Intel has confirmed that the well-documented stability issues with its 13th and 14th generation CPUs have been fully resolved.
As you may recall, Intel recently summarized the four measures (including three microcode updates) applied to resolve these instability issues – the last of which has only just been deployed – and from the wording Team Blue used it seemed it as if this would be the end of the matter.
The thing is, Intel hasn’t formally stated that, even though the company has made it clear enough that the investigation had been completed.
However, if there was any doubt, Intel has made it clear that the issue has indeed been finally resolved.
The edge reports that Intel confirmed that ‘Vmin shift instability’ was the cause of this (the tech site emphasizes that this is the case). the (although there were other issues as mentioned) and spokesperson Thomas Hannaford said in no uncertain terms: “Yes, we confirm this is the cause and it has been resolved.”
Analysis: Remaining concern
It’s good to get confirmation that there is a complete solution for anyone concerned about their Raptor Lake or Raptor Lake Refresh processor (Core i5 models and above may be affected).
If you’re buying a 13th or 14th generation chip – and it should be noted that we’re seeing some big discounts on the former now, as the next generation of Arrow Lake CPUs are on the way – you just need to make sure you Update BIOS to the latest version with all these Intel microcode updates packed into it (including the most recent 0x12B update). If that is the case, the CPU should not suffer from any kind of degradation or instability.
In the case of those who have had their affected 13th or 14th generation processor for a while, the damage caused by the bugs will not be undone by Intel’s patches; they are merely solutions to prevent further degradation. So if you experience any kind of instability or crashes on your PC, you should return your CPU and buy a new one.
However, some people remain concerned about possible deterioration under the hood, which may not be the cause of the PC crashing (meaning it’s essentially invisible wear and tear), but could still ultimately result in a chip with a shorter lifespan.
Intel has obviously extended the warranty on these chips to five years to give CPU owners a little more protection, but if something happens outside that period, well, let’s just say it can be quite frustrating. Of course, you don’t know if an error is directly related to these issues, but that will undoubtedly be the nagging suspicion. Not a pleasant thought.