Should you only use PCs with a Central Processing Unit newer than 2018 because of Spectre?

[PoetPhilosopher]

CPUs are the Central Producing Unit or "processor" of a computer, and they are one of the main components of a computer along with motherboard, RAM, and storage. Central processing unit - Wikipedia

I own a workstation like PC that's quite old, but in good shape. However, someone online gave me the opinion that I should avoid using computers with CPUs older than 2019 if used for anything important, citing the Spectre security vulnerability: Spectre (security vulnerability) - Wikipedia

It is my understanding that most new Central Processing Units in computers are not completely immune against everything surrounding Spectre, either. However, it is likely that the immunity is better with newer CPUs, there are hardware and software fixes. This, of course, also dodges any arguments that the new CPUs in computers don't introduce new vulnerabilities that the old CPUs don't have, that aren't yet known due to the CPUs being so "new".

What do you say?

 

[Secret Chief]

No.

 

[Revoltingest]

Why would this movie matter?

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

If people want to know my stance, it's "No." as well.

However, I did want to give some consideration to what the person told me, anyway. I didn't want to flat out dismiss their opinion entirely, without a clear justification why.

But, I think I'm going to vote "No" as well, and if you want the reasons, they are covered in my OP.

 

[Brickjectivity]

What do you say?

There is a software workaround for many processors that costs a percentage of processing cycles to prevent spectre. Just account that and any power costs associated with the workaround before buying. Also, these kinds of security features have to be turned on; because they are optional on many operating systems. It does cost processing power, so some people opt not to guard against spectre. I won't be surprised to hear that a lot of computers have no protection.

I don't remember what the percentage is, but I have heard that you lose 20% of your processing power, depending.

 

[Circumradiant]

I had never heard about Spectre before, and from the Wikipedia article it seems like there's no concrete solution at the moment.
I've been using computers since I was a child, and there are many concepts I'm still learning about, so I'll have to read more on this.
Another issue with using an old CPU would be the fact that technology advances rapidly and software gets demanding over time.
My entire experience with computers involves low end machines. I live in a "third world" country and it's hard to afford a top of the line computer. I had to make do and it's frustrating to deal with outdated hardware sometimes. This news is a bit worrying since I only have access to pre-2019 hardware at the moment.

From what I noticed, those who swap out their hardware constantly have the economic means to do so.
I guess if you're afraid of Spectre and can shell out the money, you should change your processor, but if not, then just use what you have. I'm still not sure whether new chips are safe or not...
It's true that recent CPUs may have other vulnerabilities that we're not aware of.

I'm not an expert, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

What do you say?

Where have so many people gotten the idea I know all this computer stuff? I never even heard of this Specter until now.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I had never heard about Spectre before, and from the Wikipedia article it seems like there's no concrete solution at the moment.
I've been using computers since I was a child, and there are many concepts I'm still learning about, so I'll have to read more on this.
Another issue with using an old CPU would be the fact that technology advances rapidly and software gets demanding over time.
My entire experience with computers involves low end machines. I live in a "third world" country and it's hard to afford a top of the line computer. I had to make do and it's frustrating to deal with outdated hardware sometimes. This news is a bit worrying since I only have access to pre-2019 hardware at the moment.

From what I noticed, those who swap out their hardware constantly have the economic means to do so.
I guess if you're afraid of Spectre and can shell out the money, you should change your processor, but if not, then just use what you have. I'm still not sure whether new chips are safe or not...
It's true that recent CPUs may have other vulnerabilities that we're not aware of.

I'm not an expert, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

There are still occasional problems with the workaround. Spectre operates on CPU's that are being shared by multiple processes: usually CPU's that are running virtual machines. This is usually only going to happen on web servers and other servers with lots of virtual machines. Here are two fairly recent 'Theregister' articles on a problem with preventing spectre on servers. The first shows that spectre is a non-issue on systems where you can trust the installed programs. The second shows that it is mainly a problem on servers running unknown programs, such as virtual CPUS that you can rent on the internet -- usually for a small number of dollars per month. If you are running a home computer, it is likely not spectre that is going to hurt you. Its going to hurt internet servers and businesses that rent out server space to customers.

Do you want speed or security as expected? Spectre CPU defenses can cripple performance on Linux in tests

All depends on whether your workload is making a lot of system calls or not

www.theregister.com

Linux kernel logic allowed Spectre attack on major cloud

Kernel 6.2 ditched a useful defense against ghostly chip design flaw

www.theregister.com

 

[Circumradiant]

There are still occasional problems with the workaround. Spectre operates on CPU's that are being shared by multiple processes: usually CPU's that are running virtual machines. This is usually only going to happen on web servers and other servers with lots of virtual machines. Here are two fairly recent 'Theregister' articles on a problem with preventing spectre on servers. The first shows that spectre is a non-issue on systems where you can trust the installed programs. The second shows that it is mainly a problem on servers running unknown programs, such as virtual CPUS that you can rent on the internet -- usually for a small number of dollars per month. If you are running a home computer, it is likely not spectre that is going to hurt you. Its going to hurt internet servers and businesses that rent out server space to customers.

Do you want speed or security as expected? Spectre CPU defenses can cripple performance on Linux in tests

All depends on whether your workload is making a lot of system calls or not

www.theregister.com

Linux kernel logic allowed Spectre attack on major cloud

Kernel 6.2 ditched a useful defense against ghostly chip design flaw

www.theregister.com

Thanks for the information, I'm going to read the articles and share them with friends. This is all news to me.

 

[Heyo]

CPUs are the Central Producing Unit or "processor" of a computer, and they are one of the main components of a computer along with motherboard, RAM, and storage. Central processing unit - Wikipedia

I own a workstation like PC that's quite old, but in good shape. However, someone online gave me the opinion that I should avoid using computers with CPUs older than 2019 if used for anything important, citing the Spectre security vulnerability: Spectre (security vulnerability) - Wikipedia

It is my understanding that most new Central Processing Units in computers are not completely immune against everything surrounding Spectre, either. However, it is likely that the immunity is better with newer CPUs, there are hardware and software fixes. This, of course, also dodges any arguments that the new CPUs in computers don't introduce new vulnerabilities that the old CPUs don't have, that aren't yet known due to the CPUs being so "new".

What do you say?

Too esoteric a threat than me becoming paranoid (more paranoid than I already am, that is).