Patent ID: 7051242
Filing Date: 2006-05-23
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method of selling a partially defective processor integrated circuit comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of functional units on the integrated circuit, the functional units of functional unit types selected from the group of functional unit types consisting of integer execution units, floating point execution units, branch prediction units, address operation units, and load/store units; providing a resource status register wherein functional units of the plurality of functional units may be marked with status selected from the group consisting of enabled and disabled; testing the integrated circuit to determine which functional units are defective; programming the resource status register to mark defective functional units as disabled and remaining functional units as enabled; classifying the integrated circuit into bins according to performance available with the enabled functional units; packaging the integrated circuit; and selling the integrated circuit as capable of performance appropriate for the bin into which it was classified; wherein a functional unit of a functional unit type selected from the group of functional unit types consisting of floating point units, integer operation units, load/store units, and address operation units; may only be marked disabled and the integrated circuit sold if there is at least one remaining non-defective functional unit of the same functional unit type marked enabled.