Intel Chips Have Memory Access Design Flaw and Fix Could Lead to Performance Drop

[Michael Goff]

For those who paid for $5000 Macs....you should still be in your return period. That price could have been cut in half with AMD Ryzen.

No, maybe 5% cheaper at best.

 

[cube]

Apparently intel are saying they have patched most of the computers that are up to 5yrs old and the patch makes them immune now.

The reported slowdown is also only for servers, intensive apps and graphical work. Most users won't notice a difference in day to day use allegedly.

The patches will not fix 100%.

It seems the patches can turn a barely usable computer into something that must be replaced now.

 

[lemon512]

A serious design flaw and security vulnerability has been discovered in Intel's CPUs that will require an update at the operating system level to fix, reports The Register. All modern computers with Intel chips from the last 10 years appear to be affected, including those running Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Full details on the vulnerability aren't yet known as the information is currently under embargo until later in the month. The Register has unearthed some data, however, and it seems the bug allows normal user programs to see some of the contents of the protected kernel memory.

This means malicious programs can potentially, in a worst case scenario, read the contents of the kernel memory, which can include information like passwords, login keys, and more. It's not yet clear how severe the bug is, but The Register speculates that it's significant given the rapid changes being made to Windows and Linux.To fix the bug, the kernel's memory needs to be isolated from user processes using Kernel Page Table Isolation, which could cause a performance hit on some machines. According to The Register, Linux and Windows machines will see a 5 to 30 percent slowdown once the fix is in place.

It's not yet clear how Macs will be impacted, as there is little information available at this time. Software updates are in the works for Linux and Windows, and though not mentioned, Apple is also likely working on a fix for the issue.

Full details on what's known about the vulnerability can be found at The Register, and additional information will be available later this month when complete details on the design flaw are shared.

Article Link: Intel Chips Have Memory Access Design Flaw and Fix Could Lead to Performance Drop

[doublepost=1515199869][/doublepost]I bought this Mac just 40 days ago and Apple new about the flaw and still sold it to me? I want a full refund!!

 

[steve123]

[doublepost=1515199869][/doublepost]I bought this Mac just 40 days ago and Apple new about the flaw and still sold it to me? I want a full refund!!

You should definitely ask for one ASAP.
[doublepost=1515370650][/doublepost]

[doublepost=1515199869][/doublepost]I bought this Mac just 40 days ago and Apple new about the flaw and still sold it to me? I want a full refund!!

No one should buy a new Mac or phone until Apple confirms the hardware is fixed or announces a free upgrade when it is fixed. This probably means don’t buy until 2019 at the earliest as it will take at least a year to fix this ... maybe two.
[doublepost=1515371350][/doublepost]I saw a benchmark today ... computer performance was not impacted 3%, rather is was impacted 3x. That is, tasks took 3x more cpu time.

JavaScript is especially bad.