If you’re using an old Intel processor, good news for you! A new tool is now available for automatically applying the latest microcode for all the older Intel processors. The Intel Microcode Boot Loader is a must-have for everyone.

Intel Microcode Boot Loader

In the case of Windows 10 and Server 2016, Microsoft released the microcode updates via Windows update. Unfortunately, older operating systems were left vulnerable as Microsoft no longer supports them. This is where you can take the aid of Intel Microcode Boot Loader. In the case of motherboard vendors, they released BIOS/UEFI update for their latest products only.

Earn “Regeneration” Bandit is the creator of this awesome tool. It utilizes the BITS (Intel BIOS Implementation Test Suite) and the Syslinux bootloader for auto detecting and applying the most current microcodes for the Intel processor.

Using the tool

Get the latest Intel Microcode Boot Loader. The package contains the latest microcodes for 392 Intel CPUs, from 1996 up to 2018.

Connect a USB flash drive and format it with the FAT32 file system.

Then, extract the contents into the USB flash drive.

Run the “install.exe” file for making the drive bootable.

Then, configure your BIOS/UEFI to make this drive as the 1^st device to boot. Each time it boots, the tool will configure the system to use the latest microcode for the processor.

Note that each time you need that protection, you have to boot using the USB flash drive. The tool applies the patch at the system startup.

Here’s a nice demonstration of the tool’s usage.

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Today, we’ll have a look at the recently launched Core i9-9900K and Core i7-9700K. The original review is created by Hardware Unboxed – a well-known and reputed YouTube review channel on hardware. Check out the original review on Core i9-9900K and Core i7-9700K. The review is also available on Techspot.

Let’s check out at the summarization of the entire review.

Intel Core-i9 9900K and Core-i9 9700K specs

Before diving deep, make sure that you know the official specs of Intel Core i9-9900K and Core i7-9700K.

For running these processors, the Z390 chipset motherboards are extremely recommended for the better power delivery. In the budget Z370 motherboards, the processors seem to choke pretty badly. In the review, MSI Z390 Godlike and Asrock Z390 Taichi Ultimate motherboards were used for consistent results.

Benchmarks

Performance benchmarks

All the benchmarks were performed by Hardware Unboxed. Here are all the available benchmark results.

The memory bandwidth is pretty similar with the previous models like the Core i7-8700K.

Next up, the Cinebench R15 results.

The results show that the i9-9900K easily breaks the 2000 points barrier and comes up about 14% faster than the so-called “competitor” Ryzen 7 2700X. i7-9700K is, as expected, slower than i9-9900K at about 26%.

Next up, the Blender result.

In this result, due to heavy hyper-threading requirements, Ryzen 7 2700X reduces the performance gap down to 23%. The Ryzen CPU is faster than the I7-9700K.

Now, the Corona results.

For rendering, Threadripper series makes more sense for the massive core/thread count. In the case of i9-9900K, it took 96 seconds and Ryzen 7 2700X took 120 seconds.

Next up, the V-Ray benchmark.

In this benchmark, the performance gap between i9-9900K and Ryzen 7 2700X reduced by 18%. The i7-9700K falls short in the competition, resulting in slower performance than the i7-8700K.

Now, let’s have a look at the PCMark 10 results.

This synthetic gaming benchmark relies extremely on the core/thread count. That’s why it successfully matched the result of Ryzen 7 2700X. The i7-9700K was able to beat the older Ryzen 7 1800X.

Productivity benchmarks

If you’re using a lot of productivity works, then this benchmark section is very important.

Here’s the 7-Zip benchmark result.

In the compression, AMD Ryzen processors fall a bit shorter than Intel counterparts. However, in terms of decompression, AMD Ryzen processors beat the Intel ones easily. Yet, the performance gap between Ryzen 7 2700X and i9-9900K wasn’t that much.

Next up, the Excel 2016 Monte Carlo simulation.

Here, the i9-9900K beats the Ryzen ones easily. The i7-9700K also performed way better here.

Now, the HandBrake results.

The i7-8700K was already better in this benchmarking and the i9-9900K and i7-9700K easily beat the Ryzen 7 2700X.

Now, the Adobe Premiere Pro CC results. This is a hugely popular section for all the productivity lovers.

At the first scene, Intel processors scored very well, beating Ryzen 7 2700X really good. However, with CUDA acceleration, the tide changed completely in the favor of AMD processors.

Gaming benchmarks

Intel’s biggest motto for this session of processor lineup is “the best GAMING processors”. Of course, Intel processors have always been a better resultant in terms of gaming. With the latest “Coffee Lake refresh” processors, it’s expected to beat the AMD counterparts.

Here are all the results of gaming benchmarks.

Interestingly, overclocked processors provide nearly no FPS gains!!!

Hopefully, you guys all get a good overview of the new Intel flagship processors. These are obviously the BEST GAMING PROCESSOR, no doubt. Stay tuned for the price vs performance lookup.

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When you’re in the market looking for a good processor for your next desktop build or planning to get an all-in-one PC or even a laptop, you may have seen available options of 2 different processor brands – Intel and AMD. Both of them offer very similar features and each of them excels at different specs.

It’s ultimately your choice to decide which one is better – Intel or AMD.

Choosing the right one

There are different categories for selecting your CPU vendor. Here are all of them.

• Performance – One of the most important categories you should focus on. The performance of the processor decides the overall experience of your usage. Your performance choice must be based on your usage. For example, you’re not going to buy a $1000 CPU just for your “Facebooking” rig, right? Again, using a $70 CPU with a $700 graphics card is also not going to give you enough performance.
• Cooling – Processors need to stay cool for performing normally. There are billions of electrons flowing through the chip, making it really hot. You need to keep that in mind for choosing your right CPU cooler.
• Power consumption – This is often underestimated but you should also keep an eye on power consumption. This ultimately decides your monthly electricity bill.
• Overclocking – This is something really interesting. Overclocking allows you to enjoy faster performance than your original CPU specs. For example, you can run a processor up to 4GHz that’s only been at 3GHz by default! Of course, you simply speed up the degradation of the chip but a safe overclock will definitely help in the long run.
• Price – Your budget for your next rig is also an important factor here. If you choose a lower end processor, you can spend that extra money on some other parts. However, you must also keep a balance between all your hardware, otherwise, your system will not work in the way you want.
  For example, you’re buying a $700 graphics card. For handling that graphics horsepower, you also must get a powerful enough processor. Otherwise, the FPS and quality output of your game will seriously throttle your gaming experience.
• Performance/price – The headline is EXACTLY what it sounds. For the price you’re paying, how much performance are you getting?

With the points being clear, let’s check out which brand is the winner of which category.

Comparison between Intel and AMD

Intel

• Pros

  • Strong single core performance.
  • Better overall performance.
  • Processor consumes less energy than AMD’s.
  • Produces less heat.
  • Good entry level processors.

• Cons

  • Despite having powerful single cores, Intel processors fall behind in multithread performance.
  • You can’t overclock all the processors. For overclocking, you need “unlocked” chips and “overclock” enabled motherboard (“X” or “Z” series chipset motherboards).
  • Better processors cost a lot more than entry-level processors.
  • Integrated graphics aren’t powerful enough to run popular game titles.
  • Less core/thread count.

AMD

• Pros

  • Strong multi-core and multithread performance.
  • Lots of cores. Yeah, AMD offers more core count than Intel at any price point.
  • VALUE for MONEY. AMD processors, despite being less expensive than Intel counterparts, offers better value for the money you spend. For building a budget build, this is one of the main things you should have in your mind.

Here’s a comparison between Intel and AMD in terms of value by Hardware Unboxed.

• • All the AMD processors have overclocking ability. It allows you to push your processor to a very powerful state.
  • Almost all the motherboards support overclocking AMD chips.
  • AMD offers their processor to be compatible with the existing platforms. For example, you can enjoy the latest 2^nd generation Ryzen processors on an existing AM4 socket motherboard.
  • Powerful integrated graphics

• Cons

  • Less powerful performance of single cores.
  • Processors consume more power and generate more heat than Intel counterparts. You need to have a powerful cooler for the cooling.
  • Older processors perform worse than their Intel counterparts.
  • If you choose a processor without integrated graphics, you need a discrete graphics card.

The final thoughts

Both processor vendors offer completely different features and facilities. Which one is the best? That depends, ultimately, on you.

If you need more cores and handle heavier workloads like rendering, editing etc. then AMD should be your right choice. AMD also offers more cores. If you’re a gamer need a strong performing processor, then Intel is the safe bet.

As of the current state, Intel seems to be having some supply shortage. This is resulting in dramatically increasing the price of processors. For PC builders and any consumer level, this is bad news. On the other hand, AMD offers a relatively stable platform. For example, you buy an AM4 motherboard and you can rest assured up to 2020. In the case of Intel, each processor generation requires its own motherboard.

What do you think? Feel free to share your thoughts down in the comments.

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Intel has always been the top processor manufacturer in terms of the market share. Intel offers better CPU performance along with powerful cores. Despite Intel isn’t nearby AMD in terms of multi-threading, with the release of their 9^th gen lineup, Intel is surely giving AMD a nice answer. Let’s check out all the information we know so far.

Intel announces 9^th gen processors

October 8, 2018 – Intel announced their 9^th gen processors at their “Fall Desktop Launch Event”. No, these aren’t based on the 7nm process. Instead, Intel is going with their existing 14nm process. According to reports, Intel is definitely having a hard time with their production of 10nm Cannon Lake chips.

In the event, Intel announced a bunch of different processors. Here are all the specs we know.

The list is long but interesting, right?

All the processors listed above are unlocked, meaning that you can overclock them without any problem. However, for overclocking any Intel processor requires “X” or “Z” series chipset motherboard.

As always, the Xeon processor is for workstations.

Hilarious pricing!!!

At first, there’s Core i5 processor with 6C/6T and Core i7 processor with 8C/8T. These are the lowest in price and it’s safe to assume that general consumers and gamers are the target of these processors. Starting from the Core i9 series, the price jumps up a LOT, nearly $200!

My personal opinion on the price is – NOT RECOMMENDED unless you really need those features or you’re an Intel ENTHUSIAST. Starting from sub $600, the price goes up to nearly $2000! There are still reviews awaiting for the real-life performance of the processors, though. But yet, the price is surely high. There’s also the concern of whether Intel will be able to provide enough supply of them into the market.

These processors are also BEASTs in terms of energy consumption, being the lowest TDP at 95W. Make sure that your CPU cooler and PSU is beefy enough to keep the temperature in check.

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The vulnerability affects all the Intel CPUs of the Core-based series, according to Intel’s official statement. The horrible thing is, it’s present physically inside the processors, meaning that any operating running on any Intel Core-based CPU will be vulnerable to the attack.

What is Lazy FPU context switching?

At first, let’s talk about the vulnerable section of the CPU. Lazy FPU context switching is a performance optimization feature. It’s responsible for saving and restoring the FPU (Floating Point Unit) registers. These registers hold the floating point numbers and allows access to those whenever necessary.

Now, the bug here is physical. The physical bug in the CPU allows other processes to sneak into these registers along with their data.

The problem is, these numbers are necessary for various important tasks like cryptographic equations. Thus, a hacker may be able to sniff out numbers from these registers to crack an encryption key. The next moment, everything else will be gone.

The scope of the vulnerability

Despite it’s a major CPU bug in the processors, it’s not executable using a web browser. That makes this vulnerability less effective than the Meltdown. Meltdown is preventable with operating system patches in cost of performance.

Rumors about the bug

Before the vulnerability was officially disclosed, there were rumors about it since DragonflyBSD and OpenBSD released notices about patches that would fix this vulnerability. The notice was a strong indication that there was something wrong with the FPU registers in Intel’s processors.

Thankfully, this bug is preventable without changing the existing microcode. That’s a big relief for Intel whereas vendors are working for fixing the issue with future patches.

Here is a list of all the official statements of different vendors.

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According to Lenovo, this bug can allow a hacker to selectively corrupt/modify BIOS/UEFI firmware or block its updates. However, Lenovo engineers also mentioned that this attack could lead to a broken system causing visible malfunction, but hardly holds the chance of executing arbitrary code.

Infected CPUs

The vulnerability is listed as CVE-2017-5703. According to the manufacturer company – Intel, the vulnerability affects the following CPU series.

• 5^th, 6^th,7^th & 8^th generation Intel® Core™ Processors.
• Several models of Intel® Xeon® Processors.
• Several models of Intel® Atom™ Processors.
• Several models of Intel® Pentium® Processors.
• Several models of Intel® Celeron® Processors.

For the complete list of affected products, check the list at Intel. A local hacker can exploit the flaw in the CPU configuration to corrupt the system of the victim. It’ll cause visible issues with the system boot and normal functionalities. However, the chance of executing arbitrary code is near to impossible. So, you don’t need to panic about your privacy.

In the scale of CVSSv3, the vulnerability reached the score of 7.9 out of 10. Intel also mentioned that they know the cause of the issue and mitigation is also available.

What to do now

If you’re a user of those CPUs, you should immediately update your BIOS/UEFI firmware for mitigating the chance of getting exploited. Check for the BIOS update at Intel. Moreover, check other vendor websites (Dell, Lenovo etc.) if you purchased your computer from them.

Now, you can easily install OS via USB flash drive. Learn how to prepare a bootable USB flash drive.

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Instead of fixing the app, Intel has recently decided to completely discontinue the product. Yes, it’s removed from the Google Play Store. Any user who’s still using it should uninstall it immediately.

The vulnerabilities in Intel Remote Keyboard

Instead of fixing the app, Intel decided that it’s better to discontinue the product altogether. The app was launched in 2015 that allowed users to control Intel NUC & Computer Stick single-board computers wirelessly. The 3 bugs were identified by 3 different security researchers. When the exploit was successful, it could allow a nearby network attacker to inject keystrokes into remote keyboard sessions. It would also allow running malicious codes on the Android device.

The 3 vulnerabilities are tagged as CVE-2018-3641, CVE-2018-3645, and CVE-2018-3638.

The solution

In order to stay protected, if any of you have Intel Remote Keyboard installed on your Android device, uninstall it immediately. Before uninstalling, make sure that your usage method changes properly so that you don’t have to use the app anymore.

For Android, it’s the most targeted platform for hackers as it’s the most popular OS for smart devices. Android P is incoming on the market. Learn more about the features of Android P.

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