Caluser2000 wrote:

These exploits apparently require local access to the system.

Let us also not forget about the horror of Intel Management Engine backdoor, which plagues all PCH bridge based systems and some ICH based ones.

there's a substantial increase in performance going from PCIe 2.0 to 3.0. Are real world results very different?

Of course not - https://www.techpowerup.com/review/nvidia-gef … express-scaling

Not to mention that Intel desktop boards are very limited with available PCIe lanes, should you try to use anything else with a video card.

Caluser2000 wrote on 2021-09-02, 23:45:

Here's a list of cpus affected. https://www.techarp.com/guides/complete-meltd … tre-cpu-list/6/ […]
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Here's a list of cpus affected.
https://www.techarp.com/guides/complete-meltd … tre-cpu-list/6/

A fairly good artical with licks to the original announcement.
https://www.csoonline.com/article/3247868/spe … ts-at-risk.html

Anyone got a definitive source wrt who has had these exploits out in the wild so to speak?
From the horses mouth.
https://googleprojectzero.blogspot.com/2018/0 … -with-side.html

These exploits apparently require local access to the system.

Good Info ! I looked into it years ago and found that a typical home computer behind a good Firewalled router with the OS patched was at a super minimal risk if any as long as they did not file share/remote desktop of a PC inside to outside of their local network. You all know this already but as a reminder you can locally do a quick check on your OS and CPU: https://www.grc.com/inspectre.htm
Those exploits were more of a "proof of concept" than a reality of what was already out there as so more of a warning about what could happen.
My opinion: Never patch your old CPU with BIOS that has the Spectre microcode update for this if you have a choice unless you want it to perform like a 1/2 the cpu it once was. Just patch the OS ...

Cheers Horun. We don't want Vogons members receiving duff info now do we....😉

I tested several Z77 microATX boards last year and the Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H 1.1 came out as the best, see Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H 1.1, Intel Core i7 3770K, MSI GeForce 960

The Serpent Rider wrote on 2021-09-03, 01:10:

Let us also not forget about the horror of Intel Management Engine backdoor, which plagues all PCH bridge based systems and some ICH based ones.

I used me_cleaner on the GA-Z77M-D3H BIOS with great success, the ME is disabled during normal operation. Also Gigabyte has a tool to customize the boot image which is nice.

The Serpent Rider wrote on 2021-09-03, 01:10:

Of course not - https://www.techpowerup.com/review/nvidia-gef … express-scaling

Thank you for this. Clearly, the performance improvement going from PCIe 2.0 to 3.0 is negligible.

cde wrote on 2021-09-03, 12:47:

I tested several Z77 microATX boards last year and the Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H 1.1 came out as the best

Thank you for another excellent recommendation.