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My understanding is that binning is mostly about core count and core operating frequency.

Intel has a hard-on for segmenting their product lines. To the point they "launch" new products like the i9, which is just what an i7 used to be. They also deliberately cripple products, like selling SKUs with VT-x disabled. Not to mention them keeping ECC memory out of the entire desktop market for basically all of history.

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I'm sure part of that is just marketing segmentation, but significant binning does take place. If VT-x is disabled, that may indicate that there were some defects in the location that those circuits inhabit.

Stuff like virtualization features and Hyperthreading are responsible for such a tiny fraction of extra die area and so deeply entwined with critical functionality that it's extremely unlikely for a given part to need to be binned on the basis of whether that feature works or not. Intel would never amass enough broken-HT but otherwise good chips to provide the impetus for an extra SKU.

I don't know any more than the general public, but I would assume VT-X and VT-D is actually just microcode.

> They also deliberately cripple products, like selling SKUs with VT-x disabled

Ha, that has been a long time, no? I remember buying a computer with a Q8300 in 2008 or so and there I had to assure a specific revision.

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