Anyone update there AsRock Z170/270 boards BIOS to address Spectre and Meltdown?

[bbhaag]

So I noticed AsRock has released a new BIOS for Z170/270 boards to address the Spectre and Meltdown security issue. Has any one updated yet and if so have you noticed any performance issues?
Here's a link to my boards BIOS page. http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z170M Extreme4/#BIOS

If anyone has updated their boards let me know.

 

[UsandThem]

I saw it for my Z270 Taichi, but I'm going to let others deal with the headaches first, and wait until the dust settles.

 

[bbhaag]

I saw it for my Z270 Taichi, but I'm going to let others deal with the headaches first, and wait until the dust settles.

Yeah me to. I know we have similar setups and honestly I was hoping that you had updated already so you could let me know.haha I guess the both of us will just have to wait and see.

 

[UsandThem]

Yeah me to. I know we have similar setups and honestly I was hoping that you had updated already so you could let me know.haha I guess the both of us will just have to wait and see.

Yeah, I thought about it, but since Microsoft and the various companies have released software-level patches, I'm not overly concerned. The BIOS update is pretty new, so in my past experiences, they screw something else up that was working fine before the update. So I figure I'll keep an eye on it over a few months, and once they get everything figured out, pull the trigger on it.

 

[bbhaag]

Yeah, I thought about it, but since Microsoft and the various companies have released software-level patches, I'm not overly concerned. The BIOS update is pretty new, so in my past experiences, they screw something else up that was working fine before the update. So I figure I'll keep an eye on it over a few months, and once they get everything figured out, pull the trigger on it.

I know that BIOS's can be updated through Windows. Do you think that it's possible that Microsoft would push BIOS updates through on Win10 machines?

 

[UsandThem]

I know that BIOS's can be updated through Windows. Do you think that it's possible that Microsoft would push BIOS updates through on Win10 machines?

I don't think so. They have released patches to fix/minimize the security issues, but since it is a hardware-level exploit, the only way to truly eliminate it is with a hardware micro-code update (BIOS/CPU/Chipset). It's been a bit since I kept up on it, but I think it was Meltdown that was able to be fixed with Microsoft updates, but Spectre needs the hardware micro-code update.

But after this exploit first came to light, the various software companies all released updates to minimize the potential. Since I really don't go to any sites that are questionable, or download anything questionable, I think I am relatively safe for the time being.

 

[vailr]

I know that BIOS's can be updated through Windows. Do you think that it's possible that Microsoft would push BIOS updates through on Win10 machines?

Yes, Microsoft or even Linux OSes can perform on-the-fly (non-permanent) CPU microcode updates.
However, it might be a good idea to actually do the firmware flash update procedure yourself, as long as it's dated March 2018 or later.
For liability reasons, an actual firmware flash procedure would not be something that a Microsoft OS Update would be allowed to do.

 

[Iron Woode]

Asrock released a BIOS fix for my H97 Pro4. I installed it and everything is working fine. I can't see any noticeable slow downs.

 

[bbhaag]

Asrock released a BIOS fix for my H97 Pro4. I installed it and everything is working fine. I can't see any noticeable slow downs.

Did you do any before and after testing with numbers to compare or did you just install the new BIOS see if you feel a difference? I honestly don't think I would notice a performance hit if there even was one. I just use my desktop to surf, email, watch vids, ect.
Maybe I will run some before and after benches to compare the numbers just for the heck of it. I can always flash back to the previous BIOS if there is some major issue with the newer one right?

 

[Iron Woode]

Did you do any before and after testing with numbers to compare or did you just install the new BIOS see if you feel a difference? I honestly don't think I would notice a performance hit if there even was one. I just use my desktop to surf, email, watch vids, ect.
Maybe I will run some before and after benches to compare the numbers just for the heck of it. I can always flash back to the previous BIOS if there is some major issue with the newer one right?

I didn't do any real testing. But I did spend time today playing Doom 2016. My FPS haven't changed.

I would rather have the fix than expose a potential weakness.

 

[UsandThem]

Did you do any before and after testing with numbers to compare or did you just install the new BIOS see if you feel a difference? I honestly don't think I would notice a performance hit if there even was one. I just use my desktop to surf, email, watch vids, ect.
Maybe I will run some before and after benches to compare the numbers just for the heck of it. I can always flash back to the previous BIOS if there is some major issue with the newer one right?

It doesn't say on the BIOS page, but I would be surprised if you could roll back a BIOS update that updates the CPU microcode. But that is only a guess based on previous microcode updates (like the Sky Lake hyper-threading flaw on my Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5 board).

But with computers there is always something new to find out, so maybe someone will come along and tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. 🙂