News

Intel Reveals Meltdown and Spectre Hardware Mitigation Plans

Intel Ready With Meltdown and Spectre Hardware Fixes

Earlier the year, Intel got caught unprepared when Spectre and Meltdown went public. Intel has been in firefighting mode from the start. So far, Intel is using software-based mitigations only. Luckily for new users, Intel is preparing some new hardware mitigations for future CPUs. Even better, these processors should arrive before the end of the year and target both Spectre and Meltdown.

The great news overall is that Intel has developed hardware fixes for Meltdown and Spectre v2. Intel will roll this out into all new and upcoming processors as soon as possible. The new mitigations will arrive in CPUs starting in the second half of 2018. The first confirmed chips with fixes are Skylake-E/X Cascade Lake. This is especially important as the bugs have the potential to break through virtual machines.

Hardware Fixes Limited to Enterprise CPUs For Now

There still remain many questions about the new bug fixes. For one, there is no clear indication for consumer fixes in the works. We don’t know if Cannon Lake will have the fixes built in or will it take until later lineups. Furthermore, the hardware fixes don’t deal with Spectre v1.  It is hard to see how a fix will be made anytime soon given the nature of the attack against speculative out-of-order execution.

Finally, the microcode fixes for Spectre are continuing to roll out. For now, it stretches back to Penryn 45nm Core 2 CPUs. There is a chance that 65nm Core 2 may qualify in the future. The greater difficulty is in delivering the updates. Given the lack of motherboard updates, we will have to rely on Microsoft soft patches. Unfortunately, Microsoft is limiting that to Windows 10 so far. Hopefully, we will see more developments here.

Support eTeknix.com

By supporting eTeknix, you help us grow and continue to bring you the latest news, reviews, and competitions. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with the latest technology, share your favourite articles, chat with the team and more. Also check out eTeknix YouTube, where you’ll find our latest video reviews, event coverage and features in 4K!

Check out our Latest Video

Samuel Wan

Samuel joined eTeknix in 2015 after becoming engrossed in technology and PC hardware. With his passion for gaming and hardware, tech writing was the logical step to share the latest news with the world. When he’s not busy dreaming about the latest hardware, he enjoys gaming, music, camping and reading.

Disqus Comments Loading...

Recent Posts

Cities Skylines 2 Modding Finally Coming March 25th

At long last modding for Cities Skylines 2 will be arriving on March 25th alongside…

1 hour ago

Specs For Upcoming PS5 Pro Have Been Leaked

It's no secret that Sony is planning on releasing a Pro model of the PlayStation…

1 hour ago

Elgato Premium 1080p HD Facecam

Studio quality f/2.4 24 mm* all-glass Elgato Prime Lens Sony® STARVIS™ Sensor optimized for indoor…

19 hours ago

Cryorig R5 Performance CPU Cooler with 140mm – Black / White

The large tower cooler relies on two 140 mm fans, six 6 mm heat pipes…

19 hours ago

Cryorig Crona S ARGB 120mm PWM Triple Fan Pack with Controller

An Alternative to Convention - With the Low-key black back frame, Crona S features the…

19 hours ago

Asetek SimSports Pagani Huayra R Sim Racing Pedals

Expand your setup with real Pagani genes - With the Asetek SimSports Pagani Huayra R…

19 hours ago