are i9-14900HX laptops worth it? Concerns about stability and voltage issues

[gloom]

hey everyone

i'm considering buying the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16, specifically the model with the i9-14900HX processor, but i've come across some concerns that are making me hesitate. i've heard that the i9-14900HX can be unstable, leading to crashes in apps and games. some people are also saying that this processor will degrade fairly quickly when it runs at or above 1.4V. this sounds pretty alarming, especially for a laptop that i want to rely on for both gaming and work. so, i'm hoping to get some advice from those of you who might have experience with this laptop or processor:

is there any truth to these concerns? have you experienced any instability or crashes with this setup?

does the voltage issue actually cause long-term problems? if so, are there any steps that can be taken mitigate this, like undervolting or tweaking some settings?

overall, is the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 worth it, given these potential issues? Or should i be looking at other options?

thanks in advance

[Cyr]

I got the 99K9. So far the only red flags that i could experience is the CPU temps. On idle temps can go 70-80. When playing games like Dota2 it can go 90-100. Im pretty sure its not normal for cpu temps to be on 100 constant.

[dk18]

hi were you able to find the issue? I

have the same errors with my Asus Strix Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900HX 2.20 GHz. when i play dota. i have reinstalled Os twice but the issue persists. not sure what to do i get bsods.

[VARADHARAJAN]

@gloom 

Intel confirms these currently available processors are not affected by the Vmin Shift Instability issue:

• 12th Gen Intel Core desktop and mobile processors
• Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen i5 (non-K) & i3 desktop processors
• Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen mobile processors – including HX-series processors.
• Intel Xeon processors – including server and workstation processors.
• Intel Core Ultra (Series 1) processors

source

Intel Core 13/14th Gen Instability Update - Future Products Unaffected + Current Gen Product Updates - Intel Community

Varadharajan K M.Sc B.Ed 

[DeeX]

This is not true. I have an Alienware with a 14900HX. I am on my 2nd exchange for instability issues. 

They also released a BIOS update with the following notes "Maintains stability of 13th and 14th generation Intel processors"".

Also there are 2 people on the Dell community forums complaining about the same thing.

One guy on there also has had multiple exchanges with the same results. 

[HamburgerTime]

What kind of stability issues are you having? I just got an m18 w the i9 14900hx and I'd like to know whay to look out for. Thanks

[BighGreenHall]

Delete (sorry, duplicate)

[BighGreenHall]

I have a laptop intel i9 14900HX CPU aswell. I am getting all these errors, blue screens and computer freezes:

• Game crash shutdowns
• Fatal Condition
• Failed to read FileData
• Unknown Failure
• unexpected errors
• ACCESS_VIOLATION
• Memory could not be read
• Memory could not be executed
• Blue screen auto reboots
• Unresponsive computer freezes.

I read someone who had the exact same issue as I do, with his 14900KF desktop cpu, so I thought perhaps my issue is related to this laptop cpu of mine? Even tho the list says HX is not included in the list of cpus with issues...

I have been been trying possible fixes or searching for possible causes, for over a month. I found no possible fix or cause.

1 Game company support team shared that the game is not the issue, but they didn't tell me why or what else might be the cause.

Tried scanning&repairing games, reinstalling. Checking all drivers for intel nvidia. OS windows up to date, no preview updates. Memory Diagnostics run for RAM, perfect no issues. Optimizing and checking ssd for errors. enabling write caching for external ssd ntfs. Many in game graphical options, disabling optional graphics.

Checking Hardware Monitor, HWMonitor app, while running a game (with efficient graphics and limitted fps to 50).

CPU is 70-77 degrees Celsius average.
GPU is ~54 degrees Celsius average.
GPU memory is about ~62 degrees Celsius average.
Corsair something is 62 degrees Celsius average.
SSD is 34 degrees Celsius average.

• laptop
• rtx 4080
• i9 14900HX
• 64gb ram
• windows 11 64-bit
• Internal SSD, and External SSD (NTFS) 3.2 usb-c to 4.0 port.

[ShaunAlt86]

I have an Alienware M18 R2 with an I9-14900hx and Nvidia RTX 4080 GPU. It runs absolutely amazing, however it didn't start out that way. I was having all kinds of crashes when trying to play Diablo 4, the dreaded fenris error over and over again and thought that it was a cpu issue, and possibly a gpu issue, but what it ended up being was a memory issue. The 14th gen I9 cpu are the latest and greatest thing out right now, with the exception of possibly the AMD 7945HX X3D, which you can only find one laptop that comes with that cpu for whatever reason. The Asus Scar 17 X3D which is what I really wanted when I bought the Alienware but they are just so hard to come by and so insanely overpriced for what you really get as far as build quality. 

First point that I will make is that things that are performance based, and arguably the frontrunner of the day, always should be expected to have minor hiccups, as its new technology, that is still being improved upon, new firmware implemented, various hardware changes, and as is the case with my M18 R2, the ram that came with the machine was not quite caught up with the rest of the hardware. These new cpu's have a new tech for memory timings that they call XMP certified, and the Kioxa 4800mhz ram that came installed in the machine just wasnt up to snuff.  I looked everywhere and couldnt find anything to show that this memory was xmp certified by intel, so I went ahead and ordered the Kingston Fury Impact ram that is XMP certified, as it was the only kit that I could find that fit the bill. Eluktronics makes a Manix RAM kit that also claims to make the the same 6400mhz at even lower voltage, but I havent since been able to find it, as if they stopped making it. 

They only make this ram in kits as large as 32gb, I have not been able to find anything larger. It's Kingston Fury Impact XMP certified RAM that runs 6400mt/s at 1.5 volts, which a lot of people think is a little bit high, but ever since I swapped out the RAM to this particular kind of RAM, I have had absolutely amazing performance from my machine, even when overclocking to the maximum. Alienware command center allows for you to overclock the machine at the click of a button, and the other majorly important aspect of any computer hardware, especially high performance hardware, is that it must be well cooled. I learned after my M15 R5 Ryzen Edition laptop just how important the cooling system is when buying a laptop. 

The Machine needs to have efficient cooling that works all on its own without the help of a cooling pad or any other such nonsense or its just a complete waste of time, as all machines will run dog slow if they cant cool the hardware inside of them. Alienware absolutely nailed it with the Cryo-tech cooling system that they use in the M18 R2. Yes it sounds like a jet engine when you have all the fans running at 100%, but thats what it takes to keep the machine cool and running at its optimal temperature. None of the other laptops that I have tested seemed to be able to really figure this out. The MSI Titan seemed to a decent job, but I found it to be subpar compared to the Alienware machine. People also complain about Alienware displays not being as nice or crisp as what other machines are using, but I opted for the 2560x1600 165hz qhd version that runs just under 400 nits and I think its a really sharp looking display without requiring tons of extra power to run it. Everything that uses more power, makes more heat, so a super bright high refresh rate display may not be the way to go either. 

Here is a link for the RAM that I upgraded to with my laptop, and I think that anyone with a 13th or 14th gen Intel CPU in their laptop should absolutely make this a necessary upgrade to their machine. It made all the difference for me.  Make sure to match up the part numbers and get the right kit, as there is only one kit that is XMP 3.0 certified.  There might be other brands that have caught up at this point, however at the time that I purchased mine, this was the only thing that I could find that was XMP 3.0 certified, which I believe to be something that is required for stability with the 14900HX. At least it solved all of my issues. I am surprised to see that Alienware is still shipping these machines with RAM kits that are not XMP 3.0 certified. People are still having problems, and I havent seen anyone else mention this as a possible source of the issues, but I am just about 100% sure that its at the heart of the issue. 

Kingston FURY Impact DDR5 SODIMM Memory – 8GB-64GB/6400MT/s - Kingston Technology

• Part Number: KF564S38IBK2-32
• Total Capacity: 32GB (2x16GB)
• Memory Profile: 6400MT/s 38-40-40 1.35V

Shaun Alt - Long time geek and lover of all things technology, when they work right. I stand by all of the products in my setup, I bought them with my own money, I am not paid by Alienware or Intel. I am just a regular customer who also bought an I9 despite the skepticism of the time 

Alienware M18 R2

I9-14900HX 

GeForce RTX 4080

32gb Kingston Fury Impact 6400MT/s 38-40-40 1..35v

Crucial T705 4TB Gen5 SSD

2x1tb Team Group Gen4 SSD 

Killer 1750 2x2 wifi

Alienware AW3423DWF OLED display. 

Alienware Pro Wireless Keyboard

Alienware Pro Wireless Mouse

Alienware Pro Wireless Headset

[Jakke1]

How do you use 6400 memory on 14900HX when it does not support this type? 

"*Most modules with 32/48 GB DDR5 are currently only available in dual rank format, Intel's official support for the 13th and 14th HX generation is a maximum of DDR5-5200 CL42 with dual rank."

[BighGreenHall]

I honestly don't know. My laptop was send for repair, they replaced hardware and it worked perfectly after that and ever since. It did stutter, which I nailed down to an Nvidia App fps indicator bug, which was updated, and that's the only issue I ever had with it, since.

On specs, it shows this:
Intel® Core™ i9 24 core-processor 14900HX (5,8 GHz Turbo)

64 GB Corsair 5600MHz SODIMM DDR5 (2 x 32 GB)

NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 4080 - 12.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1

2 TB SAMSUNG 990 PRO M.2, PCIe 4.0 NVMe (max 7450 MB/R, 6900 MB/W)

1x 330W-charger

GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® KILLER™ Wi-Fi 6E AX1675i + BT 5.3

1 x THUNDERBOLT 4-PORT + 3 x USB 3.2-PORTS