at lo…
Lot of industries are able to survive without extensive market segmentation. Why should it not be possible for HW manufacturers?
Because it's about growth, not profitability.
Re: Resistor hack turns a Nvidia GTX690 into a Quadro K5000 or Tesla K10
#69That's funny how we feel about things: FastFood monopolist adding too much salt to its cheapest food products so it can sell less salty versions of same products at premium prices ... seems severely pathological. Hardware monopolist crippling cheapest products so it can sell non-crippled ones at premium prices ... sort of ambiguous. Legit market strategy or conning customers? Graphic design software make selling crip…
You keep using that word "monopolist." I do not think it means what you think it means.
Re: Resistor hack turns a Nvidia GTX690 into a Quadro K5000 or Tesla K10
#70The corresponding reddit thread is quite insightful: "It is far cheaper to make one very good chip for the highest market, and modify it slightly for lower end markets... Now, this is the part you hate: this is the only viable alternative. There's no point demanding different designs for different market segments as that would significantly increase the cost you, the consumer, pays. You can demand chips be sold at lo…
Reminds me of all those guys that were arrested for selling modified modems to give speed boosts to internet subscribers. The ISPs run the same pipes to everyone's house, they then check the device you're renting and tighten the spigot.
I'm fine with this as a business necessity, but I really wish someone would pitch a service that only throttles me during peak times. I feel like we're tossing a bunch of idle capacity down the drain.