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Get ready: ALL Intel based PCs will slow down by 5-30%
http://forums.winstep.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10586
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Author:  winstep [ Wed Jan 03, 2018 4:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Get ready: ALL Intel based PCs will slow down by 5-30%

"There is presently an embargoed security bug impacting apparently all contemporary [Intel] CPU architectures that implement virtual memory, requiring hardware changes to fully resolve. Urgent development of a software mitigation is being done in the open and recently landed in the Linux kernel, and a similar mitigation began appearing in NT kernels in November. In the worst case the software fix causes huge slowdowns in typical workloads."

A fundamental design flaw in Intel's processor chips has forced a significant redesign of the Linux and Windows kernels to defang the chip-level security bug.

Programmers are scrambling to overhaul the open-source Linux kernel's virtual memory system. Meanwhile, Microsoft is expected to publicly introduce the necessary changes to its Windows operating system in an upcoming Patch Tuesday: these changes were seeded to beta testers running fast-ring Windows Insider builds in November and December.

Crucially, these updates to both Linux and Windows will incur a performance hit on Intel products. The effects are still being benchmarked, however we're looking at a ballpark figure of five to 30 per cent slow down, depending on the task and the processor model.

Read more here:

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/01/0 ... sign_flaw/

Author:  MackLer [ Tue Jan 09, 2018 10:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Get ready: ALL Intel based PCs will slow down by 5-30%

winstep wrote:
"There is presently an embargoed security bug impacting apparently all contemporary [Intel] CPU architectures that implement virtual memory, requiring hardware changes to fully resolve. Urgent development of a software mitigation is being done in the open and recently landed in the Linux kernel, and a similar mitigation began appearing in NT kernels in November. In the worst case the software fix causes huge slowdowns in typical workloads."


This is insane if it's true. How about AMD? Doesn't their CPUs have the same vulnerabilities? Doesn't all this open up the posibilities of lawsuits? Since what people bought and paid for doesn't work as advertisied any more.

Author:  winstep [ Tue Jan 09, 2018 10:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Get ready: ALL Intel based PCs will slow down by 5-30%

In the past few days Intel has already gotten hit with three separate class action lawsuits. AMD CPUs are apparently not affected.

Desktop users aren't very much affected, but business users with servers in data centers are getting the worst of it. Fortnite Team posted on the Epic Games forums that the updates required to mitigate the Meltdown vulnerability were causing massive spikes in CPU utilization: they had patched one service and that caused CPU utilization to triple.

Author:  Windy [ Sat Jan 20, 2018 7:28 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Get ready: ALL Intel based PCs will slow down by 5-30%

A couple of days ago Driver Booster notified me and I allowed it to install the patch.

So far, I haven't noticed a slow down. I wonder if the affected hardware will ever be resolved with no slow down at all.

I guess AMD is looking forward to an increase in their sales. I wonder though if their hardware is better.

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