Instability Issues with Intel Core i9-13900K – Need Help!

[Modismos]

Hi everyone,

I've been experiencing frequent system crashes and instability issues with my Intel Core i9-13900K. The crashes occur during various activities, including gaming, running CPU-intensive applications, and even during regular web browsing. Here's a detailed breakdown of my setup and the steps I've already taken to troubleshoot the problem:

System Configuration:

• CPU: Intel Core i9-13900K
• Motherboard: ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Hero
• RAM: 2x32 GB Corsair Vengeance 6600 MHz
• GPU: Asus ROG 4090
• Power Supply: Asus ROG Thor 850 Watts
• Cooling: Custom water cooling setup

Issues Encountered:

1. Frequent Crashes: The system crashes during gaming and while running benchmarks like Cinebench and 3DMark's Time Spy Extreme. The crashes often lead to a blue screen of death (BSOD) or a black screen.
2. Overheating: The CPU temperatures sometimes spike, leading to thermal throttling and instability.
3. Power Limits: Adjusting power limits and settings has provided temporary relief but not a permanent solution. Reducing the power limit to 253 watts made the system more stable, but issues persist under higher loads.

Troubleshooting Steps Taken:

1. Updated BIOS and Drivers: Ensured all BIOS settings and drivers are up-to-date.
2. Stress Testing: Conducted stress tests using Cinebench and Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool. The system passes short tests but fails under prolonged load, especially with multi-core tasks.
3. Checked Cooling: Verified that the cooling system is functioning correctly and that the thermal paste application is adequate.
4. Memory Tests: Ran Memtest86 with no errors detected in the RAM.
5. Voltage Adjustments: Tried different voltage settings, including undervolting and adjusting the load-line calibration.

Despite these efforts, the problem persists. I've read that some users have had similar issues with the i9-13900K and have had to RMA their CPUs. Before I consider that route, I wanted to reach out to the community for any additional advice or solutions that might have worked for others.

Has anyone else faced similar issues with the i9-13900K? If so, what steps did you take to resolve them?

Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Emily

[Modismos]

I think I came a little early to see if there was any reply. 

[CoolBook]

Hi @Modismos 

Any progress?

Very hard "black screen" crashes could be related to PSU issues.

It looks like your system is on the limit for 850W.

I would run the RAM at stock to rule out IMC and RAM issues. Memtest86 is basically useless unless there is a real hardware defect.

Then limit max frequencies/voltages to reduce heat and get at least below 90C during stability testing. 80C - even better. 

[JamesPang]

https://www.reddit.com/r/overclocking/comments/1axepvu/optimizing_stability_for_intel_13900k_and_14900k/

Try to set the Core Current Limit to 307Amps

[stynbo]

hi 

I have the same cpu and motherboard with  BIOS 2402 and i have no stability issue.

here my setting :

XMP=off

CPU Core/Cache current limit max=307A

PL1=125w 

PL2=253w

SVID behavior= Typical scenario ( if i use "intel fail safe" my cpu up 20°c with 1.55V...)

Package power time windows=56s

[Barbaros]

I have the same CPU, Memory and motherboard and GPU and I am having issues constantly. I am really disappointed with this and I hope that Intel's fix which will be released in August would fix this. 

The worst part is that our 13900K CPUs might be piece of waste if this bug is damaging the CPU physically and whatever configuration we have, it wouldn't work at all eventually. 

[JamesPang]

Barbaros,

see this link here lol https://wccftech.com/intel-14th-13th-gen-instability-issue-elevated-voltages-not-root-cause-micrcode-fix/

The august fix might not be the conclusion to all of this issues

[Barbaros]

Hi James, Thanks for sharing the link. I really wonder how it plays out..

[pressed_for_time]

Are there specific issues such as BSOD or game crashes. What sort of error messages are you getting?

[tacotuesd]

I have been having massive instability issues since late 2022 when I built this. They seem to have only gotten worse. I built this behemoth of a workstation for content creation and it has seriously hurt my livelihood and mental health.

I think we should ORGANIZE and FILE SUIT against Intel for this serious breach of consumer trust. At the VERY LEAST, I want my processor replaced free of charge.

[CoolBook]

Are you serious?!

Did you have a new computer for almost two years instead of fixing it?

Why not return it day one?

[tacotuesd]

Yes, I'm serious: I thought the instability was due to my content creation software which happens to be extremely complex. You would not believe the lengths of troubleshooting I've gone to.

And now, I find out that this may have been an Intel hardware problem all along! You can imagine my displeasure at this revelation. Countless hours I've lost to this.

[CoolBook]

You should have asked for help earlier.

Do you mean that too low voltage for your highest frequencies is the problem?

[tacotuesd]

Who are you to tell me what I should and shouldn't have done? The nerve of you! This is my last time replying to you.

[SmartOne_2000]

13900K on a z690 TUF Gaming motherboard. I would do the following steps.

1. Load bios defaults ... I assume you have the latest 3701 bios update with the 0x125 microcode fix.

2. Choose Intel Power profiles (Performance or Extreme)... follow the helpful guide steps in the reddit link above.

3. Cinebench R23 should run fine, albeit at reduced scores due to lowered PL1/PL2 limits of 253W.

[Barbaros]

I have already contacted my local merchant and they would like to help me along the way. But I would like to wait for this August fix first and if that doesn't help then I will ask for a new CPU and probably I need to pray hard to not get a faulty one

[HasseB]

1. Try setting 223w PL short and long and also 360A.
2. Lock all P-cores to 5.5ghz.
3. Set voltage to 1.3v
4. Set LLC to a positive value like 6 or 7. You want the voltage to slightly increase during load and not get a vdrop. If this is stable, then try to slowly decrease voltage until you find the best stable lowest possible voltage.
This worked for my 13900ks, the main stability issue for me was the vdrop from the LLC, my cheap asus prime mobo would do randomly realy low vdrops with a negative drop LLC value.

Hope it works for you.

[RakeshGupta]

Hi!

We are also facing similar problem.

I bought and HP Z2G9 workstation with Config as below Core

Processor - Core i9 13900K

RAM           - 32 GB RAM preinstalled by HP,

Storage     - 512 GB NVMe and 12 TB SATA 2

OS              -  Windows 11 Pro.

Problem

The system keeps crashing every 2 hrs. We bought the system 3 months back in June 2024. We installed our video stream recording software and delivered to the customer.

Within a week it crashed and stopped booting Windows. HP engineers tried installing Windows 11 and it did not get installed, they tried Windows 10 without success. Finally they changed motherboard but no success. So they had to change the CPU. With the new CPU the Windows 11 got installed and our software also.

But from August 15th onward the systems keeps crashing. My developers had been breaking their heads to fix the software but without success.

After 2 hrs the CPU cores start shutting down and the system crashes. We need to reboot the system to start the application.

 We have saved event log of the system but it is not getting uploaded here.

Has anybody heard from Intel so far?  

[TonyLaing]

I had exactly the same issues, perhaps a little worse, at times no boot at all, I've changed ram, mobo, power supply, hard drives, reinstalled windows.
Most of the time not even able to get into the bios or flash the bios.
Waste of money, where do we RMa ?

[TimGS]

I have the same issue and I purchased an AIO cooler and it helps.

I just wonder if Intel will do anything for us customers that spent a lot of money these processors only to have them BSOD?

[BMO]

Hello! I think i found a solution. I had the same issue for months and tried everything i found on forums with no success. A few weeks ago i tried installing "Intel Extreme Tunning Utility" to manage some cpu settings without having to enter BIOS. However, i just unchecked a box called "Turbo boos Short Power Max Enable" and that seemed to fix the issue. I also have XMP and CPU profiles deactivated.

I've also verified that Processor Core IccMax, Short power and long power were how it should be (check your cpu manual).

This last 2 weeks my computer is working perfectly. 0 crashes. I almost had a headache with this because of the **bleep**ing cpu... Kaspersky crashes constantly, games closing randomly... It was a nightmare...

So i ensure anyone who has this issue to try this and tell if it solves it too. Hope it works for you guys! And sorry if its well known, i could not find a solution anywhere.

Cheers!