Have you noticed a few instability issues on your Intel-powered PC? If so, you’re not alone, and Intel promises a fix is on the way.
Intel has finally pinpointed the cause of the widespread instability plaguing its Core 13th and 14th Gen processors. A faulty microcode algorithm has been identified as the culprit, resulting in elevated operating voltages in certain CPUs. The company announced this discovery in an update on Monday, and Intel claims a patch will be made available sometime soon. There’s no specific timeline on when that will happen.
These issues have caused frequent game crashes and system instability, especially so for those users with higher-end CPUs like the Core i9 range. Intel first acknowledged the problem in April after receiving numerous complaints. Initial attempts to address the issue through BIOS updates and guidance have proved insufficient, but hopefully, whatever measure comes next to mitigate this will be more permanent. It’s a microcode patch, so most likely it will be a BIOS update.
While the faulty microcode algorithm has been identified as the root cause, it remains unclear whether the elevated voltages have caused any long-term damage to affected CPUs. Intel has not yet commented on this aspect, but it’s probably a big reason for many to be concerned. Of course, we’ll have to wait for the microcode update to be released before any of that can be addressed. If there was long-term damage to the chips, we’d certainly expect Intel to also take care of it—or get slapped with something like a class-action lawsuit—since it’s not something that can be blamed on users.
For now, all you can do is keep using your PC and hope it doesn’t randomly blue-screen. You can also try underclocking or undervolting your CPU, if you feel comfortable doing so and have a motherboard with that option available.
Source: The Verge
