folks I guess you misinterpret the issue,
the threat in nutshell is that cpu can execute code across user and kernel through memory without any limitations, so even the very basic cpu instructions can get flawed/corrupted, that is not a fixable problem by Intel's cpu hardware architecture past more than decade, patching OS makes literally no sense as it's been recently proven computers are running own sub-OSes underhood,
speaking of home offline workstations, this should be no problem as of now, but honestly how many rigs are truly offline (by that I mean physically unplugged from any sort of network, even just local)??

 

Mine is totally offline, isolated and alone, and besides the first hour of it's running time has been that way and always will.

 

It's been confirmed, AMD users are fine.
Damn... my workstation laptop is based on Intel 6820.. Prayers towards it please

 

No, any OS running on x86 platform will have to be rewritten in parts. Regardless of OS there will be a degradation in speed on certain operations.

 

I running an old i7 980x hexacore chip at 4GHz for almost 7 years now. I'm good.....

 

Oh Gosh ..

I am wondering how (much) this would effect DAW performance on a computer.
I am guessing it will depend also on which DAW you use (?)

Warm Regards.

 

This will almost certainly affect Windows worse than Mac, unless you have an AMD chip, but still hopefully this will push apple to drop intel and pick up AMD or even design their own chips like they've done in the iPhone

 

I remember they had an issue back in 2011 that was similar. Wow Intel did it again.

 

I still wonder why nobody showed a benchmark to proof it, or at least said which applikations are affected.
So I digged a little bit and found this SSD bench, before and after patch:




I just transcribed these benchmarks:

Performance comparison

• 7-Zip in MIPS:
  • Core i7-7700K (Win10 Final 1709) 27.794
    
    
  • Core i7-7700K (Win10 Insider 17063) 27.308

• Blender 2.80.1 Experimental min:sec:
  • Core i7-7700K (Win10 Final 1709) 11:01
    
    
  • Core i7-7700K (Win10 Insider 17063) 11:01

• Cinebench R15 x-CPU in value:
  • Core i7-7700K (Win10 Final 1709) 983
    
    
  • Core i7-7700K (Win10 Insider 17063) 977

• DigiCortex – Demobench1 in ms:
  • Core i7-7700K (Win10 Insider 17063) 19.511
    
    
  • Core i7-7700K (Win10 Final 1709) 19.643

• DigiCortex – SpikeBench small in factor:
  • Core i7-7700K (Win10 Insider 17063) 1,053
    
    
  • Core i7-7700K (Win10 Final 1709) 1,047

• Handbrake 1.0.7 in min:sec:
  • Core i7-7700K (Win10 Final 1709) 4:35
    
    
  • Core i7-7700K (Win10 Insider 17063) 4:38

• VeraCrypt 1.21 MB/s:
  • Core i7-7700K (Win10 Final 1709) 7.578
    
    
  • Core i7-7700K (Win10 Insider 17063) 7.475

 

Last edited: Jan 3, 2018

The DAWs will be most likely affected similarily (they all need I/O or network operations). But not too much I hope.

What makes you think that? ---> Read @Fudsey Plange 's article ...

They didn't design their own processors. Underlying their Ax processors is an ARM chip. They just combined some chips to save room. If ARM introduces errors in their chip design, apple will have the errors in their Ax chips as well.

 

Last edited: Jan 3, 2018

from what ive read it maybe wont affect audio or video work at all. it depends of where the processing is done, the "user environment"

lets hope

 

Yessssss.
They had a lot of bugs in the past decades, BUT
Think of the billions of transistors on a CPU today- It's impossible to produce them without weaknesses or errors. I'm quite sure, AMD chips have errors as well. They just didn't find them yet.
On the other hand, every system of a certain grade of complexity has errors. Think of iphones, without errors or weaknesses in programming in iOS there won't be jailbreaks for the system.

So, it's not nice, but it's normal.

At the end the press made a lot of panic about Intels errors in chip architecture. If you trusted them doomsday was near... But.... Never came

 

Last edited: Jan 3, 2018

i still have an old build with an i7 870 chip hahaha >>> not in my studio but at my house in my lil office... its on the original DP55wb motherboard and in its monster case lol >>>its been a great PC over the years>>>thos old chips are still great IMO

 

This is serious, at the time this was written, the news just hits Forbes site :

"The bug, which only exists in Intel processors, allegedly allows access to kernel memory data, which is a major security threat vector that could be fairly easily exploited."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveal...le-and-its-fix-saps-performance/#7aa0e335570a

"Programmers have been busy for the past two months patching the Linux kernel’s virtual memory system to protect against a hardware bug in Intel CPUs that could let attackers exploit security weaknesses and access security keys, passwords, and files cached from a disk."
https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/3/16844630/intel-processor-security-flaw-bug-kernel-windows-linux

Some more latest:
PCWorld: Intel CPU kernel bug FAQ: Fix for massive security flaw could slow down PCs and Macs
https://www.pcworld.com/article/324...cpu-kernel-bug-faq-how-it-affects-pc-mac.html

 

@No Avenger I have no Windows rig at my hands these days, do you think you could test out that CrystalDisk benchmark, but of a RAMdisk (RAM-allocated usable storage disk, free utility like ImDisk Toolkit can create it)? the issue is related to cpu processing the user+kernel data via memory, so it needs to be observed on complex ram workloads and branching processes

 

You could try this to improve the cpu after the patch: /watch?v=8unagKHPGt8

 

Although I have a Windows rig, I'm afraid I can't. Those are not my benchmarks, because I don't have Win10 Insider.
Furthermore this patch seems to affect simple read and write tests to a small amount.

 

The article is based on speculation, some Linux patches with redacted comments & a blog post in which the author plainly states "Beware this is very much a connecting-the-invisible-dots type affair, so it mostly represents guesswork until such times as the embargo is lifted. From everything I’ve seen, including the vendors involved, many fireworks and much drama is likely when that day arrives."
He's wrong though - the drama's here already.

 

Love this, always bien suspicious with Apple and Intel marketing wonderful promesses and self suffisance, it seems reality have an instant of visibility.
Stay away from hegemonic propaganda