Will there be a Meltdown/Sceptre microcode update for Dell XPS 8500?

Cbarnhorst,

I cannot say for certain if there will be another bios for the 8500. Chances are there will not be. The system shipped in 2012.

 Download and run this free InSpectre application to check your system. What are the results?

The test report is:

EDITED TO CORRECT IMPROPER TESTING!  3/8/18 

System is Meltdown protected:  YES

System is Spectre protected:  NO

Performance:  Slower

CPUID:  306A9

So it appears that the XPS 8500s needs a BIOS patch.

I got confused between two screens.  My results show I am not protected from Sceptre.  The correct result for my Dell XPS 8500 is:

System is Meltdown protected:  YES

System is Sceptre proteced:  NO

Performance:  SLOWER

CPUID:  306A9

Sorry for any misleading info.

Now this result makes more sense. Hopefully, Microsoft will incorporate Spectre microcode updates into Windows 10 as the article indicates. At least this will help folks with systems that will not get updates from OEMs, but it appears folks running Windows 7 or 8 maybe left out.

And let's hope that if this happens, the updates are made optional at least at first - Microsoft releasing microcode updates sends shivers up my spine.

The problem is that on many of these systems, they're just not available for testing the updates before they're released - so they become alpha releases, with end users being the (unwitting) testers.

Given some of the experiences discussed here in this forum about some of the problems with the BIOS updates with microcode fixes for Spectre and the Intel Management Engine, I am not sure which is better, Windows updates or BIOS updates. At least Windows updates don't have the potential to brick your motherboard and generally they can be uninstalled although being optional would be better.

But there are hardware manufacturers are not stepping up to provide firmware updates to systems that are only a few years old. What is immense is that with each manufacturer the number of different systems each with a different BIOS version that needs to be updated. It just seems to me that since Spectre is mainly a CPU issue, Spectre microcode fixes via Windows update is a more reasonable approach. I am sure the hardware manufacturers would agree and those who do not can still provide BIOS updates although I believe very few would.

If I understand the situation, the general issue with the older CPUs is poorer and poorer performance the older the generation of a CPU.  Or something like that.  Is that the dilemma?  A choice between unacceptable performance and unacceptable security risk?

I hate uncertainties like:  If replacement is impractical do I just quit using what is otherwise a very usable device?  Or do I just keep going until something bad happens?  Or is the probability of an exploit so low as to just ignore it?  I know there are no black and white answers, but this stuff stays in the back of one's mind.

As an aside, I have been scanning the threads on the Meltdown/Spectre topic for the XPS 8910 and 8930 and we in this thread are much better informed and cared for than the users in those threads, who report confusion and no indication of robust BIOS updates yet.

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@Vic384wrote:

But there are hardware manufacturers are not stepping up to provide firmware updates to systems that are only a few years old. What is immense is that with each manufacturer the number of different systems each with a different BIOS version that needs to be updated. It just seems to me that since Spectre is mainly a CPU issue, Spectre microcode fixes via Windows update is a more reasonable approach. I am sure the hardware manufacturers would agree and those who do not can still provide BIOS updates although I believe very few would.

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Right. However, it might not be Dell's fault (or HP, Lenovo, or whoever).

https://www.google.com/search?q=intel+not+patching+old+system

In addition, here's the download link, for everyone's convenience: https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=4H7WY

I think the manufacturers are more at fault than Intel. Take the case of a Intel Skylake processor. It is a fairly recent generation processor and Intel has provided Spectre microcode updates, but not all manufacturers (both system and motherboard) are providing BIOS updates. For this reason I think a more reasonable approach is for Windows (and other OSs like Linux) to provide microcode updates. Of course the microcode still has to come from Intel or AMD.