HardwareProcessorsIntel has discovered what actually caused its top gaming chips to break and is rolling out another fixWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
HardwareProcessorsIntel has discovered what actually caused its top gaming chips to break and is rolling out another fixWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Future)
One might have thought all theIntel stability issuemalarkey was behind us, given theofficial 0x129 microcode fixcame out back in August. However, although this update was supposed to fix the issue, it wasn’t a root cause fix.
In other words, Intel’s narrowed down the problem to a particular circuit within the bulk of the CPU that houses all the P- and E-Cores. The problem is, as we already knew, a Vmin one, where voltage spikes cause the minimum operating voltage to increase over time as the CPU requires more and more power to remain stable, which increases degradation.
Intel’s listed four scenarios that might lead to such a Vmin shift:
The first of these just involves sticking to Intel’s recommendations and the second and third were addressed with the previous 0x129 microcode update. The fourth one is the new one that the 0x12B microcode aims to fix.
Intel says it’s “working with its partners to roll out the relevant BIOS update to the public”, so we can expect motherboard vendors to release the updates soon.
While we can’t say for certain until it’s released, Intel indicates that installing the update shouldn’t cause any performance impact, at least based on the couple of configurations it tested. In our tests of previous microcode updates, we noticed no performance degredation. The company does note, however, that “system performance is dependent on configuration and several other factors.”
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The Raptor Lake stability issues have certainly been around long enough and caused problems for enough people. Let’s hope this supposed root cause fix can put the issue to bed.
Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.
Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.
Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.
Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.
Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.
Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.
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AMD accuses Intel’s Arrow Lake of being a ‘horrible’ product and implies a lack of options for consumers has caused the Ryzen 7 9800X3D shortage
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If you’re a content creator and gamer looking for a CPU upgrade, this Ryzen 9 9900X deal will get you $90 off
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