Intel has promised to provide a fix for some of its recent desktop processors suffering from “stability issues.”
In June, Chipzilla finally admitted It has confirmed reports that some of its 13th and 14th-gen silicon – aka Raptor Lake – is wobbly due to “high voltage input to the CPU due to previous BIOS settings that allow the CPU to run at turbo frequencies and voltages even when the CPU is at a high temperature.”
Users had spotted this instability months earlier, and we covered their anger over symptoms like crashes and memory corruption.
Chipzilla confirmed that the issues were real and promised a fix.
“Based on extensive analysis of 13th/14th Gen Intel Core desktop processors returned to us due to instability issues, we have determined that high operating voltage is causing the instability issues,” said communications manager Thomas Hannaford. wrote in a Monday post.
“Our analysis of the returned processors confirms that the high operating voltage is caused by a microcode algorithm causing incorrect voltage requests to the processor,” he added.
The good news is that the microcode can be modified, and Intel plans to offer affected users the ability to do so in mid-August.
“Intel is providing a microcode fix that addresses the root cause of the high voltage exposure,” Hannaford’s post said, with the silicon vendor currently testing to ensure its revised code fixes the issue.
The chip shop previously explained that the issue was present in “13th and 14th Gen Intel Core desktop processors (K/KF/KS).”
The “K” denotes processors with integrated graphics and can be overclocked. “KF” parts require external GPUs. The “KS” kit is for enthusiasts who likely have opinions on the qualities of different thermal pastes when pushing their processors to Intel’s highest possible clock speeds.
The register consulted Intel Ark database listing its processors and found 23 devices in each of the 13th and 14th generations of Core desktop processors – 46 in total – with only 13 bearing either “K” identifier.
This is good news for Intel: it means that a minority of the product line is affected by the issue. And of course, desktops now make up about 20% of the PC market, so the majority of Chipzilla’s products are not affected.
Raptor Lake debuted in 2022 and brought with it a mix of cores optimized for performance or efficiency.
None of the voltage-constrained processors include the neural processing unit that denotes an “AI PC” – because Intel has not yet delivered silicon to bring desktops into that category.
Intel is “currently targeting mid-August for release of the fix to partners after full validation.”
At this point, owners of affected chips will have to check with the brand that made their case and endure the fun of a fickle microcode upgrade. Penguinistas may have the upper hand, as Linux users can sometimes upgrade from within the operating system.
Intel Offers tips on microcode updates here. ®