Meltdown & Spectre concerns, performance and Bios flash questions

[mikesndbs]

Hi guys

OK so I have been watching this and so far have used the GRC tool to see where I stand.
I don't notice a massive performance hit when I enable Meltdown but I have no control over Spectre it would seem.

The tool indicates I would need to update my bios for full protection and here is where I need your help please?

Is it worth it for a home user, will I see a significant performance loss.

I do normal home computing but also a lot of graphics and video editing.

I'd really like some help on the next steps.

Here are my system specs:

Thanks. Mike

 

[erpster4]

the GRC tool was updated April 11 and here is the following notes for release 8 of that tool:

Release #8 — Now shows whether an Intel microcode patch is (ever) available for Spectre.
Intel has finished designing microcode update patches for its processors. On April 2nd, 2018, they announced that processors that have not yet been patched will never be patched. Their full statement is available in this PDF document. In that document, Intel specifies which of their many processors do have patches and which of their more recent processors will never receive updated firmware. Now that the industry has this information, this 8th release of InSpectre incorporates that list of CPUIDs and displays whether microcode firmware updates exist for the system's Intel CPU.

you must check with the PC manufacturer or motherboard maker for an available BIOS/firmware update that would resolve the Spectre problems.

 

[file3456]

I have read that these vulnerabilities aren't really an issue for a home user, but more in the cloud like Amazon, Azure, etc.

I'm not patching myslef based on that. I'd rather have my full PC potential especially given the fact Flight Simulator is largly CPU-based and I need all of the single thread capability I can muster.

Sure, the risk is there, but it's not that big a factor for a home user like it is for a cloud drive.