12900KF running at dangerous voltage out-of-the-box ?

[Franscobec]

Hello,
I have an i9-12900KF alongside a Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X DDR4 motherboard and no matter what I do, the CPU runs at 1.5V (as reported by HWInfo64 + XTU) and doesn't step down no matter what I do. In the BIOS, I have set the VCore limit to fixed 1.35V and it actually does respect that limit in the BIOS. But as soon as I boot any OS (Windows 11 Pro N / Nobara Linux 36) it immediately gets back to 1.5V and even saw jumps to 1.7V, which isn't normal if you ask me.
Also this very high voltage has severe consequences on performance since it significantly increases voltage + TDP beyond what my AIO can do. Note that my CPU isn't overclocked at all (stock settings everywhere).

Adjusting sliders in XTU for voltage / voltage offset doesn't do anything.
I've been having this CPU for arround 4 - 5 months and haven't been noticing this issue until now because it began thermal throttling due to the extreme voltage.
What do I do now ?

[AlHill]

Have you updated the bios on your motherboard?

Doc (not an Intel employee or contractor)
[Maybe Windows 12 will be better]

[Franscobec]

BIOS version is F21, which is the latest on my board. It did run F8 before, which was a couple months back but there is no change in behavior at all since I updated.

[MichaelJC]

I’m not sure that out of the box and XTU sliders really sync up my friend.

[Jean_Intel]

Hello Franscobec,

If I may jump into the conversation, I would like to add the following information:

The maximum Operating Voltage for your processor (12900KF) is 1.72, when your system runs at 1.5V, it is an expected behavior.  This information can be found on the Processors Datasheet for the 12th Generation Intel® Core™ Processor Family (Volume 1).

Also, it is important to mention that the Maximum Turbo Power, based on the specifications of your processor, is 241 W. You should make sure that the Cooler match your CPU thermal requirements.

Intel doesn't support altering voltage as it is considered overclocking, and it may void any product warranties and reduce the stability, security, performance, and life of the processor and other components.

Best regards, 

Jean O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Franscobec]

Are you sure this is actually correct ?
After re-flashing the BIOS entirely and doing a fresh install of both OSes, the VCore is back to being anywhere between 1.20 and 1.38V at all times even with Thermal Velocity Boost on @ 5.2 all P-Cores and 4 all E-Cores with no BIOS undervolting / limitations (just stock settings) and the CPU actually ran cooler (92°C hotspot / 87°C hottest core vs 98°C Coolest P-Core before) during a 30-minute cinebench R23 test plus a higher score with less TDP (~240W now vs ~280 before)
I do not have any idea what is causing this but once again are you 100% sure that this CPU is indeed made to run at 1.5 / 1.7V ?

[Jean_Intel]

Hello Franscobec,

Thanks for your response.

Regarding your question and based on the information on our Datasheet for the 12th Generation Intel® Core™ Processor Family, I can confirm that the maximum Operating Voltage for the Desktop processors (S- Processor Line ) is 1.72 V. This information is located on Volume 1, page 117.

Also, it is important to mention that the voltage is regulated through your Motherboard. The processor consumes power based on the voltage regulator of the motherboard.

Best regards, 

Jean O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Jean_Intel]

Hello Franscobec,

I hope you are doing fine.

I have not heard back from you. So I will close this thread. If you need any additional information, submit a new question, as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Best regards.

Jean O. 

Intel Customer Support Technician.