Intel finally confirms instability issues with 13th-gen and 14th-gen CPUs are fully fixed – but some owners may still be worried

While the investigation is wrapped up, some may still be concerned about invisible degradation under the hood of their processor

News By Darren Allan published 6 October 2024

Intel has confirmed that the well-documented stability problems with its 13th and 14th-gen CPUs have been fully fixed.

As you may recall, Intel recently recapped the four mitigations (including three microcode updates) that have been applied to resolve these instability issues – the final one of which has only just started being deployed – and from the wording Team Blue used, it seemed as if this would be the end of the matter.

The thing is, Intel didn’t actually formally state that, even though the company made it seem clear enough that its investigation had been concluded.

If there was any doubt, though, Intel has clarified that the issue has indeed been definitively put to bed.

The Verge reports that Intel confirmed that the ‘Vmin shift instability’ was the root cause here (the tech site emphasizes it being the root cause, though there were other issues as noted), and spokesperson Thomas Hannaford said in no uncertain terms: “Yes, we’re confirming this is the cause and that it is fixed.”

Analysis: Remaining point of concern

It’s good to get confirmation that a full fix is in place for anyone worried about their Raptor Lake or Raptor Lake Refresh processor (Core i5 models and upwards are potentially affected).

If you buy a 13th or 14th-gen chip – and it should be noted we’re seeing some heavy discounts on the former now, as next-gen Arrow Lake CPUs are imminent – you just need to ensure that you update your BIOS to the latest version with all these Intel microcode updates packed within (including the most recent 0x12B update). That being the case, the CPU should not suffer from any kind of degradation or instability gremlins.

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