Patent ID: 8375380

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a processor to execute instructions, the processor including a plurality of hardware features, wherein at least one of the hardware features is to be enabled after a point of sale of a system including the processor, the processor further including: a first status register having a plurality of indicators each to store information regarding a system support status for one of the hardware features, wherein each indicator is of a first state to certify that the system as configured by a vendor of the system is able to support one of the hardware features; a second status register having a plurality of indicators each to store information regarding a feature enable status for one of the hardware features, wherein each indicator is of a first state to indicate presence of circuitry in the processor corresponding to one of the hardware features; and a third status register having a plurality of indicators each to store information regarding an upgraded status for one of the hardware features, wherein one of the indicators of the third status register is to be set upon successful enabling of a corresponding one of the hardware features, wherein the processor is to access a feature table comprising a centralized storage for status information available in the first, second and third status registers.