Intel CPU crashes: what you need to know—Intel explains the root cause and plans a final microcode fix for 13th and 14th Gen CPUs

HardwareProcessorsIntel CPU crashes: what you need to know—Intel explains the root cause and plans a final microcode fix for 13th and 14th Gen CPUsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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Intel Core i9 13900K Raptor Lake chip on a promotional box

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Many PC gamers have understandably been concerned about stability issues facing Intel 13th and 14th Gen CPUs, codename Raptor Lake, and especially theCore i9 13900KandCore i9 14900K.

However, new Intel 13th/14th Gen buyers might need to fear no more because Intel’s not only released a preventative fix in the form of a 0x129 microcode patch but has also just identified the root cause and is rolling out another microcode patch (0x12B) to fix it.

This will be welcome news for many because over the previous months, there were increasing reports of stability issues and game crashes, and even some reports of chip failure. While the fix should prevent problems for new Intel CPUs, it won’t fix already-affected CPUs, which should instead be returned and replaced.

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This comes after a previous,preventative 0x129 microcode updatethat was supposed to prevent the “elevated operating voltage” that was leading to chip degradation in 13th and 14th Gen CPUs of a Processor Base Power of 65 W or higher.

This doesn’t do anything for chips already affected, though. On this front, Intel hasexpandedon its two-yearextended warranty announcement, listing all CPUs this will cover, which range from the Core i5 13600KF up to the Core i9 14900KS. Boxed processor customers (ie, people who bought directly from Intel) can contactIntel Customer Supportfor assistance, but tray processor customers will need to contact their place of purchase.

BIOS update downloads

Check these pages to see whether your motherboard has the latest 0x12B and previous 0x129 microcode fix in a BIOS update:

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What’s the issue, exactly?

(Image credit: Future)

Intel Core i9 13900K Raptor Lake chip on a promotional box

Over the past few months, the solutions offered up have been only temporary band-aids, such as underclocking or undervolting the CPU, which game devs and Nvidia recommended. In what now seems like another band-aid, back in April, Intel recommended motherboard manufacturers implement BIOS files that adhere to Intel’s recommended power profiles. Manufacturers started to do so, but unfortunately the updated BIOS files didn’t follow Intel’s latest recommendations.

Intel admitted that there’s a problem with the CPU microcode causing “elevated operating voltage” in affected processors and rolled out a microcode patch to prevent the issue. This 0x129 patch, Intel says, prevents unnecessarily high voltage requests from being sent from the processor to the motherboard, capping these requests to 1.55 V.

Intel’s now also identified the root cause of the voltage spikes that have been causing minimum operating voltages to increase over time, causing degradation. The circuit and related microcode causing this has been identified and should be fixed with an 0x12B patch.

If you’re using a new (65+ W) Intel 13th/14th Gen CPU, we recommend you install the 0x12B BIOS update as soon it’s released for your motherboard. We also recommend you attempt to RMA your CPU if it’s already been affected. While Intel has said it won’t recall chips already affected, the company encourages anyone facing issues to contactcustomer support.

When did we know about the issue?

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Intel Core i9 14900K CPU on a box and inside a motherboard socket.

The first hints that something might be wrong with Intel 13th and 14th Gen CPUs came during mid- to late-2023 when some game developers identified heightened crashing risks for them in games.

In itsAugust 2023 Remnant 2 update notes(viaTechSpot), Gearbox stated: “We have identified an issue on some Intel 13th generation CPUs where upon startup the game will display a message about being out of video memory or the crash reporter will pop up referencing an issue with decompressing a shader. If you experience this problem, you will likely also see it in other DX12 games.”

Gearbox recommended underclocking affected CPUs usingIntel’s Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU).

Similar reports continued into 2024. In February,RAD, a division of Epic Games,pointed the finger at Intelfor Unreal Engine game crashes, stating, “We believe that this is a hardware problem which affects primarily Intel 13900K and 14900K processors, less likely 13700, 14700 and other related processors as well.”

(Image credit: Future)

An Intel Core i7 14700K with an Intel Raptor Lake branded box.

More and more Unreal Engine games seemed to be having problems with the current- and previous-gen Intel processors, particularly the high-end Core i9 13900K and Core i9 14900K, primarily during shader compilation. Around this time, all kinds of potential causes and solutions were bandied about, including undervolting the CPU.

In seeming agreement with Fatshark and others,Nvidia reportedly recommended(viaTom’s Hardware) affected users underclock their CPUs (and remember that clock frequency scales with voltage, so an underclock is equivalent to an indirect undervolt).

Intel eventually started investigating the issue, tellingZDNet Koreathat it “is aware of problems that occur when executing certain tasks on 13th and 14th generation core processors for desktop PCs, and is analyzing them with major affiliates.” It was alsoleakedthat Intel recommended partnered “system and motherboard manufacturers to provide end users with a default BIOS profile that matches Intel recommended settings.”

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Motherboard manufacturers started to implement “recommended” Intel Baseline Profiles to BIOS files.Asus added a Baseline profile, but it didn’t do quite what Intel recommended. Other motherboard vendors followed suit, releasing BIOS updates that, according to Intel, didn’t fully adhere to Intel’s recommendations.

Intel said (viaHardwareluxx), “Several motherboard manufacturers have released BIOS profiles labeled ‘Intel Baseline Profile’. However, these BIOS profiles are not the same as the ‘Intel Default Settings’ recommendations that Intel has recently shared with its partners regarding the instability issues reported on 13th and 14th gen K SKU processors.”

The company then presented a table to make clear its actual recommendations andpressured motherboard manufacturersto implement proper default settings.

Then, in June,Intel found and patched a CPU microcode bugthat wasn’t the root cause of the problems but could have “potentially contributed” to 13th and 14th Gen instability. But given that the bug in question was to do with a thermal boost feature on the i9 chips, this only raised further questions about deeper thermal and voltage issues.

The stability issues were then brought back into the full light of day when, in mid-July, game developerAlderon Gamessaid it wasswitching all its servers to AMD, claiming it’s “only a matter of time before affected CPUs fail.”

Intel has a Pretty Big Problem - YouTubeWatch On

Intel has a Pretty Big Problem - YouTube

Nevertheless, there was still reasonable speculation that the issues could be because of elevated or incorrect voltages. For instance, on 14 July,Buildzoid pointed outthat the stability issues seem to be worse on higher voltages, which is why the Core i5 14600K and lower have fewer crash reports, because they mostly operate below 1.4V.

Intel then confirmed that the stability issues are, as others had speculated, to do with incorrect voltages,telling usthat “elevated operating voltage is causing instability issues in some 13th/14th Gen desktop” and this “is stemming from a microcode algorithm resulting in incorrect voltage requests to the processor.” It also said it is “delivering a microcode patch which addresses the root cause of exposure to elevated voltages,” and that it’s targeting mid-August for the patch release.

(Image credit: Future)

An Intel Core i7 14700K with an Intel Raptor Lake branded box.

After that, it was a waiting game for a while. During the wait, Intel has toldThe Vergethat itwon’t recall chips already affected, stating that “customers experiencing instability on their 13th or 14th Generation desktop processor-based systems should contact Intel customer support for further assistance.”

The company also confirmed that 13th and 14th Gen processors with a 65W Processor Base Power or higher could be affected (though of course not all will be), from the Core i5 13600KF to the Core i9 14900KS.

The waiting is over now, though, as the first BIOS updates that should feature an official microcode fix for the instability issuesstarted rolling outfirst for some MSI And Asus motherboards, and now for others.

There was also some optimism on the unofficial speculation front, too, this being that Workstation builderPuget Systemsseems to be havingfew issueswith Intel 13th and 14th Gen CPUs, probably because the company sets its own BIOS settings (“especially power settings”) based on extensive testing. This suggested that taking extra care with BIOS settings could prevent some of the stability issues people seem to be facing.

If you’re wondering, we’ve found that this latest 0x129 patch hasno notable impact on gaming performance. Which is great news, of course.

The patch might not completely fix damages to Intel’s reputation, though, as a law firm has already startedinvestigating whether to launch a class-action lawsuitagainst Intel over the instability issues. (Update: Now possiblytwo law firms.)

What does go some way towards restoring some rep is that Intelannounced"two-year extended warranty support for our boxed Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen desktop processors," and haslisted the processorsthis applies to, which range from the Core i5 13600KF to the Core i9 14900KS.

If you bought the processor from Intel you can contactIntel customer support here, but if you bought a tray processor from a third-party seller you’ll have to contact your place of purchase. And if you bought a pre-built Intel PC, some PC builders areoffering similar warranty extensions.

Here’s what I think

(Image credit: Future)

Intel Core i9 13900K Raptor Lake chip on a promotional box

If Intel’s 0x12B microcode update fixes the root cause of the stability issues then, once it’s out, I can recommend Intel 13th and 14th Gen CPUs again, provided it’s an unused chip and you install the patch right away.

Intel’s taken too long, in my opinion, to investigate and resolve these problems. These issues were noted as far back as mid-2023, and they were noted with some prevalence early in 2024. The back-and-forth between Intel and motherboard partners earlier in the year only seemed to obfuscate the issue for ordinary PC gamers.

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Status update: What’s the latest#

BIOS update downloads#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

What’s the issue, exactly?#

When did we know about the issue?#

Here’s what I think#

Status update: What’s the latest

BIOS update downloads

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

What’s the issue, exactly?

When did we know about the issue?

Here’s what I think