AMD Confirms CPU Bug Found By DragonFly BSD's Matt Dillon

An anonymous reader writes "Matt Dillon of DragonFly BSD just announced that AMD confirmed a CPU bug he found. Matt quotes part of the mail exchange and it looks like 'consecutive back-to-back pops and (near) return instructions can create a condition where the processor incorrectly updates the stack pointer.' The specific manifestations in DragonFly were random segmentation faults under heavy load."

Re:This isn't nearly as bad as the division bug

[GoodNewsJimDotCom]

I found out about the division bug as a beginner programmer! I was trying to write the first MMORPG using Quick Basic. I remember division not being exactly accurate, so the solution I needed to use was to round up and down results that are really close. It fixed it, but new programmers shouldn't be forced to deal with stuff like that.

I've preferred AMDs to Intels because AMD was one of the first sponsors to Esports back in 99. Too bad Columbine happened and I suspect they wanted to distance themselves from Quake tournaments. Another thing I like about AMD was that their processors don't melt if they get hot because they have a self preservation shutdown mode. People said Intel had this, but I melted a processor just a few months ago on SWTOR.

Re:This isn't nearly as bad as the division bug

[Smauler]

I was trying to write the first MMORPG using Quick Basic.

Sounds like the division bug was the least of your problems....

Re:This isn't nearly as bad as the division bug

[Corbets]

I found out about the division bug as a beginner programmer! I was trying to write the first MMORPG using Quick Basic.

I've never heard "choosing the wrong programming language" described as a bug, but hey, however you want to play it off, man.

Matt Dillon of Dragon Fly

[hcs_$reboot]

Matt Dillon [imdb.com], desperate after chasing unsuccessfully mary in Something about Mary [imdb.com] radically changed jobs and started to study computer science...

Re:This isn't nearly as bad as the division bug

[mcgrew]

Ah, the memories...

Though, it's still very serious. At least it generally causes your program to crash rather than spitting out a wrong answer.

At Intel, Quality is Job 0.99989960954

Q: What is a mad scientist?
A: A researcher with a Pentium

Q: How many Pentium designers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: 1.99904274017, but that's close enough for non-technical people.

Q: What's another name for the "Intel Inside" sticker they put on Pentiums?
A: The warning label.

Q: Why didn't Intel call the Pentium the 586?
A: Because they added 486 and 100 on the first Pentium and got 585.999983605.

Q: Did you hear about the new "morning after" pill being developed as a replacement for RU-486???
A: Its called RU-Pentium. It causes the embryo to not divide correctly.

Re:cool, but...?

[m.dillon]

What's really amusing is that I've been on the scene for so long if you google my name 'Matthew Dillon', the first entry is actually... me! And not the actor(s). I'm sure that grinds a bit but I do bask in the occasional fan mail reaching my inbox, just before I hit the 'delete' key.

In recent years its started to flip back and forth, and I expect Hollywood will again take over the top spot after things die down again :-)

-Matt