Intel Skylake bug

[GreyFox7]

Ref: Intel Skylake bug causes PCs to freeze during complex workloads

Intel Skylake bug causes PCs to freeze during complex workloads

What's a complex workload? ...
Did your Skylake PC Freeze?

Intel wont say what the nature of the bug is ... so we get to define it anyway we want.

"Intel has identified an issue that potentially affects the 6th Gen Intel Core family of products. This issue only occurs under certain complex workload conditions, like those that may be encountered when running applications like Prime95. In those cases, the processor may hang or cause unpredictable system behavior."

Intel has developed a fix, and is working with hardware partners to distribute it via a BIOS update.

No reason has been given as to why the bug occurs, but it's confirmed to affect both Linux and Windows-based systems.​

 

[GreyFox7]

Most recently, Intel's Haswell and early Broadwell processors suffered from a TSX (Transactional Synchronization Extensions) bug. Rather than recall the parts, Intel disabled the TSX instructions via a microcode update delivered via new motherboard firmware.

How many problems are discovered and "fixed" (aka worked around) with Firmware updates that are never disclosed publicly; Zero, more than one, does it matter?

 

[sharpuser]

... How many problems are discovered and "fixed" (aka worked around) with Firmware updates that are never disclosed publicly; Zero, more than one, does it matter?

Zero and one are the only numbers which matter.

 

[GreyFox7]

Zero and one are the only numbers which matter.

When they get away from the ones and zeros is when the bad stuff happens.

especially with the "Unpredictable System Behavior" because, well ... it's so unpredictable.
1+1 = 3 no wait it's 9 umm maybe 2 or 5, ah heck, any answer will do once in a while just be glad we didn't freeze up. of course it's only on complex operations so perhaps rendering mickey mouse we get mini mouse or mighty mouse ... that would be too obvious ... angry mouse, deformed mouse.
We really don't know what will happen because... its unpredictable.