TweakHound

Computer stuff...

Computer Hardware

2 News SSDs

By

Intel and Samsung released new SSDs and Anandtech benchmarked them.
Intel 760p NVMe M.2:
“Compared to other NVMe SSDs, the 760p is clearly not a high-end drive…but Samsung’s recent NVMe SSDs are often far faster than the 760p…The Samsung 960 EVO is currently a bit more expensive than the 760p but largely justifies that price.”
Samsung 860 Pro SATA:
“Ultimately the Samsung 860 PRO is a commendable technical achievement; Samsung has pushed the SATA III interface to its limit by having it serve such a powerful SSD, and it’s entirely possible we won’t see a better desktop SATA SSD ever made. But as SSDs get faster and faster and the SATA interface does not, I would argue that the 860 PRO isn’t a very good product”

Meltdown & Spectre Updates Benchmarked

By

My system benchmarked after KB4056892 and CPU Microcode update (BIOS).
Full system specs here: My New PC – 2017
CPU: Intel i7-8700k
Mobo: Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Gaming 7
GPU: Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 AMP! Edition (Nvidia)
Ram: 32GB
Drives: x2 Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2
OS: Win10 Pro

 

***UPDATED 23JAN2018

My motherboard manufacturer released another BIOS update for this issue.
New scores on PCMark10.
[Read more…] about Meltdown & Spectre Updates Benchmarked

Windows Performance Impact Of Meltdown And Spectre

By

Microsoft exec Terry Myerson lays out what he expects the performance impact of the Meltdown/Spectre patches.
– With Windows 10 on newer silicon (2016-era PCs with Skylake, Kabylake or newer CPU), benchmarks show single-digit slowdowns, but we don’t expect most users to notice a change because these percentages are reflected in milliseconds.
TH – Skylake released 2015. Kaby Lake 2016.
– With Windows 10 on older silicon (2015-era PCs with Haswell or older CPU), some benchmarks show more significant slowdowns, and we expect that some users will notice a decrease in system performance.
TH – Haswell released 2013.
– With Windows 8 and Windows 7 on older silicon (2015-era PCs with Haswell or older CPU), we expect most users to notice a decrease in system performance.
TH – Haswell released 2013
– Windows Server on any silicon, especially in any IO-intensive application, shows a more significant performance impact when you enable the mitigations to isolate untrusted code within a Windows Server instance. This is why you want to be careful to evaluate the risk of untrusted code for each Windows Server instance, and balance the security versus performance tradeoff for your environment.
TH – You’re attached to another object by an incline plane wrapped helically around an axis.

Conveniently left out is any reference to Microsoft bricking AMD machines.
I will repeat my advice to not update Windows machines right now. Certainly you need to have a full image backup before you do.
I recommend Macrium Reflect 7 Free Edition.

To find your CPU family.
Those odd names are CPU Family or CPU Code Names (Haswell, Skylake, Kabylake…).
Download Speccy PORTABLE and run it.
Click the CPU tab. Find the line Code Name, that is your CPU family.
Google it or, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_microprocessors

Windows 7 BSODs From Latest Updates

By

I few days ago I warned folks not to run Windows Update because of the possible dangers of the latest round of updates. One reader reported a BSOD here.
Over at AskWoody there is a post and running comment section full of reports of BSODs:
Multiple reports of blue screens (BSODs) 0X000000C4 when installing the January Win7 Monthly Rollup KB 4056894
“AMD machines are being pinpointed.”

 
I have autoupdate disabled on all my machines. 5 of my computers are running Windows 7. KB4056894 is only showing up on my laptop (Haswell). The rest of my Win7 PCs are Ivybridge or older. I’m not about to install this update.
As of yet none of my manufacturers have an update for Meltdown/Spectre.
I installed the latest update on my Win10 rig because I need to watch the effects so I can relay them to you.

Intel CPU Fiasco – More Info

By

last updated: 0838EST, 04JAN2018

Full breakdown: https://meltdownattack.com/

iVerge – Microsoft issues emergency Windows update for processor security bugs

Google: “These vulnerabilities affect many CPUs, including those from AMD, ARM, and Intel, as well as the devices and operating systems running on them.”

AMD says, “near zero risk”

CERT: Vulnerability Note VU#584653 – CPU hardware vulnerable to side-channel attacks

Intel Says It Is Not A Bug

By

Intel has just released an official statement in the newest CPU fiasco. Basically they just said it’s nothing, isn’t unique to Intel CPUs, and that performance impacts “should not be significant”.
OK. But if there is a performance impact of more than a percent then I want in on the class action lawsuit.
Intel Responds to Security Research Findings
I’ve saved this web page so we can see how their statements change over time.
BTW, has anyone got the full low-down of Intel’s CEO selling stock? I mean in light of all this news?

My Home Server – Windows 7

By

Here is my current setup. I will be attempting to switch over to a Linux server setup in the near future (just because).
This machine was my secondary workstation and has been repurposed for my home server.
This is a quickie article. No hand holding. If you do not know your way around Windows this article is not for you.
[Read more…] about My Home Server – Windows 7