Re: Putting together a computer from old components

On 29/11/2021 19:48, Spiros Bousbouras wrote:
> On Mon, 29 Nov 2021 15:34:58 +0000
> SH <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On 29/11/2021 11:26, Spiros Bousbouras wrote:
>>> The Intel management engine and the analogous from AMD creep me out so I
>>> want to put a computer together using old processors from before these
>>> facilities came into the picture. Operating system will be Linux. I
>>> already have AMD Sempron and Athlon processors and now I need the rest.
>>> www.pcupgrade.co.uk  sells old motherboards. I have a few questions
>>> related to my endeavour :
>>>
>>> Is there any notion of compatibility between computer cases and
>>> motherboards ? If yes , how do I ensure that I get a case such that an old
>>> motherboard (one with an AM2 socket) fits ?
>>>
>>> Are there any issues related to my efforts I should be aware of ? I mean
>>> issues specific to putting a computer together from old parts.
>>>
>>> The only experience I have in putting a computer together is adding
>>> components to a barebones computer but I've never done it from scratch.
>>>
>> what is it about the intel management engine that creeps you out?
> 
> That there is a part of the processor running secret code which has access to
> everything on the computer (memory , storage media , internet communications)
> and nothing in the software that you choose to run on your computer can
> affect this. There is no documented way to disable it either. For Intel
> management engine in particular , a huge number of vulnerabilities have been
> found. That's the part with 0 speculation. The speculation that it may be an
> intended backdoor , is plausible. This is the summary. For full details see
> (a lot worse for Intel than for AMD)
>      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Management_Engine
>      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_Secure_Technology
> 
> Note also that these management engines are an additional large and
> complicated attack surface which doesn't buy *me* anything. I'm not even sure
> why they're there , I mean what is the official justification ? Why should I
> undertake the additional risk , if I don't get anything in return ? The
> better performance is of almost no consequence to me and the management
> engines are unrelated to the better performance anyway. So , even if I wanted
> the better performance , it seems like a dubious deal that I should accept a
> greater risk as a price.
> 
>> P.S. I have a number of spare PCs in loft up for sale if you are
>> interested...
> 
>> Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe board with an AMD Athlon with 4GB RAM
>>
>> Asus P5LD2-Deluxe with Intel processor and 4GB ram
> 
> I'd rather avoid Intel since their processors have had too many
> vulnerabilities over the years even unrelated to the management engine.
> Assuming the AMD processor is old enough not to have the "secure technology"
> (how can one know this ?) and the computer is working , I'm interested. Email
> me (see header) and we'll talk privately.
> 
>> I think I have a 3rd machine knocking about thats more recent I will
>> have to have a dig.
> 


Ok,  I'll drop you an email in a bit.

There is no onboard video but there is a PCIe video card installed that 
is dual monitor DVI (not sure if its DVI-I or DVI-D version though)

The memory is from memory 4 off 1GB Geil DDR2 sticks.

The case has definately seen better days. This machine is circa 2005 
ish, but would need to boot up to see teh bios date string.