Last week, Intel released a information note claiming to have found the cause of crashing problems affecting its 13th and 14th generation chips since FebruaryA fix will be available by mid-August via a microcode update, the company says.
It seems like a happy ending for customers frustrated by outages for six months, but it may not be as simple as that.
Our sister site, Tom’s gearhas heard from some sources that the problem — which is related to the processor demanding high voltages and causing the processor to operate outside of safe limits — is causing irreversible degradation.
In other words, the upcoming patch will prevent processors from receiving the higher voltage in the future, but this damage may have already been done to your expensive processor. This is obviously alarming, as this degradation can be asymptomatic, meaning owners cannot know if they are affected.
The Verge asked Intel to confirm how it plans to support affected customers going forward, with the responses printed word for word on site.
The site notes that while Intel has not confirmed that the degradation is permanent, the spokesperson “did not deny it when asked.” Despite this, no recall is planned and the company has not halted sales.
Asked whether the fix would help affected but asymptomatic chips or whether those processors are “living on borrowed time,” the spokesperson stressed the company’s confidence that it would be an “effective preventative solution,” but sidestepped the question of invisible degradation.
“The fix may provide some instability improvements to currently affected processors; however, customers experiencing instability issues on their 13th or 14th generation desktop systems should contact Intel customer support for assistance,” the spokesperson said.
Additionally, the spokesperson confirmed that any 13th or 14th generation desktop processor that draws 65W or more “may be affected.” But “this does not mean that all listed processors are (or will be) affected by the high voltage issue.” This opens the door to vulnerability in Core i5 processors, such as the Core i5-14600.
It’s important to note that two questions remain unanswered at the time of writing, although the site promised that answers would be coming soon. So it’s possible that the policy hasn’t been finalized yet. The first concerns the warranty extension on 13th and 14th generation parts, and the second concerns Intel’s tolerance for RMA requests, given the elusive nature of the issue.
If you’re not sure whether you’re having issues with your processor, Intel suggests checking out the video below for tips on how to check, The Verge adds.

While the above statement suggests that the patch might “provide some instability improvements,” we recommend contacting Intel Support for a replacement if you’ve noticed any instability. As for the possibility of background degradation without symptoms, it seems all you can do is hope.