Intel slowdown

[GreyFox7]

Ok, after the firmware update there is some degradation.

Average of 5 runs with Firmware:
Passmark 1681.9
CPU 4012.5
2D 301.5
3D 547.2
Mem 1649.7
Disk 2613.0

The Firmware update produced a measurable performance decrease although this may be a bit deceiving.

Running Passmark on an i5 SP3 showed an average OVERALL score decrease of 18%.
CPU decreased by 1.7%
2D graphics 45%
3D Graphics 6.3%
Memory 8.3%
Disk improved by 5.5%.

Not sure 2D graphics would/should have that much impact overall.

I'm hoping a future update can mitigate some of these impacts.

 

[gman713]

Is that the SB2 or SP3?

 

[GreyFox7]

Is that the SB2 or SP3?

ALL performance data posted is for the i5 SP3.

 

[gman713]

Thanks, but I saw on the Verge that the SB2 was affected as well and patches are coming. I really love the 15" but I'm starting to wonder if I should return it while I still have a window. It bugs me that people have spent top dollar for this particular device to end up with potentially less performance. I guess I could wait until proper chipsets are released in newer models.

 

[wynand32]

So, here's a test that was done comparing pre- and post-patch performance. It simply won't affect any of us here unless we use our SB2s for server-oriented tasks (there's only one specific benchmark, 4K read tests from an SSD, that shows a meaningful decrease in performance).

Really don't think this is anything to fret about: Testing Windows 10 Performance Before and After the Meltdown Flaw Emergency Patch

 

[wynand32]

Thanks, but I saw on the Verge that the SB2 was affected as well and patches are coming. I really love the 15" but I'm starting to wonder if I should return it while I still have a window. It bugs me that people have spent top dollar for this particular device to end up with potentially less performance. I guess I could wait until proper chipsets are released in newer models.

Just to be clear, pretty much anybody who spent top dollar on any notebook in the last 10 years is affected, and there's no word when Intel will be releasing new CPUs without the issue (it's architectural and so already baked into whatever's upcoming). And as the test shows that I just posted, it's not meaningful.

 

[gman713]

That makes sense. I just over reacted. I definitely want to keep my machine.

 

[GreyFox7]

BTW Passmark is available to download for free
PassMark PerformanceTest - PC benchmark software
It will continue to run the full tests even after it expires except for the baseline management and charting features.

Note: Updated post 13.

 

[gman713]

I'll definitely take advantage of that today so I can get a baseline for my machine. Has anyone used Geekbench before and after to see the difference?

 

[jtrox02]

Ok, after the firmware update there is some degradation.

...

I'm hoping a future update can mitigate some of these impacts.

How did you get a firmware update already? It sounds like Intel has release a software patch that has yet to be a part of Windows update...supposedly will be sent out next week? What's with this firmware update? Does it offer more security than software patch? Not sure I want to install it with that much performance hit. Is there any way to avoid it?

 

[wynand32]

Running Passmark on an i5 SP3 showed an average OVERALL score decrease of 18%.
CPU decreased by 1.7%
2D graphics 45%
3D Graphics 6.3%
Memory 8.3%
Disk improved by 5.5%.

Not sure 2D graphics would/should have that much impact overall.

I'm hoping a future update can mitigate some of these impacts.

This is definitely interesting -- that 2D graphics dropped so considerably. From everything I've been able to discern, that's not an expected result -- the issue that needs to be resolved is in the CPU and relates to accessing system memory. I'd say that if this were an SB2 it might make sense, since the integrated GPU uses system RAM while the dedicated GPU has its own memory. But on an SP3 both 2D and 3D graphics are using system memory -- you'd expect to see the same impact.

Until I see it confirmed elsewhere, I'm going to call this an issue with the graphics driver and something that will be fixed.

 

[GreyFox7]

How did you get a firmware update already? It sounds like Intel has release a software patch that has yet to be a part of Windows update...supposedly will be sent out next week? What's with this firmware update? Does it offer more security than software patch? Not sure I want to install it with that much performance hit. Is there any way to avoid it?

Well I am or was on the Insiders Release Preview (but they changed the name and I'm not sure what I'm on now) but I got the OS patch a lot later than people not on the Insiders. I saw a post here that said it was out so I just did Windows Update to check and sure enough I got it.