YOUR INTEL PC COULD BE AT RISK

[MDDI]

I changed my previous post subject and added a final paragraph. You should check your PC for Spectre/Meltdown vunerability.

I have a Probook with a 7th generation Intel CPU that I have had 7 months. I flashed the BIOS update middle of January with the Spectre/Meltdown patches before the BIOS updates were removed from the HP driver download site; appears the Intel patches were/are buggy.

Now I'm waiting like everyone else for Microsoft and Intel to release new updates. As I understand these software/firmware updates are somewhat of a bandaid and a reduction in system performance can result, significant on some CPU's. I bought a i7 to have performance, I don't really want to give any of it away.

Intel announced that the vunerability in the current and past generation (twenty years back) CPU's is a on chip hardware fix that will be incorporated in the new 9th generation 10nm CPU's to be released later this year. So, I have a less than one year old notebook which will be obsolete by the end of this year?

Also, doing some additional reading, Intel was aware of the Spectre/Meltdown vunerability at least the middle of last year, maybe longer? They just kept making chips and sold them to us anyway. 

Knowing all this when I bought this machine may have changed my mind to wait for the 9th generation Intel chips or to buy a notebook with a AMD CPU? 

The AMD chips are not vunerale to Meltdown and low risk to Spectre, which AMD has already issued firmware to correct. 

I'm somewhat put out by this. It's not HP's fault, however, maybe HP and others sould consider spreading some of the business a little more between AMD and Chipzilla?

There is a tool you can download to check your system for vunerability. Searh InSpectre with your browser and download the utility from the  origin site, Gibson Research (GRC). It is safe and without any malware or adware.

The tool will inform you if you are vunerable to both Spectre, Meltdown and system performance loss. It will also tell you any necessary updates that are needed to correct vunerabilities and will give you manual control to enable or disable protection.