Allegedly there are massive security holes in AMD processors. Or just because someone wants to profit financially from the allegations? The details!

Sind AMD processors Ryzen – and EPYC series compromised – or allowed the Israeli company CTS Labs a bad joke? The previously unknown experts allegedly found 13 vulnerabilities in the corresponding processors. According to CTS-Labs claims, the issues include the secure boot feature and the secure processor inside the CPU. In addition, there are supposed to be backdoors in the chipsets – these programmed backdoors prevent attackers from backing up the system, giving them access to protected functions of a computer. What is the subject of these allegations?

AMD: Questionable security company
The company CTS-Labs is completely unknown, according to AMD. The allegations were posted on the paged homepage amdflaws.com, along with a YouTube video. Atypical for the industry, especially since security companies usually approach the affected manufacturer beforehand. According to the media report, the homepage of CTS-Labs did not publish any relevant content before January 2018 – until now. This suggests a suspicion: There may be targeted manipulation behind the allegations! The focus here is on the analysis house Viceroy Research.

AMD: Manipulation of stock prices possible
Shortly after disclosing alleged security holes, Viceroy Research published an article on the official website called AMD – The Obituary. Thus, AMD is exactly “worth $ 0.00” and “bankruptcy” is imperative. Viceroy Research has recently been negatively impacted by a sales recommendation for equities, which has even led to a warning from the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority. Whether the mentioned vulnerabilities really exist is not yet clear. First information indicates that attackers need are already administrator rights to access the systems. But with so much power, there’s no need for a backdoor.

A new Ryzen and a new Epyc series are designed as an embedded offer to bring hardware developers to integrate a particularly large number of cores in their hardware. Above all, thanks to the 10GbE and 2.5GbE support, many network- compatible devices are to be expected. However, old embedded series are not replaced.

Based on its Zen architecture, AMD now wants to provide two new chip series for the embedded market as well. So far, the G and R series have been important to AMD for this market. However, AMD does not replace, but complements the supply of chips. Above the R series, the new V series is positioned. These Ryzen V1000 called chips ( Raven Ridge base) are available from a TDP of 12 watts up to 54 watts, divided into the areas 12 to 25 watts and 25 to 54 watts. The chips of the respective segment offer a standard TDP of 15 or 45 watts and can be adjusted in their respective area up or down. Except for one CPU, all SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) offer four cores and eight threads. The smallest SKU offers half. A graphics unit is always part of the chips.
The operating system manufacturers already have support, according to AMD. Win driver and Siemens Mel are among them. Canonical’s Ubuntu will be available from version 16.04.1. Windows 10 should be the same as version 1709.

The chips are quite powerful, which is why AMD positions them against Intel’s Core i with four cores. Partially the desktop, some notebook chips are included for relative comparisons. However, if you look closely, you realize that the Intel counterparts are sometimes not listed as an embedded offer. For the comparisons, AMD has therefore used any Intel CPUs, even if they come from a completely different market segment.

Server chip as embedded product
Whom the performance of Ryzen V-Series for its hardware design is not enough, you can also access the EPYC series. AMD provides EPYC 3000 with 4, 8, 12 and 16 of cores, each once with and once without multi-threading enabled. From 12 cores on the package are two Zeppelin dies. The TDP is not as flexible as in the V-series and also significantly higher with values ​​between 35 and 100 watts at the Epycs. Interestingly, AMD was unable to announce any Windows support at the launch for the Epyc CPUs. Instead, Redhat comes from RHEL 7.4. Canonical’s Ubuntu is listed as version 17.04.

As the main opponents AMD Intel looks just introduced new Xeon D. The products are positioned so that they should offer more performance at the same or significantly lower price. Exact prices, however, were not mentioned. On the performance side, AMD plans to counter mainly by many cores and PCIe lanes, a general power of Zen architecture, the competition. This is especially true for the Epyc chips. It should be noted here that the Xeon D from Intel are not classified as embedded chips. They are available as storage and network CPUs but still in the same market segment as the EPYC 3000th

The Epyc as well as Ryzen new releases also offer several enabled 10GbE network connections. An exception is the smallest Ryzen V1202B, which only controls Gigabit Ethernet. The Ryzen has a maximum of two ports, the Epyc even handles eight times 10GbE. They are also backwards compatible with 2.5 GbE, ie NBase-T aka 802.3bz. Whether 5GbE is supported, AMD could not say on demand. However, one does not see any real market in the segment for 5GbE.

AMD hopes to get into the network devices with the chips, be it NAS systems or SDN and NFV systems for network equipment suppliers.

The Core X-Series consists of Core i9, i7, and i5 CPUs. The i3 isn’t satisfying in what’s obviously traind as a high-end blood of CPUs. The Core i5 7640X is the entering-or ideal in the X-Series. It only has four centres and no Hyper-Threading, just like draught-gen mainstream i5 pieces. However, it has a higher clock promptnes, stops faster RAM, and uses the new Intel Socket R4 (LGA 2066). It’s costd at a well $242.

If you want to step up to Intel’s new i7 blood, the cheapest variant is the four-core, eight-strand 7740X. It’ll vend for $339, yet is only a fleeting more than draught i7 CPUs. Things start to branch from existent Skylake and Kaby Lake contrives with the 7800X, yet has six centres and 12 strands for $389. There’s also the 8-core, 16-strand 7820X for close $599.

That conveys us to the new Core i9 lineup, yet initiates at 10 tangible CPU centres with 20 strands. This 7900X chip will vend for $999. The new i9 CPUs come in shapings with 12, 14, 16, and 18 centres (all with Hyper-Threading). Intel’s useful cost for those is $1,199, $1,399, $1,699, and $1,999, respectively. The 7980XE is the foremost client chip to advance 18 centres, yet will in be overkill for close the.

When AMD’s Ryzen 5 CPUs foremost eruption onto the instalment, I was felicitous to find that those pieces hung seemly with Intel’s up-and-consummate midrange fractions for mild gaming movement. I wasn’t able to total our productivity experiment to that NDA lift, yet, and the intermediary put of months or so has been a bit uncivilized for yours in external of the TR labs. Those beclouds are rear me, yet, and I’m felicitous to be able to equity the sanction half of our Ryzen 5 outcomes now.

In the intermediary time, AMD kind totald my Ryzen 5 hoard with the six-core, 12-strand Ryzen 5 1600 and the four-core, eight-strand Ryzen 5 1400. With these pieces, I can give a total illustration of the Ryzen 5 blood’s movement in 9-to-5 work. The TR labs were prosperous with an Intel Core i5-7500 as part of Intel’s Optane Memory test rig, as well, and I’ve dutifully auxiliary it to our midrange CPU test train. So equipped, we can get a fine view of how Ryzen 5 CPUs accumulation up to Intel’s loot-and-butter quad-centres.