Intel updates its 6th, 7th and 8th Gen Core CPU microcodes

[adidan]

Problem is that its chunky and power hungry (for a laptop).

Aye it is a bit of a beast.

With desktop ryzen, it isn't really a laptop anymore

That is very true.

The way things are it may soon be the cheapest way to buy a gpu

[Corky34]

AMD does have its own IME equivalent called PSP so it's not really a selling point.

My understanding is that PSP is the lesser of two evils, they're both bad but from what i can tell PSP doesn't include network or file system code, it does contain an IO stub that could be used to access the network and file system but it seems AMD currently don't use it whereas ME includes modules specifically for accessing the network and file system.

[Iota]

Well, I *was* kind of sarcastic in my earlier comment, since I too believe manufacturers won't bother. HOWEVER, I could potentially see a flood of lawsuits coming if manufacturers deliberately won't distribute fixes for potentially high risk vulnerabilities when those fixes are available. Even more so for a professional platform like mine.

If the microcode is stable and becomes available for older CPUs as well as the more recent ones, it'll be very interesting from a purely consumer point of view to see who supports their older platforms. Any that simply avoid their responsibilities of releasing updated bios for older motherboards will likely damage their reputation for those of us who will watch with some interest.

I'd certainly be wary of touching a manufacturer board or hardware again if they decide to not release updated bios for older systems, if that microcode becomes available to them.

[Giraffe]

I'm now waiting with baited breath to see if I actually get an update for my z97 motherboard and it's i7 4790k (broadwell)...which had it's last bios update on the 20th of July 2016...

Not that I really care too much, pretty sure I don't have any major concerns over meltdown/spectre affecting me, unless I'm a complete idiot and install something stupid, but still...

Same here - spend a fortune on Z97 and Broadwell i5 5675C and still no sign of a fix.
Perhaps should have stayed with AMD - it was only the lack of a suitable mobo...

[Xlucine]

Out of curiosity, do any manufacturers have updates out for Z97 motherboards? Gigabyte haven't touched my board since 2015, so I'm looking for another manufacturer to fanboy

[badass]

Not that I really care too much, pretty sure I don't have any major concerns over meltdown/spectre affecting me, unless I'm a complete idiot and install something stupid, but still...

Common misconception. The right kind of code in a browser script could exploit this for example.
For other vulnerabilities, around 30% of ransomware gets in through browsers. Presumably through infected ad networks.

[Giraffe]

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/02/28/new_intel_meltdown_spectre_microcode_releases_haswell_broadwell/

Who wants to be first?