Librem 15 CPU AMD instead of Intel processor

Hardware
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can it be changed to AMD instead of Intel as it is more secure? Or does the current intel processor protect against meltdown and spectre CPU flaws??

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This has been discussed a few times.

Can it be changed (by swapping a chip)? No

Could it be changed (by changing the design)? Probably.

Would it actually be more secure? Maybe. Maybe not. See discussion around Intel ME (homunculus computer) and AMD’s equivalent. A lot of work has gone into neutering Intel ME. Starting again with AMD would be a retrograde step, at least temporarily. That could change in the future if Intel makes it even harder to neuter the homunculus computer.

Meltdown and Spectre suck but a) AMD was not completely immune, if I recall correctly b) those bugs are mostly worked around now. The work has been done, for better or worse.

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This has been talked about a lot and we even have it in our FAQ:

No, this hardware requires proprietary firmware to even function, therefore not aligned with our philosophy. However, we are monitoring the development and will consider them if something changes in the future.

Source: https://puri.sm/faq/#faq-AreyoulookingtoofferaAMD-RadeonRyzen-VegaornVidiaGPUoptionforlaptopsinthenearfuture

Don’t mind the URL, its auto generated based on the title of the post :smile:

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That FAQ entry may be focused on the graphics side of things. That’s a whole other can of worms.

But since we’re pointing at the FAQ,

What is Intel Management Engine and what are concerns with it regarding Librem laptops?

(I don’t think that fragment (anchor) identifier is actually working.)

The concerns that exist with the Intel ME also exist with the AMD PSP (Platform Security Processor).

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The FAQ entry I quoted does say Ryzen in the title and meant to cover both CPU and GPUs. But thank you for linking to the other entry as well.

Edit: The more info/clarity we can provide the better so the discussion can move from “why no AMD” to “How/Can we free the PSP and get that sweet sweet iGPU”!

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I don’t think the difference between AMD and Intel is that interesting with regard to security. They both have too much mystery meat undocumented functionality and layer upon layer of potentially buggy legacy compatibility logic.

A laptop based on either RISC-V or IBM Power would be interesting, though.

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