Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen Desktop Instability Root Cause Update

@CommonRustyMullet You mentioned that you had an RMA on your i9-14900k, and that you still have issues with the replacement CPU. Can I ask when did you get the replacement? And what microcode have you ran it with immediately after replacing it?

@Vlad11, I processed the RMA toward the end of January 2024. I had firmware F9 for Gigabye z790 UD AX, which did not have any of the microcode updates.

Thanks, @CommonRustyMullet , in my case I replaced mine this summer. I installed all the microcode updates as they were released, and it was working fine initially, but now it's unstable again for some reason.

@Vlad11, I should have mentioned that I found out during my troubleshooting that the motherboard's defaults weren't limiting the CPU to specs, so I had set the Max Current, P1, and P2 to the CPU specs. By then though it was too late for my original CPU. I have run this new one with the BIOS settings at CPU specs since day one, but still have issues as mentioned previously in this thread.

@CommonRustyMulletYou probably did not set a voltage limit for your processor, such as the IA VR Voltage limit, before the Intel microcode update. Therefore CPU have voltage spikes while idling which cause degradation. Even setting up Power and Current Limit will not save your from the issue where it is the voltage that killed the CPU.

Hello, everyone.

I have a simple question: would I have problems If I bought a brand new 13th or 14th gen CPU and installed it on a motherboard, that's fully patched with the latest microcode (and the right settings activated)?

Thanks.

Can this cause your pc not to connect to wifi and Bluetooth?

Hi Intel team, 
Thanks for your information below. 

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@Thomas_Hannaford wrote:

Intel® has identified four (4) operating scenarios that can lead to Vmin shift in affected processors: 

1. Motherboard power delivery settings exceeding Intel power guidance. 
   a.  Mitigation: Intel® Default Settings recommendations for Intel® Core™ 13th and 14th Gen desktop processors.  
2. eTVB Microcode algorithm which was allowing Intel® Core™ 13th and 14th Gen i9 desktop processors to operate at higher performance states even at high temperatures. 
   a.  Mitigation: microcode 0x125 (June 2024) addresses eTVB algorithm issue.  

I would like to know the possiblity of the symptoms about this Intel RPL Instability issue. 
Is thermal error with unexpected reboot considerable symtoms? 

@Thomas_Hannaford My Alienware Aurora R16 Motherboard is not listed in the compatible products link you posted.

Baseboard Manufacturer: Alienware

Baseboard Product: 0RF96M

Baseboard Version: A01

Current BIOS Version: Alienware 2.16.0

CPU: 14900kf

Just adding to this. My 13900KF seems to be suffering from this, even after the latest bios. I've opened a support ticket to see what options I have. I had to resort back to my older i5 to get my system back up and stable. Really hope something can be done about this since this chip was expensive!

I requested warranty service for my 13900K which failed due to this manufacturer issue. Intel denied it and washed their hands of responsibility. This was the most expensive CPU I have purchased. It is sad to know that a company as big as Intel does not stand behind their flagship products. Looks like I am stuck with my old 12600K. Thanks Intel!

I purchased 3 Dell XPS 8960 computers and all three of them failed. The first time I thought it was due to a bios update, which bricked all three computers but one of them eventually did a bios recovery and continued to work. The two that failed, I sent in for repair and I think they replaced the mother boards. When I got them back they worked for a short while and now the one that recovered and one of the repaired ones have failed again. I spoke to support and insisted that all three be replaced as there is an obvious defect in these models but they refused. I then requested a lifetime warranty in lieu of replacing them due to the fact that they apparently will continue to fail beyond my warranty period since they are faulty but of course they refused. Now, instead of sending them in, I am waiting for an onsite tech to repair the two failed machines. I believe my computers all have a PRC,RPSR,I7-14700,2.1,65,8C and I'm not really sure what is happening now as I just came in one morning and they simply had black screens with no apparent cause. It may or may not have been another bios issue. I am not sure if the topic of this thread applies to me but it seems likely and I don't know what to do next.

I purchased my Core i7 147000F last april for MSI B670M Gaming Plus WIFI motherboard and it work almost fine for 2 or 3 weeks, then Marvel Rivals started crashing and randomly after the computer started freezing every time more frequent than the last until it wouldn't have passed 5 minutes before it froze. I even tried re-installing Windows 11 and it also froze at different stages. 

Was it just bad luck because of the processor I got? Shjould I roll the dice with RMA and hope I don't get another faulty 14th gen Core i7? or could it be other things? I've updated BIOS, disabled C-State alone or C-State and all of the Intel marked options in BIOS. I've tried different brand new NVMes, different RAM slots and just one RAM at the time. Also tried on Windows 10 with no luck.

This crash reporter popped up every time Marvel Rivals crashed (this doesn't happen on my laptop with Intel Core i7 6700HQ and NVidia 1060

I've been researching this issue extensively, since I'm in charge of IT systems at a school and we have many computers with 13th-generation Intel processors. Unfortunately, based on the information I was able to gather, it looks like we've fallen into the same nightmare we experienced back in 2008, when NVIDIA used low-purity copper in their chipsets, which degraded due to oxidation. The oxidation process was accelerated by high temperatures, but even at lower temps, the defective chips would eventually fail.

Back then, the only permanent fix was to replace the chips that contained the contaminated copper — everything else, like BIOS reprogramming or improved cooling, were just short-term band-aids.

From what I’ve come to understand, Intel used low-grade copper in all of its 13th-gen and later processors. What we’re seeing now — high-performance CPU failures — is just the beginning. I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time before all these processors, from desktops to laptops, from high-end to entry-level, start failing. Just like with the NVIDIA situation, I suspect the majority of Intel's 13th and 14th gen processors will eventually fail, with only a few lucky ones surviving.

From this perspective, no microcode update or BIOS tweak is going to fix the issue — not even temporarily. At best, it might slightly delay the inevitable.

The biggest problem is that Intel refuses to acknowledge the issue, and they’re alienating their customer base because of it. For example, I would never recommend Intel again — this flaw is putting my job at risk. I was the one who convinced management to go with Intel-based PCs at my workplace. So when all those machines inevitably start failing, I’ll likely be held responsible.

As proof of my hypothesis, I currently have a friend’s PC on my workbench at home — it’s got an Intel Core i9-14900K. It started having issues right out of the box. The PC was barely used because they could never get it to run properly. No patch, update, or adjustment has fixed it. Clearly, the CPU was defective from the factory — something I had never seen happen with Intel before.