Six days ago, Intel confirmed that it would find the cause of the stability problems of some of its Core Gen 13 and Core Gen 14 processors, excessive voltage. The chip giant also said it is working on a microcode update solve this problem and that it will arrive in August.

Information quickly surfaced that in fact Intel has yet to find the real culprit behind this problem and that this update It was not a definitive or one-size-fits-all solutionsomething that was awaiting confirmation as the true extent of it was not clear.

Overall, this update was good news, but we still had it many unanswered questions which are necessary to better understand the true extent of this problem and how to solve it, as well as what the user can do to try to avoid it.

Thanks to The Verge, who had the opportunity to speak directly with Intel, We managed to solve a large part of these questionsand we want to share them with you because we believe they are essential for all of you who have an Intel Core Gen 13 or Core Gen 14 processor, whether you were affected by this issue or not.

Stability issues also affect the 65-watt Intel Core Gen 13 and 14

Intel Core i3-13100F is not affected.

That was one of the doubts we had, which models exactly were affected by this surge, was it something exclusive to the Core Gen 13 and Gen 14 K series, or did it extend to non-K models as well? Intel acknowledged this It also affects its 65-watt processors across both generations, which means the problem is much bigger than we imagined.

The list of 65-watt Intel Core Gen 13 and Gen 14 processors is very extensive and includes some very popular mid-range models, e.g. Intel Core i5-14400F and Core i5-13400F. This was one of the worst news that the chip giant could give us, but unfortunately it is not the only one, there is another pretty hard blow.

For processors affected by high voltages, the damage is permanent

Which means that those processors affected by this issue They no longer have a fixand that the microcode update prepared by Intel will have no effect because the damage is irreversible. If you have an Intel Core Gen 13 or Gen 14 processor and it’s giving you stability problems, it’s most likely broken.

Intel has confirmed that it won’t issue a recall for the affected processors, but we do know that you are replacing the ones you receive as part of the RMA from users experiencing this issue and recommends that all affected users contact support and customer service directly. It also ensures that there are no supply issues in providing replacement units for the affected processors.

What to do to avoid damage while waiting for a microcode update

Intel recommends use the default profile with its Core Gen 13 and Core Gen 14 processors, this means that we have to avoid extreme overclocking profiles and better working frequencies. The company also emphasized that this is important have the BIOS updated motherboards, as the latest BIOSes may have power and voltage optimizations and improvements.

The extreme and frequency gain profiles offer higher performance, but also consumption and generated heat skyrocketand are not recommended at all because they require too many sacrifices to achieve relatively little performance improvement. As we can see, they can also accelerate processor degradation and cause stability issues.

What is the real extent of the update, will it be a definitive solution?

If our processor has not yet been affected by stability issues yes, at least Intel thinks so but it will not have the same effect on those who already have these problems. However, this does not mean that this update will not help those processors that are already causing problems.

According to the chip giant, it is possible that this update will happen on computers that are already showing stability issues. manages to improve stability partially, but in this case it’s ideal to contact customer service and process the RMA directly, otherwise you’ll be left with a damaged CPU.

What happens if I processed an RMA and it was rejected?

Intel directly advised those who found themselves in such a situation contact support and customer service againbecause they will reassess your case based on a new point of view and from facts and data they didn’t know before, meaning this new RMA could be approved.

Please note that Intel does not yet fully understand the extent of this problem and that not all processors Core Gen 13 and Core Gen 14 will develop stability issues derived from this overvoltage. I can personally confirm that I have built computers with Core i5-13600K, Core i7-14700K and Core i9-13900K and these work perfectly.

Intel does not plan to withdraw from the market Core Gen 13 and Core Gen 14 processors, but actively cooperates with its partners to resolve the situation and end the problems that have arisen. It also does its best to better identify affected processors and help users in need.