Many months ago, gamers began experiencing unusual crashes with their 13th and 14th Gen Intel Core i9 CPUs — but that was conscionable the extremity of the iceberg.
Intel has present extended its warranty by 2 afloat years connected 24 antithetic 13th Gen and 14th Gen desktop chips, including Core i5, Core i7, and Core i9 models, aft discovering that galore CPUs based connected its Raptor Lake architecture are susceptible to imperishable damage. They were being fed excessively overmuch voltage, and immoderate person irreversibly degraded. Intel has not yet said if laptop chips are failing the aforesaid way.
As of August 2024, determination is presently nary hole for an Intel CPU that’s crashing similar this — you request to speech it, and that’s what the extended two-year warranty is for. But you tin use motherboard BIOS updates that whitethorn forestall harm to statesman with, and Intel is explicitly addressing the excessive voltage contented successful August updates for its partners’ motherboards.
There are many unfastened questions, similar however galore customers are affected, wherefore Intel isn’t recalling these chips, wherefore it didn’t claw backmost existing inventory up of its August patch, however it volition proactively pass customers, however lenient it mightiness beryllium erstwhile dealing with customers who privation an exchange, and which different issues mightiness beryllium contributing to these chips’ instability. (Intel has suggested the voltage is simply a superior cause, but not the lone one.)
The Verge is keeping way of the answers, and different news, successful updates to the StoryStream you’ll find below. We’re besides keeping way of which PC makers volition grant Intel’s extended warranty in this story.
CyberPowerPC has decided to hop onto the Intel-warranty-respecting bandwagon.
It now offers a five-year warranty connected Intel’s problematic 13th and 14th Gen CPUs, conscionable similar its closest competitors.
We besides got a vague caller connection from Dell/Alienware that suggests it might extend its ain parts warranty, but doesn’t committedness to bash so.
Should we bash a large screaming header astir Intel BIOS updates?
Falcon Northwest CEO Kelt Reeves tells The Verge:
Please help america get the connection retired to each Raptor Lake desktop users, particularly i9 users, successful large screaming headlines that they request to update their PC to the latest BIOS now to stop/prevent the CPU deterioration and hopefully debar the request for an RMA. Don’t hold for the August microcode – that’s the past 5% (we hope) of the solution, but 95% of the hole is disposable now. Think of the caller BIOS’ arsenic the vaccine against this issue, but it volition bash nary bully unless radical get shots successful arms.
Intel spox Thomas Hannaford wouldn’t spell arsenic acold arsenic “95% of the fix,” but helium says “Kelt’s PSA is simply a bully one”. Besides, the August microcode is rolling retired now:
Asus releases BIOS updates to code Intel CPU stableness issues.
Asus is the archetypal OEM to merchandise BIOS updates for its scope of Z790 motherboards. The latest beta BIOS includes Intel’s caller microcode hole to code stability and crashing issues with its 13th and 14th Gen processors. This won’t hole chips that are already damaged, though. You’ll request to swap your CPU, with Intel oregon a PC maker, if it has degraded.
Intel’s crashing CPU warranty extends to OEM models.
Intel added 2 years of additional warranty coverage for its 13th and 14th Gen Core processors past week, and present it’s clarifying this volition besides use to processors sold without a container to OEMs oregon strategy integrators. If you’re having crashing issues you tin interaction Intel if you purchased a boxed CPU, oregon your OEM oregon strategy builder otherwise. Intel has also supplied a database of processors that volition get the warranty extension, recovered below.
The processors that get a two-year warranty extension.Image: Intel
Intel’s crashing 13th and 14th Gen CPUs get 2 further years of warranty coverage
Although there’s no hole for Intel’s crashing 13th and 14th Gen Intel Core processors, the institution is trying to marque things somewhat amended for customers who are stuck with perchance damaged chips by extending their warranty for 2 further years.
“Intel is committed to making definite each customers who person oregon are presently experiencing instability symptoms connected their 13th and / oregon 14th Gen desktop processors are supported successful the speech process,” reads a connection from Intel’s Thomas Hannaford to The Verge. “We basal down our products, and successful the coming days we volition beryllium sharing much details connected two-year extended warranty enactment for our boxed Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen desktop processors.”
There is nary hole for Intel’s crashing 13th and 14th Gen CPUs — immoderate harm is permanent
On Monday, it initially seemed similar the beginning of the extremity for Intel’s desktop CPU instability woes — the institution confirmed a spot is coming successful mid-August that should code the “root cause” of vulnerability to elevated voltage. But if your 13th oregon 14th Gen Intel Core processor is already crashing, that spot seemingly won’t hole it.
Citing unnamed sources, Tom’s Hardware reports that immoderate degradation of the processor is irreversible, and an Intel spokesperson did not contradict that erstwhile we asked. Intel is “confident” the spot volition support it from happening successful the archetypal place. (As different preventative measure, you should update your motherboard BIOS ASAP.) But if your defective CPU has been damaged, your champion enactment is to regenerate it alternatively of tweaking BIOS settings to effort and alleviate the problems.
Intel says it has recovered the contented causing 13th and 14th Gen CPUs to crash
Intel says it has recovered the root of the wide instability issues affecting its Core 13th and 14th Gen processors. In an update connected Monday, Intel confirmed that CPUs are experiencing “elevated operating voltage” and that a spot is connected the way.
“We person determined that elevated operating voltage is causing instability issues successful immoderate 13th/14th Gen desktop processors,” Intel worker Thomas Hannaford writes connected the company’s forum. “Our investigation of returned processors confirms that the elevated operating voltage is stemming from a microcode algorithm resulting successful incorrect voltage requests to the processor.”
Complaints astir crashing 13th, 14th Gen Intel CPUs present person information to backmost them up
Alderon Games, the shaper of dinosaur MMO Path of Titans, says it's swapping retired its Intel 13th and 14th Gen-based servers for AMD and urges others hosting the game’s servers to bash the same. The developer has had “significant” instability issues that nary of the fixes truthful acold person reversed, wrote Alderon laminitis Matthew Cassells successful a blog station past week.
Cassells wrote that Alderon has recorded “thousands of crashes” connected gamers’ CPUs utilizing its clang reporting tools and says the processors tin besides corrupt SSDs and memory. He added that successful his team’s experience, 100 percent of the affected CPUs “deteriorate implicit time, yet failing.” On the contrary, Unreal Engine decompression instrumentality shaper RAD Game Tools, which Cassells cites successful the blog, says that “only a tiny fraction” of the processors are affected.
Intel says it inactive doesn’t person the existent hole for its crashing i9 desktop chips
For months, Intel’s highest-end desktop gaming processors person had a unusual inclination to occasionally marque games crash — and contempt what you mightiness person seen earlier today, Intel says it doesn’t person a last hole for its 13th and 14th Gen Intel Core i9 “Raptor Lake” and “Raptor Lake S” chips conscionable yet.
“Contrary to caller media reports, Intel has not confirmed basal origin and is continuing, with its partners, to analyse idiosyncratic reports regarding instability issues connected unlocked Intel Core 13th and 14th procreation (K/KF/KS) desktop processors,” reads a connection via Intel spokesperson Thomas Hannaford.
Intel investigating games crashing connected 13th and 14th Gen Core i9 processors
Owners of Intel’s latest 13th and 14th Gen Core i9 desktop processors person been noticing an summation successful crippled crashes successful caller months. It’s happening successful games similar The Finals, Fortnite, and Tekken 8, and has adjacent led Epic Games to contented a enactment announcement to promote Intel Core i9 13900K and 14900K owners to set BIOS settings.
Now, Intel says it’s investigating the reports. “Intel is alert of problems that hap erstwhile executing definite tasks connected 13th and 14th procreation halfway processors for desktop PCs, and is analyzing them with large affiliates,” says an Intel spokesperson successful a connection to ZDNet Korea.