Does Skylake have an unusual amount of errata?

[DS9VOY]

I just noticed that Gigabyte has posted yet another CPU microcode update BIOS for my motherboard. (Z170X gaming 5)

My understanding is that microcode updates are classified by Intel. (They don't usually say what they fix, why they are issued, or even how microcode updates are applied) They are issued to address defects ("errata") found in a CPU. So, I know we won't get any info on this.

I'm just surprised to see yet another microcode update so soon after the Skylake launch. Makes me wonder if maybe all is not well with Skylake, and maybe this could explain the supply shortages of most of the Skylake chips?

 

[zir_blazer]

There is also SGX, which current Skylake models does NOT have and just at the end of the month we will get them. Since they're not changing the Revision, its possible that it wasn't validated enough at launch and had to wait some months to enable it. Its the other way around that what happened to TSX.

 

[ShintaiDK]

SGX is a business oriented feature tho.

Completely useless for a gamer.

But else no, Skylake is fine

Microcode isn't just about errors either. Better functionality, improvements, new SKU support etc.

 

[Tsavo]

This is Intel's big problem. I thought they'd be using something larger than micro code by now.

 

[zlatan]

Define that "unusual amount".

Skylake has a lot, but not awful lot. Compared to the mobile SoCs with more than a thousand errata Skylake is a flawless product.

 

[ShintaiDK]

This is Intel's big problem. I thought they'd be using something larger than micro code by now.

This makes no sense. Please elaborate.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Erratas are also public. So its not some secret information.
http://www.intel.com/content/dam/ww...s/desktop-6th-gen-core-family-spec-update.pdf

Whatever your mobo vendor passes on of information is entirely different.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

This makes no sense. Please elaborate.

It's a pun.

 

[Ansau]

Skylake has 53 known erratas. In comparison, Broadwell has 89 erratas and Haswell 153.

Supply shortages could be for several things, probably shortage in the productivity of the new fabrics with 14nm to not be able to supply the demand, waiting for the eliminations of stock from vendors...
Erratas doesn't seem one of them, that would mean a big enough problem to stop selling any chip.