ASUS ready to unleash patent wardogs against its rivals

[Toddwjp]

That does not mean Asus can patent what those pins do and how to use them.

 

exactly, they can patent any extra hardware they add but they cant patent using the tools intel gave them a different way

[Peopie]

Well lets see what happens, i have the feeling its gigabyte, msi and asrock. if they are up againest gigabyte they have lost already, gigabyte have more money and they will likely use it, not sure about the other two.

 

Does gigabyte really have more money than Asus?

 

Asus sells a whole lot more than just motherboards and graphics cards. They sell tablets, phones, laptops, monitors, sound cards, routers, all in ones, full systems.

 

Doesn't gigabyte only sell Motherboards, graphics cards and high performance notebooks?

[WelshDdraig]

I have no problem with this type of Law suit. Asus used it first. But, technically, the way I see it, IMHO, it's not Asus's to patent. The pins were thought about by Intel, hence why not all the 2011 pins are used. The pins were not used by Intel since they were classed as debug pins, extra voltage & stability ect. So the way I see it, Asus took something that is optional and decided to make it a main feature on their higher end boards and patent it. It could have been done by any company, Gigabyte as an example.

 

This is just my opinion/thoughts, don't start a flame war with me, please. Thanks? 

[Ren]

After this last year I hope Asus has dug themselves into a hole so deep they won't be able to crawl out of it.

And yes, I believe Gigabyte wins on enterprise/WS and Asus picks up small fish in the pond with some 'gamers', which I believe is quickly turning towards Gigabyte's favor as well. They've got better products across the board and Asus just made the worst looking graphics cards/peripherals I've seen in a while. Better than DCU2/ROG but it's a step backwards in marketing improvements. The best they've got is overpriced motherboards and they're not even as good as Gigabyte's. Aside from that, Asus is in more markets but there's stiffer competition imo. Linksys sucks ass but I'm betting they sell 10x+ more routers than Asus' annually.

I can't see how this would go in their favor but knowing how shit ends up in the legal system, it probably will.

[Sauron]

Destroy them ASUS!

[harrynowl]

Doesn't the pin layout belong to Intel, as if I understood right it's part of the Intel engineering spec for testing.

[Trik'Stari]

-snip

 

There are physically more pins on the ASUS design. The socket itself is physically different.

That looks the be fewer pins on the asus socket.... at least to my eyes.

 

Isn't this the same socket that voids your warranty?

[The_Strict_Nein]

That looks the be fewer pins on the asus socket.... at least to my eyes.

 

Isn't this the same socket that voids your warranty?

 

Look in the bottem left hand corner. In the Intel design, there are 8 empty blocks. In the ASUS design, there are only two blocks and the rest of the space has more pins in

[Trik'Stari]

Look in the bottem left hand corner. In the Intel design, there are 8 empty blocks. In the ASUS design, there are only two blocks and the rest of the space has more pins in

OH those are empty blocks, I thought they'd been colored black

[Astralify]

So, the way I see it: Asus sues MSI, and intel sues them both for playing with powers they cannot comprehend. lol

[LlamaDom]

Wouldn't Intel technically hold the patent for this since they have the empty pins in their specification (with an intended use), so filling them would just be using Intel's design, so wouldn't this mean that Intel could sue everyone adding the pins?

 

DUH, DUH, DUUUUUH! (Dramatic change of events)

[daemonowner]

Well, how long has Asus had this OC socket? If Asus and some other companies designed the same thing separately, I don't know if the others are really in the wrong. I guess Asus designed and patented it some time before releasing the boards, and maybe they've used it in pre-X99 boards..

[mvitkun]

OH those are empty blocks, I thought they'd been colored black

So much win.

[brownninja97]

Does gigabyte really have more money than Asus?

 

Asus sells a whole lot more than just motherboards and graphics cards. They sell tablets, phones, laptops, monitors, sound cards, routers, all in ones, full systems.

 

Doesn't gigabyte only sell Motherboards, graphics cards and high performance notebooks?

Asus has had problems for a while, gigabytes total sales in everything was 100,000 less then asus but gigabyte spend way less on marketing, i remember seeing gigabyte gain way more profit this financial year then asus. There are definitely factors we dont know about as well, but hell even Palit and "Galax" are bigger then asus now. Not sure where but asus have made many poor financial decisions

[mr moose]

Doesn't the pin layout belong to Intel, as if I understood right it's part of the Intel engineering spec for testing.

 

 

Wouldn't Intel technically hold the patent for this since they have the empty pins in their specification (with an intended use), so filling them would just be using Intel's design, so wouldn't this mean that Intel could sue everyone adding the pins?

 

DUH, DUH, DUUUUUH! (Dramatic change of events)

 

Yes,  Intel owns the IP on the socket and more importantly on the CPU,  therefore it will likely be difficult for Asus to show it has IP ownership over the which pins people can use on the CPU.  The Intel reference socket means nothing, it is just that, a reference, not an IP sample, not a minimum or maximum requirement, just a reference. just like the reference cooler on a video card.  

 

In this scenario about the only thing I can see Asus legitimately owning is the trade mark "OC Socket".  But I guess we'll see how it all pans out.

[kuddlesworth9419]

Good for ASUS. They did it first, they own this technology.

Asus didn't come up with it. Intel had that feature on all of it's test boards. Asus just decided to use that feature and say it will help with extreme overclocking. That feature also voids your warranty with Intel which is probably a good thing.

[Maslofski]

its a non reference design, so it just seems fair for them to keep it

[Mooshi]

Isn't extra pins kind of suspect and not proper spec? Eh whatever. Next new build, I'm going to grab a Gigabyte or MSI board to avoid drama drama.

[Enderman]

Asus didn't come up with it. Intel had that feature on all of it's test boards. Asus just decided to use that feature and say it will help with extreme overclocking. That feature also voids your warranty with Intel which is probably a good thing.

ASUS came up with the idea to experiment using those extra empty pin spots in the intel socket. They found that it was beneficial, so they decided to 'customize' the socket for better performance. Also the warranty doesn't matter because no intel CPU will fail in less than 3 years, plus ASUS will pay for a replacement if you say that intel won't give you the warranty because you overclocked it too far on an ASUS motherboard.

[Scia]

Yay AppleSUS go for it !

 

Srsly, as Intel specified, it's a similar change to the "stock system" as something like a better VRM design.

 

The CPU has the contacts for additional pins. So if anything Intel should sue ASUS, they had it first.

[ForFour]

I really don't understand why people are happy about what Asus are doing. I completely understand why they do it from a business perspective. But from a consumer perspective I think this is bad because should they win there will be no competition for Asus thus allowing them to sell at higher prices.

 

Tbh I hate this patent thing. I think when you invent some new technology you shouldn't want to keep it to yourself you should be like "Hey, I invented this new awesome stuff, anybody wanna have it and play around with it?". Why can't we people work together to achieve greater things.

[kuddlesworth9419]

ASUS came up with the idea to experiment using those extra empty pin spots in the intel socket. They found that it was beneficial, so they decided to 'customize' the socket for better performance. Also the warranty doesn't matter because no intel CPU will fail in less than 3 years, plus ASUS will pay for a replacement if you say that intel won't give you the warranty because you overclocked it too far on an ASUS motherboard.

Yea but it doesn't mean Asus can patent the idea behind using something that already exists. Intel could because they created the socket but it's not meant to be a feature of the socket to begin with it was just for testing while in production of their chips. I would imagine most of Intels generation boards have the same feature. 

[Enderman]

Yea but it doesn't mean Asus can patent the idea behind using something that already exists. Intel could because they created the socket but it's not meant to be a feature of the socket to begin with it was just for testing while in production of their chips. I would imagine most of Intels generation boards have the same feature. 

I'm pretty sure intel has socket 2011-3 patented, but this is essentially NOT socket 2011-3.

It has more pins, so it would be something like modified socket 2033 or something. It is not the original socket, so intel doesn't own it, ASUS does.

 

This is like making a custom mount for a car engine so it performs better. Sure the stock mount is patented by the makers of the car, but this is modified. Which is why intel will not cover warranty on it.

[kuddlesworth9419]

I'm pretty sure intel has socket 2011-3 patented, but this is essentially NOT socket 2011-3.

It has more pins, so it would be something like modified socket 2033 or something. It is not the original socket, so intel doesn't own it, ASUS does.

 

This is like making a custom mount for a car engine so it performs better. Sure the stock mount is patented by the makers of the car, but this is modified. Which is why intel will not cover warranty on it.

I believe something needs to be clarified because I was under the impression that Intel made the CPU's not Asus. Why would Intel add an extra pin to their CPU's that had no function until Asus came along and said this would help with overclocking. The extra pin was used for the development of the 2011-3. 

[Sonefiler]

Does gigabyte really have more money than Asus?

Asus sells a whole lot more than just motherboards and graphics cards. They sell tablets, phones, laptops, monitors, sound cards, routers, all in ones, full systems.

Doesn't gigabyte only sell Motherboards, graphics cards and high performance notebooks?

Check their website. They sell more than that.

Also, I think they're one of Apple's OEMs.