I5-2500 Features Missing

[mbreslin1954]

I've had an Intel Core i5-2500 that I've been using for a year or so as my home server, running Windows 2008 R2. The main reason I purchases this processor was that according to Intel's web site it has VT-x, VT-d, and AES-NI. However, I had been noticing that TrueCrypt kept saying that encryption/decryption was NOT hardware accelerated. So I finally downloaded, installed, and ran Intel's processor identification utility. It tells me that my i5-2500 does NOT have AES new instructions nor VT-x (virtualization technologies). Has anyone heard of this before? Was there a time when Intel was selling i5-2500s without these features? Do some kind of fake, or illegitimate CPU?

Any help would be appreciated.


Mike

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

2500 or 2500K? The 2500K doesn't have VT-d. My own 2500K DOES have the other features though.

Check the Validation in my sig for confirmation.

 

[amuffin]

Are those enabled in the BIOS?

 

[mbreslin1954]

The CPU is just a 2500. No "K" or "S" on the end.

I've got an ASRock H67M mobo. The general setting "Virtualization" is enabled in the AsRock UEFI, and at another section "VT-d" is also enabled. But I've been over the UEFI two times and can find no setting for enabling or disabling either AES VT-x. The main reason I bought this processor is for the AES-NI feature, although I'm now running Hyper-V and a virtual machine on it, so I would also like VT-d.

Would a BIOS update help? Could the original BIOS have just left out the AES setting and left it "off" by default?

 

[amuffin]

Update the bios then!

 

[mbreslin1954]

I updated the BIOS. Intel Virtualization Technologies is still a "No", as is Intel AES New Instructions.

The CPU is a core i5-2500
CPU Type 0
CPU Family 6
CPU Model 2A
CPU Stepping 7
CPU Revision 25

Should I assume that this cheap ASRock motherboard just doesn't support AES and virtualization, or that I have a "bad" Intel CPU? I'm wondering if I should buy a new motherboard or a new CPU? I guess I could make this one into a workstation and get both a new motherboard and a new CPU. Either way means spending more money, except next time I will check and immediately send the equipment back if I don't get both AES and virtualization support.

 

[mbreslin1954]

I found the answer if anyone is interested. It seems that installing the Hyper-V "role" in Server 2008 R2 disables the AES-NI feature of the processor. According to an Intel blog I found, this is the reason:

5. Re: S5520HC Bios bug, Virtualization and AES-NI

Edward @ Intel Nov 18, 2010 10:17 AM (in response to neominky)
I'm not 100% sure, but I guess it's the same reason - AES-NI is not available in a virtualized environment. Remember that "after installing the Hyper-V role, the Root OS (or the parent partition) which holds the Hyper-V role is also seen as a virtual machine"