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Hugo Landau has written a blog post about why Intel will never let hardware owners control the Management Engine. The Intel Managment Engine (ME) is a secondary microprocessor ensconced in recent Intel x86 chips, running an Intel-signed, proprietary, binary blob which provides remote access over the network as well as direct access to memory and peripherals. Because of the code signing restrictions enforced by the hardware, it cannot be modified or replaced by the user.
Intel/AMD will never allow machine owners to control the code executing on the ME/PSP because they have decided to build a business on preventing you from doing so. In particular, it's likely that they're actually contractually obligated not to let you control these processors.
The reason is that Intel literally decided to collude with Hollywood to integrate DRM into their CPUs; they conspired with media companies to lock you out of certain parts of your machine. After all, this is the company that created HDCP.
This DRM functionality is implemented on the ME/PSP. Its ability to implement DRM depends on you not having control over it, and not having control over the code that runs on it. Allowing you to control the code running on the ME would directly compromise an initiative which Intel has been advancing for over a decade.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 24 2018, @04:30AM
Talos II lite (power9 cpu) is the only thing with performance same/better than xeon, and in same price range-- everything with software/firmware is free/open on this board.
For 100% free drivers on an ARM board (including GPU), I think there is only the MX6, MX7, and MX8 SOC. There are some boards ( https://wandboard.org [wandboard.org] ) with a raspi form factor. And, some larger form factor boards that include a pci-e etc.
For a headless box, your options open up quite a bit. Look for anything ARM that has been used in a recent chrome book. Google is now requiring manufacturers to get everything but gpu drivers upstream and in-tree in the linux kernel, in order to be used in a chrome book. So,even Chinese SOCs like Rockchip can now run a vanilla kernel* with no proprietary blobs for a headless / frame buffer box (Pine makes a cheap SBC based on rockchip- "rock 64"; $25 with 1G ram, $45 with 4G; their rockpro64 gets you a faster CPU, and pci-e x4 slot with 2G ram $60 4G $80).
*only have read this, No personal exp with rockchip (but that is about to change).