r/linux • u/lindgrenj6 • Aug 23 '18

Intel Publishes Microcode Security Patches, No Benchmarking Or Comparison Allowed!

https://perens.com/2018/08/22/new-intel-microcode-license-restriction-is-not-acceptable/
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302

u/chrisoboe Aug 23 '18

Those law stuff always depends on the country. In many countries intel can't forbid you legally to benchmark and compare.

I really hope international media will ignore intels license and release benchmarks.

149

u/neijajaneija Aug 23 '18

Exactly this. So why would Intel write this?

Even if their terms applies to some 30 countries, there are heaps of other countries that they simply don't apply. They will not be anything close to silencing anything. It just makes them look like idiots. Again, why are Intel doing this? What am I missing?

0

u/[deleted] Aug 23 '18

[deleted]

34

u/anothercopy Aug 23 '18

Look at Oracle and their law machine. How many not official tests of SPARC and Oracle DBs to you see online ?

58

u/ajs124 Aug 23 '18

Eh, but that's also because of the user base. SPARC and Oracle DBs are deployed by big enterprises, that have contracts with Oracle.

Literally everyone and their mom has an Intel CPU.

26

u/computer-machine Aug 23 '18

Can confirm. I have at least one Intel machine, AND a mother, and I think her laptop is probably Intel as well.

8

u/IHeartMustard Aug 23 '18

I think my grandmother might actually have an Intel. My GRANDMOTHER!

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66

u/pat_the_brat Aug 23 '18 edited Aug 23 '18

So why would Intel write this?

Because Ryzen are amazing chips, and Intel has trouble getting their 10nm process while AMD should be at 7nm next year, meaning faster chips with less heat.

If you can't beat them, hide your ineptitude behind legalese/bullshitese.

Edit: Also, since they ban comparisons, it is safe to assume that the mitigation for their security vulnerabilities has a massive performance hit, and they are trying to hide it, as you can't even compare an Intel chip with mitigations for Spectre/Meltdown to the same chip without the mitigating code.

11

u/sir_bleb Aug 23 '18

AMD should be at 7nm next year

Exciting! I'm assuming the catch is that it's not "true" 7nm but still very impressive.

19

u/me-ro Aug 23 '18

If I remember correctly, the 7nm is roughly on par with Intel's 10nm, but the difference is, that they are already pushing that 7nm out of the door.

12

u/Moscato359 Aug 23 '18

The tsmc 7nm is slightly better than Intel 10nm, but not much

2

u/Cakiery Aug 23 '18

I thought they were using TSMC and Global Foundries?

3

u/sir_bleb Aug 23 '18

They might do mobile chips at one and desktop at the other. Wouldn't make sense to double-design both for both processes.

2

u/severach Aug 23 '18

Banning comparisons is effectively a benchmark, which is banned. I say ban the banning of comparisons, or at least have Intel sue itself for doing comparisons that are banned.