>>13055191>There’s a couple cents of silicon difference in cost for an i3 to i7 for instancePhysically, yes, so long as you are using the same die in the same family. An i3 from the original i-series long ago isn't the same as a modern i7 10xxx series. Or even the i7 9xxx series because the transistor size is different.
>>13055430>To be frank, its a software changeYears ago that may be the case. Or upgrading from say an entry-level i3 to a faster i3 with software. Its not so cut and dry these days.
Core unlocking is very real, as it was easier to sell a quad-core as a dual-core by disabling two of them. Even GPUs could be "unlocked" by re-flashing its BIOS with that of a higher performing card to unlock data pipes for better throughput.
Of course virtually everything can be overclocked, but the limits were based on many factors.
So long as the hardware is present, you have a chance. However, the massive differences come with those hardware differences. If you have an i3 with 4 cores and no hyper-threading, you're not going to magically unlock 8 cores with hyper-threading. That's different hardware.
