https://www.pcworld.com/article/325...d-4-other-nuggets-from-its-earnings-call.html
AMD will Spectre-proof the Zen 2 architecture, and 4 other nuggets from its earnings call
One piece of good news is obvious: AMD's making money again, contributing to the long-term health of Intel's chief rival.
By Mark Hachman
Senior Editor, PCWorldJAN 30, 2018 5:51 PM PT
Gordon Mah Ung
After years of reporting loss after loss, AMD marked a second straight profitable quarter, standing upon the shoulders of its successful Ryzen CPUs and Vega chips. Company executives also said they plan to implement mitigations for the Spectre vulnerabilities in the upcoming Zen 2 architecture, and warned of memory shortages.
The Wall Street analysts on the call were focused on what impact this would all have on AMD’s future earnings, and by extension, its stock price. But as always, it was possible to distill a few drops of information that could affect users directly. Here they are.
1. Spectre mitigations will be built into Zen 2
If you’ve been following the ongoing Spectre and Meltdown saga, you know that Intel has been the vendor most affected by the two chip vulnerabilities. Lisa Su, AMD’s chief executive, reiterated AMD’s prior position that the company’s chips aren’t vulnerable to Meltdown, nor to some of the iterations of potential Spectre exploits.
Here’s how Su explained it:
“For Spectre variant 1, we continue actively working with our ecosystem partners on mitigations, including operating system packages that have begun to roll out,” Su said. “We continue to believe that variant 2 of Spectre is difficult to exploit on AMD processors. However, we are deploying CPU microcode packages that in combination with operating system patches, provide additional mitigation steps.
“Longer term, we have included changes in our future processsor cores, starting with our Zen 2 design, to further address potential Spectre-like exploits,” Su added. “We continue to collaborate closely with the industry on these vulnerabilities, and are committed to protecting AMD users on these and other security threats, as they arise.”
Put another way, it won’t be until 2019 that AMD solves its Spectre problem. Based on AMD’s extensive roadmap that the company recently revealed, the next-gen Zen 2 architecture won’t be released until next year.
2. Crypto is partially responsible for AMD’s success
One point that Wall Street analysts hammered AMD executives on: What was the impact of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin mining, and what will they be in the future? Su played coy, claiming that cryptocurrencies had about a single-digit impact to the company’s annual revenue, though it could be a little higher. Crypto, she allowed, was a great way to “get Radeon in as many applications as possible”.
AMD will Spectre-proof the Zen 2 architecture, and 4 other nuggets from its earnings call
One piece of good news is obvious: AMD's making money again, contributing to the long-term health of Intel's chief rival.
By Mark Hachman
Senior Editor, PCWorldJAN 30, 2018 5:51 PM PT
Gordon Mah Ung
After years of reporting loss after loss, AMD marked a second straight profitable quarter, standing upon the shoulders of its successful Ryzen CPUs and Vega chips. Company executives also said they plan to implement mitigations for the Spectre vulnerabilities in the upcoming Zen 2 architecture, and warned of memory shortages.
The Wall Street analysts on the call were focused on what impact this would all have on AMD’s future earnings, and by extension, its stock price. But as always, it was possible to distill a few drops of information that could affect users directly. Here they are.
1. Spectre mitigations will be built into Zen 2
If you’ve been following the ongoing Spectre and Meltdown saga, you know that Intel has been the vendor most affected by the two chip vulnerabilities. Lisa Su, AMD’s chief executive, reiterated AMD’s prior position that the company’s chips aren’t vulnerable to Meltdown, nor to some of the iterations of potential Spectre exploits.
Here’s how Su explained it:
“For Spectre variant 1, we continue actively working with our ecosystem partners on mitigations, including operating system packages that have begun to roll out,” Su said. “We continue to believe that variant 2 of Spectre is difficult to exploit on AMD processors. However, we are deploying CPU microcode packages that in combination with operating system patches, provide additional mitigation steps.
“Longer term, we have included changes in our future processsor cores, starting with our Zen 2 design, to further address potential Spectre-like exploits,” Su added. “We continue to collaborate closely with the industry on these vulnerabilities, and are committed to protecting AMD users on these and other security threats, as they arise.”
Put another way, it won’t be until 2019 that AMD solves its Spectre problem. Based on AMD’s extensive roadmap that the company recently revealed, the next-gen Zen 2 architecture won’t be released until next year.
2. Crypto is partially responsible for AMD’s success
One point that Wall Street analysts hammered AMD executives on: What was the impact of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin mining, and what will they be in the future? Su played coy, claiming that cryptocurrencies had about a single-digit impact to the company’s annual revenue, though it could be a little higher. Crypto, she allowed, was a great way to “get Radeon in as many applications as possible”.
