What is Secure Virtual Machine in BIOS, and does it need to be enabled? This is in reference to using a Phenom X3 8450. Thanks.

read this mate

1 Introduction
AMD security and virtual machine (SVM) architecture,
codenamed "Pacifica," is designed to provide enterprise-class
server virtualization software technology that facilitates
virtualization development and deployment. An SVM enabled
virtual machine architecture should provide hardware
resources that allow a single machine to run multiple operating
systems efficiently, while maintaining secure, resource-
guaranteed isolation.
1.1 The Virtual Machine Monitor
A virtual machine monitor (VMM, also known as a hypervisor)
consists of software that controls the execution of multiple guest
operating systems on a single physical machine; the VMM
provides each guest the appearance of full control over a
complete computer system (memory, CPU, and all peripheral
devices). The use of the term host refers to the execution
context of the VMM. World switch refers to the operation of
switching between the host and guest.
Fundamentally, VMMs work by intercepting and emulating in a
safe manner sensitive operations in the guest (such as changing
the page tables, which could give a guest access to memory it is
not allowed to access). AMD's SVM provides hardware assists to
improve performance and facilitate implementation of
virtualization.
1.2 SVM Hardware Overview
SVM processor support provides a set of hardware extensions
designed to enable economical and efficient implementation of
virtual machine systems. Generally speaking, hardware support
falls into two complementary categories: virtualization support
and security support.
1.2.1 Virtualization
Support
The AMD virtual machine architecture is designed to provide:
? Mechanisms for fast world switch between VMM and guest
? The ability to intercept selected instructions or events in the
guest

more info here

http://www.mimuw.edu.pl/~vince...fica-specification.pdf

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Thanks for the info.