The debacle surrounding Intel’s Raptor Lake processors (13th and 14th Gen) is perhaps far from being over, as recent statement confirms a microcode flaw causes excessive voltage to be delivered to the silicon, resulting in premature degradation and crashing issues that has been reported for several months by now, from both users and developers.
Intel Confirms No Recall
Despite that, Intel is, at this point in time, not issuing a recall to the affected processors, which Intel described the issue as “elevated voltages issue”. The Verge has conducted a lengthy Q&A with the chipmaker, but we’ll summarize a few key points.
First of all, Intel confirms the scope of affected processors include all chips under the 13th and 14th Gen with base power of 65W and above – which includes K, KF, KS, and non-K variants (though F-series likely qualifies as well). It is important to note that not all processors are impacted, though the company didn’t specify any exclusions. On the question of whether recalls will be issued, the response was a straightforward “no.”
For users with potentially affected chips installed, Intel says it is “investigating options to easily identify affected processors on end user systems” to alert them of BIOS updates that should be installed on their systems. It’s also looking for ways to identify “affected or at-risk” processors, though those with known failures are advised to contact Intel customer support.
As for any methods or workarounds to prevent or at least delay degradation while the microcode fix is being prepared (as it will not be available until mid-August), the company advises users “adhere to Intel Default Settings” and make sure BIOS is up-to-date. Simply put, if your processor have any overclocked applied, it’s best to reset it back to factory settings until the BIOS update with relevant microcode fix arrives.
However, the company’s response towards its mobile processors (particularly, the HX-series) is a fair bit muddied. When asked why Intel believe the issue does not affect mobile processors, it responded as folows:
Intel is continuing its investigation to ensure that reported instability scenarios on Intel Core 13th/14th Gen processors are properly addressed.
This includes ongoing analysis to confirm the primary factors preventing 13th / 14th Gen mobile processor exposure to the same instability issue as the 13th/14th Gen desktop processors.
It’s not exactly a clear-cut “no”, so there might be a small probability that these are affected, as Alderon Games has reported several Intel-powered laptops suffering from the same kind of errors impacting its desktop counterparts.
If you have a 13th or 14th processor right now and are experiencing stability issues, the chip may already be degraded – in such cases, the processor is deemed irreversibly damaged due to excessive voltage damaging parts of the silicon. Your best course of action at this point is to claim an RMA if possible, though the chipmaker hasn’t provided any details on any special measures for affected processors at this writing.
Pokdepinion: The flaw seems to be a lot worse than initially thought. This is going to be a messy situation if not handled well, that’s for sure.
