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Intel’s thirteenth and 14th Gen desktop processors (dubbed “Raptor Lake” and “Raptor Lake Refresh”) have lately come below hearth—and a few critical scrutiny—for unexpectedly excessive failure charges. Finally, Intel put the issue all the way down to a CPU-microcode bug that allowed, at instances, for supply of too-high voltage. The chip maker has been scrambling to mitigate this significant issue ever because it recognized the trigger. Now, we have now our first have a look at what the chip big’s resolution appears to be like like. It comes within the type of a microcode patch.What we have seen up to now: The patch Intel launched has a minor efficiency penalty related to it, whereas additionally decreasing warmth manufacturing and energy consumption somewhat bit. These adjustments simply is perhaps sufficient to forestall injury, or additional injury, to your Raptor Lake processor. Nonetheless, you must know this is not essentially an ideal repair for processors which might be already crashing often. Additionally, additional patches or different remediations might come from Intel in time.What’s the Drawback With Raptor Lake?Anybody who has seen Jurassic Park ought to notice that raptors are certainly an enormous difficulty. Jokes apart, Raptor Lake processors have change into a serious downside, too, and—identical to in Jurassic Park—for employees and friends equally. Programs utilizing thirteenth and 14th Gen processors have been crashing at an alarming price, with stories of frequent Blue Screens Of Loss of life (BSODs). Some recreation builders, who’ve deployed these generations of chips in giant numbers, have reported a disproportionate variety of these Intel CPUs exhibiting failures or unstable habits, in contrast with their AMD equivalents (and versus earlier Intel generations).
(Credit score: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)
The issue is remoted to thirteenth Gen Intel Raptor Lake processors and 14th Gen Intel Raptor Lake Refresh processors. As their code names recommend, each make use of the identical underlying architectures, so we’ll seek advice from them on this article collectively as “Raptor Lake” for simplicity. The crash issues are additionally reportedly remoted to processors with an influence score of 65 watts or larger; that applies to nearly all Raptor Lake processors.As talked about, extreme voltage seems to be the foundation reason behind this crashing. Overclockers have lengthy identified that pushing an excessive amount of energy by way of a processor can injury it, however this injury tends to happen over time, and it isn’t at all times obvious that injury is occurring till it’s too late. You possibly can liken it to pushing the engine in your automotive to the place it’s red-lining, working with its RPMs within the purple a part of the gauge. It’s one thing you are able to do however not one thing you actually wish to do. Doing it a number of instances might not have an impact, however the extra you do it, the pressure on the {hardware} reveals.
(Credit score: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)
That’s primarily what’s occurred with Intel’s Raptor Lake processors. There have been indicators that these processors have been being pushed too laborious early on, which we indicated in our opinions of the Core i7-13700K, Core i9-13900K, Core i9-13900KS, Core i7-14700K, Core i9-14900K and Core i9-14900KS. These processors proved comparatively power-hungry throughout testing, and all hit their thermal restrict when below peak benchmark stresses on our normal 240mm liquid cooler. That is removed from supreme on each accounts, however the processors have been secure (largely) at launch, so we didn’t have a concrete purpose to assume they might fail prematurely or undergo some other uncomfortable side effects. That is how they have been designed to run. Or so we thought.Intel’s 0x129 Patch: The First Formal FixThe microcode patch Intel created to deal with this dilemma is known as “0x129.” A microcode replace alters the directions processors use to information their inner operations. Quite a lot of info is saved on this microcode, together with the logic figuring out how a lot energy the CPU ought to request from the motherboard. When the processor turbo is lively, the 0x129 patch limits voltage requests above 1.55V. If extreme voltage is certainly the foundation reason behind your Raptor Lake crashes, this patch may assist to alleviate that. However it might not totally resolve the issue, in all instances.The primary massive purpose why? Injury might have already been finished. As talked about within the earlier part, injury from extra voltage sometimes accrues step by step, and there isn’t a technique to undo it. It is like working your automotive too laborious: If it begins having issues, they will not simply disappear should you push the car much less laborious. In the identical manner, customers already experiencing crashes might proceed to see some even after making use of the patch. Processors broken so far seemingly should be changed below guarantee, which Intel has prolonged by two years for processors affected by this voltage difficulty. A group discussion board submit by Thomas Hannaford, Intel communications supervisor, on the scenario and the corporate’s stance on ceaselessly crashing processors reads as follows:In mild of the lately introduced prolonged guarantee program, Intel is reaffirming its confidence in its merchandise and is dedicated to creating certain all clients who’ve or are presently experiencing instability signs on their thirteenth and/or 14th Gen desktop processors are supported within the change course of. Customers experiencing constant instability signs ought to attain out to their system producer (OEM/System Integrator buy), Intel Buyer Help (boxed processor), or place of buy (tray processor) additional help.In the identical discussion board submit talked about above, Hannaford acknowledged the next:The most recent microcode replace (0x129) will restrict voltage requests above 1.55V as a preventative mitigation for processors not experiencing instability signs.In inquiries to Intel, Hannaford indicated to us that it’d nonetheless be doable for overclockers to exceed these voltage ranges by manually altering settings. Both manner, overclockers ought to attempt to keep below this voltage restrict for the long-term stability of their {hardware}.A second purpose why this patch could also be simply the beginning of this story: We might even see extra patches. Hannaford talked about to us in the midst of inquiries that…Investigation continues to make sure that situations of instability reported to Intel relating to its Core thirteenth/14th Gen desktop processors are addressed and acceptable preventative measures are applied in present and future product households.That means Intel may have additional patches coming to resolve the issue if its understanding of the issue evolves.A 3rd purpose the issues would possibly persist is only speculative on our half: As we noticed in our newest assessments (which we’ll get to in a second), the chip working temperatures stay comparatively excessive. However we’ll talk about that extra as we undergo the take a look at outcomes.How We Examined the Patched-Up RaptorsWe examined a number of of the higher-end chips focused by the patch to gauge what, if any, impact the patch has had on efficiency, working temperatures, and energy consumption. We centered this testing on Intel’s Core i9-14900K and Core i7-14700K.Our logic for selecting these two? Since voltage ranges are at play right here, we surmised the patch would present essentially the most vital observable adjustments with Intel’s power-hungriest processors. That alone would have guided us to retest the Core i9-14900KS and the Core i9-13900KS, however these processors are each particular version fashions obtainable in restricted portions, and we wished to check chips extra individuals have been more likely to have. That left the Core i9-14900K and the Core i7-14700K as the 2 power-hungriest and most generally obtainable ones.
(Credit score: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)
The 2 CPUs have been examined on the exact same platform we benchmarked them on once they launched. The take a look at system has a Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Grasp motherboard with 32GB of DDR5 RAM clocked on the max formally supported reminiscence pace (5,600MHz). The system is provided with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card. A Cooler Grasp MasterLiquid PL240 Flux liquid AIO cooler is used with all examined processors, and a SilverStone DA850 850-watt energy provide offers the juice. All elements are put in on a Praxis Wetbench chassis, and all assessments have been carried out below Home windows 11 with the newest updates put in.To get and apply the patch to your system, you will must obtain a BIOS replace and apply it to your motherboard. That is seemingly the newest BIOS replace on the board maker’s website, however you must verify the outline or replace notes for the BIOS to verify it contains the 0x129 patch. For instance, the F14f BIOS model for our Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Grasp take a look at motherboard has the next in its description:Replace microcode 0x129 to deal with sporadic Vcore elevation habits introduced by IntelUnless you may have the identical motherboard, or presumably one other Gigabyte motherboard, you are not more likely to see a BIOS description or an replace word that claims that verbatim, however you must verify that no matter replace you put in signifies the 0x129 patch is included. The obtain must be obtainable on the help web page on your motherboard below the BIOS part, and most pre-built programs (like these from Dell, HP, and Lenovo) ought to have comparable updates obtainable. That is how you will know the patch will probably be utilized. Put up-Patch CPU Efficiency Assessments: Core i7-14700K & Core i9-14900KThe patch suppresses extra voltage requests over 1.55V, and this impact on efficiency (if any) will probably be seen in CPU-focused assessments. The explanation why: Such voltage requests sometimes happen solely when the processor is below a heavy load, resembling when working extremely threaded CPU-focused assessments.We ran our normal benchmark suite on the Core i7 and i9 chips indicated and graphed them in opposition to the numbers we noticed when the chips launched. In most assessments, we noticed a light discount in efficiency on each the Core i7-14700K and the Core i9-14900K when working the brand new patch.
In Cinebench R23, the patched Core i9-14900K carried out 4% slower within the multi-threaded take a look at and three% slower within the single-threaded take a look at than it carried out pre-patch. The patched Core i7-14700K confirmed comparable ends in the multi-threaded take a look at (3% slower), and a lifeless warmth within the single-threaded take a look at.The outcomes we measured in our two Adobe assessments, partially, we can’t totally clarify. In Adobe Photoshop, the patched Core i9-14900K was 4% slower than it carried out pre-patch (comprehensible), however in Adobe Premiere Professional, we measured an unlimited distinction of 42%. The Core i9-14900K scored surprisingly excessive earlier than the patch on this take a look at, and that overperformance was constant throughout a number of take a look at runs. These excessively excessive Premiere Professional take a look at scores vanished after the patch was utilized. Given our different assessments, it doesn’t make sense for this patch to drop efficiency by this excessive of an quantity. As a result of the unique quantity was so inflated, we’re keen to put in writing this take a look at off as an anomaly. The Core i7-14700K, compared, misplaced solely 4% of its efficiency in Premiere Professional with the patch utilized.Our Handbrake take a look at confirmed 4% and three% efficiency reductions, respectively, with the patched Core i9-14900K and Core i7-14700K. Subsequent, our Blender trial had the patched Core i9-14900K take 6% longer to finish the take a look at than it took earlier than the patch, whereas the Core i7-14700K carried out nearly identically earlier than and after the patch. Final is our POV-Ray 3.7 take a look at. (It is just like Cinebench R23 in that it options each single- and multi-threaded torture assessments.) The patch had no impact on efficiency in both chip’s single-threaded take a look at, however the Core i9-14900K carried out 5% slower within the multi-threaded take a look at after the patch was utilized.Put up-Patch Gaming Efficiency Assessments: Core i7-14700K & Core i9-14900KGaming outcomes for the Core i9-14900K and Core i7-14700K diversified tremendously from take a look at to check with the patch utilized. The patch was not the one issue right here. We utilized the patch to resolve the crashing difficulty, after all, however different related updates have occurred since we initially examined the Core i9-14900K and the Core i7-14700K in October 2023, and these updates have been additionally put in together with the patch. These tweaks can alter varied issues, together with how Intel’s Thread Director behaves. (Thread Director governs how the high-performance P-Cores and the high-efficiency E-Cores share workloads.) Additionally new: graphics drivers that could be extra mature for some video games now than once we examined these two chips.Within the artificial 3DMark Time Spy take a look at, the patched Core i9-14900K carried out higher than earlier than the patch, whereas the Core i7-14700K carried out about the identical earlier than and after the patch. Efficiency dropped within the recreation F1 22 with the patch utilized by between 3% to five% on each processors, however efficiency elevated by as much as 6% in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, which is probably going all the way down to driver optimizations.
Whole Warfare: Three Kingdoms carried out between 3% and 4% slower on the Core i9-14900K after the patch was utilized, however it ran somewhat sooner on the patched Core i7-14700K (between 3% and 6%). Neither of our true legacy video games, Bioshock: Infinite or Tomb Raider (2013), confirmed a big change from having the patch put in.Put up-Patch Energy & Thermals: Core i7-14700K & Core i9-14900KWe use a Kill-A-Watt wall meter to carry out power-consumption assessments on the take a look at programs. This provides us an thought of how a lot energy the system consumes as a complete, even when it doesn’t give us precise measurements for the processor in isolation. The remainder of the take a look at system is unchanged aside from the CPU, nonetheless, so this offers us perception into how a lot energy every processor consumes relative to one another in a constant atmosphere.
The patch didn’t considerably alter energy consumption for the Core i9-14900K, however the Core i7-14700K confirmed a 3% discount in energy consumption in our Adobe Premiere trial and a 12% discount in Cinebench R23. General temperatures dropped barely on each the Core i9-14900K and the Core i7-14700K with the patch utilized.Hitting 97 levels C and 96 levels C, respectively, nonetheless, each processors nonetheless operated at near their thermal restrict and better than I’d really feel comfy with for normal use. That is just some levels off what we noticed pre-patch.Verdict: Not a Large Penalty, However Is This the First & Final Repair?Intel’s patch for its Raptor Lake and Raptor Lake Refresh processors might nicely assist to forestall injury from extreme voltage. The marginally lowered working temperatures are a promising signal, as are the lowered power-consumption figures for the Core i7-14700K. Efficiency did drop in lots of assessments, however the discount was slight normally, detectable solely in benchmarks. Most individuals seemingly gained’t discover the distinction in on a regular basis duties, which is good news. These adjustments could also be small, however the distinction between dangerously excessive voltage spikes that injury the processor and within-spec voltage boosts that don’t trigger injury will be fairly small, too. This patch is hopefully sufficient to forestall the previous.
(Credit score: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)
That stated, this patch is just not a time machine or a therapeutic potion. Whereas the patch might show efficient at stopping injury (or additional injury), any injury already sustained by an affected processor is everlasting and sure gained’t be resolved or mitigated by this patch. Given the nonetheless comparatively excessive energy consumption and working temperatures, taking extra precautions, like those we outlined on this earlier article, would even be clever. In spite of everything, as a normal rule: The decrease the working temperature of your laptop elements, the longer they’ll sometimes final, all else being equal.As a eager PC builder and part reviewer, I am uncomfortable with elements pushing over 90 levels C below heavy load; I’m barely OK with something that tends to run over 80 levels C. For those who nonetheless see the identical patterns of crashing with the patch put in, you must look into guarantee service on your CPU from Intel (should you purchased a boxed chip) or your system vendor (should you bought the CPU in an OEM system). Taking additional motion past the patch to cut back energy consumption and working temperatures might be useful should you’re seeing equally excessive temperatures. In fact, getting the ability consumption and working temperature down even decrease than what we noticed in our assessments might imply an even bigger efficiency hit. Regardless, even should you do nothing else, putting in 0x129 is a vital first step to take proper now should you personal one in every of these chips.
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About Michael Justin Allen Sexton
Analyst
For so long as I can keep in mind, I’ve had love of all issues tech, spurred on, partially, by a love of gaming. I started engaged on computer systems owned by instant members of the family and family members once I was round 10 years previous. I’ve at all times sought to study as a lot as doable about something PC, resulting in a well-rounded grasp on all issues tech in the present day. In my function at PCMag, I tremendously benefit from the alternative to share what I do know.I wrote for the well-known tech website Tom’s {Hardware} for 3 years earlier than I joined PCMag in 2018. In that point, I’ve reviewed desktops, PC instances, and motherboards as a freelancer, whereas additionally producing offers content material for the location and its sibling ExtremeTech. Now, as a full-time PCMag analyst, I am specializing in reviewing processors and graphics playing cards whereas dabbling in all different issues PC-related.
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