Intel I7-13700KF Games and applications crashing at default bios setting

[FrancescoIppolito]

Hi, I am experiencing crashes with all my games and discord, the only fix I've found is to disable Intel turbo boost (enabled by default) of course losing performance.
My specs:

Processor	13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-13700KF
Number of Cores	24
Speed	5.4 GHz
Family	RaptorLake
Model	S

Video Card
Video Card	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
Manufacturer	Nvidia
Dedicated Memory	8.0 GB
Driver Version	546.01

Operating System
Size	64-bit
Operating System	Windows 11
Version	10.0.22631

Memory: 32gb (2x16) DDR4

Default speed: 2400 MT/s /// Max speed: 3600  MT/s
Kingston Fury cl18

Bios: Manufacturer American Megatrends International, LLC.

Version: 1.E0

Release Date 11/09/2023

Motherboard: MSI PRO Z690-A WIFI DDR4 / Version 1.0

Tried fresh windows install (10 and 11)
Tried 1 ram stick at time boot
Bios is updated
Gpu drivers are updated

Please help, it is very frustrating..

[Alberto_R_Intel]

FrancescoIppolito, Thank you for posting in the Intel® Communities Support.

We are sorry to hear about this issue and we will be more than glad to assist you with this matter. 

In this situation, first, it is important to mention that the Intel® Core™ i7-13700KF does not contain an integrated graphics controller, as you can confirm here:

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/230489/intel-core-i7-13700kf-processor-30m-cache-up-to-5-40-ghz.html

This means that all the graphics tasks for games and applications are supported by the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti itself. I looked on Nvidia's website, and you do have the latest graphics driver version currently installed, which is 546.01:

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/drivers/

To rule out a possible hardware issue with the processor, please install and run the Intel® Processor Diagnostic Tool, it does an overall test on the unit and if it passes the test it means it is working properly:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/15951/intel-processor-diagnostic-tool.html?wapkw=intel%20processor%20diagnostic%20tool  

For testing purposes, please try a clean installation of MSI graphics driver version 31.0.101.4255, following the instructions in the links below:

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/PRO-Z690-A/support#driver

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000057389/graphics.html

Do you have the option to test a different video card?

Even though you mentioned the BIOS is up to date, we still recommend to get in contact directly with MSI Support to confirm that, and also to ensure that the computer is, in fact, working at stock configurations with the default BIOS settings:

https://www.msi.com/support

If the issue remains after that, just to confirm:

Is this a new computer?

Did you build it?

Were the games and Discord working fine before without crashing on this specific machine?

If yes, when did the issue start?

Did you make any recent hardware/software changes that might cause this problem?

Do you see an error message or code that you can share when the computer crashes?

Please attach the SSU report so we can verify further details about the components in your platform, check all the options in the report including the one that says "3rd party software logs":

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000057926/memory-and-storage.html

Once you get the chance, please let us know the results of the test and the steps above.

Any questions, please let me know.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[FrancescoIppolito]

Hi Alberto, thank you for supporting me today.

I can't understand why you suggested me to update the (MSI) Intel integrated graphics driver since, as you noticed already, I do not have an integrated graphics card from Intel, I've tried anyway and of course the installation failed with -No Intel graphics card found- error.

To answer your next question, no I dont have the option to test a different GPU.

My bios is updated to the latest version, default bios settings are enabled.

I did found a "temporary?" fix tuning P-Cores at 53x and E-Cores at 42x manually via bios. Since I did this I've played couple games with only a single crash in 3h and no discord crash!

I can't really tell when the crashing started, probably couple months ago, first it was a once in a while crash, i've tried fresh-installing windows 10 and 11, updating OS but nothing fixed it.

My PC has been built by a family friend who is an "expert", no hardware changes has been made.

To answer your question: "Do you see an error message or code that you can share when the computer crashes?" No, no error message appear on my scree, the application sometimes just shut and sometimes it freeze and then closes, most of the time as soon as I open it.

My pc passed the Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool test.

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hi FrancescoIppolito, You are very welcome. Thank you very much for providing that information and the SSU document.

Regarding your question about the MSI driver installation, it was just for testing purposes, in order to confirm if the driver gets installed or not.

Perfect, it is great to know that the processor passed the test since we can now discard a potential hardware issue with the unit.

Based on the information shown in the SSU report, we can confirm that all the components are properly installed and recognized by the system. 

Aside from the "temporary" fix that you were able to implement, I will still do further research on this matter to try to find a possible permanent solution for this scenario. As soon as I get any updates, I will post all the details on this thread.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hello FrancescoIppolito, I just received an update on this matter.

After further reviewing the case, we can see on the SSU report that the specifications of the two sticks of memory RAM being used are:

KF3600C18D4/16GX" / DDR4

Configured Clock Speed:"2400 MHz"

Configured Voltage:"1200 millivolts"

The Intel® Core™ i7-13700KF processor supports: 

Up to DDR5 5600 MT/s

Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s

Since the memory RAM on your system is working at 2400 MHz, which is lower than what the processor supports, we just wanted to verify if you could please try to increase the speed to 3200 MHz and then test the computer to confirm if the issue gets fixed that way or if the behavior remains the same.

Once you get the opportunity, please let us know the outcome of the suggestion above.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[FrancescoIppolito]

Hi, sorry for late answer.

Crash is still there, even with XMP on (3600MHz)

=(

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hi FrancescoIppolito, No problem at all. Thank you very much for providing those results.

We are sorry to hear the issue remains after trying the troubleshooting step suggested previously.

We will continue with our research on this matter and provide a response as soon as possible.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hello FrancescoIppolito, I just received an update on this matter.

While we are still working on this scenario, we just wanted to confirm if by any chance you have the option to either test your processor on a different board, or test your board with a different processor? This is to try to narrow down the problem and check if the issue follows the processor or the motherboard. We completely understand if that option is not available.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[FrancescoIppolito]

Hi Alberto, I dont have the option to test differt MB or different Processor..

=(

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hi FrancescoIppolito, Thank you very much for your reply. 

No problem, we will continue working on this scenario and provide the updates as soon as possible.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hello FrancescoIppolito, I just received an update on this matter.

After further research on this scenario, we determined that the source of the problem could be related to the hardware issue with the process itself.

Based on that, we suggest to get in contact directly with your local Intel® department through any of our support channels in order to claim the warranty on your unit. You can always refer to this thread if necessary:

Chat support:

http://intelsupportchat.force.com/icslivechat/ics_tech_processor_ww_english_Chat

For phone support, depending on your location, you will see the contact information on the links below:

EMEA contact information: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/contact-support/emea-contact.html

APAC contact information: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/contact-support/apac-contact.html

LAR contact information: https://www.intel.la/content/www/xl/es/support/contact-support/lar-contact.html

North America: Phone Number 1-916-377-7000, Monday – Friday 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Pacific Time).

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[An-u-rag]

Hi Alberto, 

I am having this exact same issue. I have switched out RAMs, SDDs and tried about everything. 

After looking further into many forums and even going by this thresh, it seems like it is a processor issue. I have a 13700K, I have used it for about 2 years now, how can I RMA it and how long would it take? I need my PC for work as I use it everyday. What can I do in the time I do not have access to my CPU when I RMA?

TIA