Intel has been on the hunt for months, investigating reports of high-end 13th- and 14th-generation desktop CPUs encountering crashes during gameplay, particularly the Core i9-13900K and 14900K. The tech giant initially addressed the issue by urging third-party motherboard manufacturers to stick to Intel’s power settings. However, Intel recently announced that a microcode update is in the works to solve the problem once and for all, with an estimated rollout to motherboard makers by mid-August pending validation.
An extensive analysis of the faulty processors revealed that excessive power delivery was causing stability issues in the affected CPUs. This over-voltage problem was traced back to a microcode algorithm error that led to incorrect voltage requests to the processor. The microcode update is crucial for preventing further degradation of the processors for users who have not yet experienced any issues.
Unfortunately, if you’re already facing stability problems with your CPU, the damage may be irreversible as reported by Tom’s Hardware. The fix would not be able to undo the damage that has already taken place. Thankfully, there has been no indication of similar issues affecting the 12th-generation processors like the Core i9-12900K.
Additionally, Intel has assured users that the microcode update will not visibly impact CPU performance. The company is also willing to replace any CPUs that are exhibiting problems. Furthermore, Intel clarified that an earlier manufacturing issue related to oxidation with some 13th-gen Core processors in 2023 was a separate matter and is not linked to the recent instability problems.
Stay tuned for further updates as Intel works tirelessly to ensure a smooth and trouble-free user experience with their cutting-edge desktop CPUs.
