It's not just #Spectre and #Meltdown — dozens of similar CPU bugs have been discovered since 2018, and they're still being found:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transient_execution_CPU_vulnerability

The foundations of modern computing are ricketier than we like to imagine.

In the past, I've always bought a decent computer and held on to it for years and years: it saves money and it's the green thing you do. My main machine right now is seven years old and still going strong. Updating the OS and apps is no problem — I run #Linux. But #CPU bugs make me wonder whether I should replace computers more often for security reasons. I really hope not.

@CppGuy go the other way: never update them. new CPUs just aren't worth the trouble.

@millihertz

It takes a reasonably modern CPU to run #Luks at an acceptable speed. Building a system without full-disk encryption these days feels like negligence. But a machine modern enough to have fast crypto instructions will also have the unfathomable complexity that presents a huge attack surface.

@CppGuy There is another route that may not be as simple as deciding to to it. But I thought I mention it because it works well for me: Redefine acceptable. I still like my Core2 Duo laptop. Everything is up to date and LUKS works fine, too. I'll probably switch to a second generation Core i5 soon. And I will love the speed and wonder how I managed to get by before for sure. But so far I'm still happy with it the old one.
Edit: I should mention that I already use the i5 sometimes when I need the extra RAM, e.g. for compiling some things. @millihertz

@steeph

You must be getting better results than I do! My old 2009 Core Duo machine manages about 5MB/sec with Luks enabled.

I'm old. I don't have that much time left. 😄

@millihertz