[SOLVED] i7-8700 65W or wait? concerned about Meltdown/Spectre-like vulnerabilities

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tommhe

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Apr 6, 2014
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For my next build, I'm looking for the fastest (single-thread performance) 65W integrated graphics non-overclocked chip available. According to cpubenchmark.com, that's the i7-8700. But I'm wondering if Intel will soon release a 9th generation chip with the same parameters that is more secure with regard to Meltdown/Spectre-like vulnerabilities. Or perhaps Intel has upgraded the i7-8700 with the same level of security? If yes, I'm okay with the i7-8700 even though it will be slower than its 9th generation successor.

Looking forward to your thoughts.
 
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richiestang_78
Well Intel has released the 9th gen chips already so its a matter of time before the normal 9700 comes out. However be aware that the Spectre/Meltdown is a design flaw in the very core architecture of the chip. Even AMD is effected by it to a lesser degree (somoene would need physical access to the computer to exploit the flaw).

You could get a Ryzen 2700X platform which is very close to the 8700 in terms of performance, its also cheaper and you'll have the ability to overclock.
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richiestang_78

richiestang_78

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Mar 3, 2015
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Well Intel has released the 9th gen chips already so its a matter of time before the normal 9700 comes out. However be aware that the Spectre/Meltdown is a design flaw in the very core architecture of the chip. Even AMD is effected by it to a lesser degree (somoene would need physical access to the computer to exploit the flaw).

You could get a Ryzen 2700X platform which is very close to the 8700 in terms of performance, its also cheaper and you'll have the ability to overclock.
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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If you're worried about vulnerabilities, you'll never buy any CPUs except those that are about twenty or more years old. And maybe not them either.

There are about twenty flavors of the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities now, and invariably specific flavor affect both AMD and Intel, as well as ARM, so you're not going to avoid anything by choosing one over the other in that regard.

There are NO current CPUs coming down the pipeline that will not be affected by one or another of the existing vulnerabilities that have been found. You can just forget the idea that you might find a model that doesn't have exposure to one variation or the other. They don't even have a DESIGN that is unrealized that might eliminate these side channel and simultaneous multithreading vulnerabilities so it's probably going to be a very long time, if ever, before they come up with an architecture that natively negates the potential for this, and even then, there will be something else that WILL, you can be sure.

Buy what you need, keep your data backed up to another device, keep a current system backup on another device, keep your security and antimalware definitions up to date and reduce your exposure by not going places you shouldn't and not opening emails you shouldn't, as well as not connecting devices to your machine you don't know firsthand what is on them, and you will have very little, or greatly reduced, chances of this ever being a problem for you.

Hackers generally want access to corporate entities, or those that offer a big payday. That's probably not you, and if you keep things backed up you will always have a way out of any situation.
 
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tommhe

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Thanks, richiestang_78, SR-71 Blackbird, and darkbreeze.

Yes, I understand the security flaws are deep, and more are being exposed every month. I'm just trying to learn whether the i7-9700 (if it ever comes out, as I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere) will have fewer security flaws than the i7-8700. If the vulnerabilities are the same, I'm okay with the i7-8700. But if the equivalent 9th gen chip is even slightly less vulnerable, I'd rather wait.

Regarding using a Ryzen 2700x, that CPU exceeds my 65W limit. Even the Ryzen 2700 at 65W is too much, because not having integrated graphics, a video card is also needed, which uses more power. I should have mentioned that my goal is a "near silent" PC. My existing build, using a 65W i7-3770S, a fanless PSU, a big cooler, and a slow fan achieves near silence -- and I want the next build to be at least as quiet.



 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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There will not be fewer, as this architecture is only a refresh of the already existing Coffee lake architecture, which was already long since drawn up before any of these vulnerabilities came to be known. As of right now, I am unaware of ANY architecture under development that claims to be invulnerable to these exploits at the hardware level. None. Perhaps someday, but honestly, as long as the architecture uses simultaneous multithreading, I'm not sure how they'll make it hardened against it.

Likely they will, but as I said, it is equally likely that whatever it is will have weaknesses of it's own just waiting to be exploited.
 
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