Intel chips can’t possibly be this bad… 100% crash rate?

Science & Technology

Intel Chips Can’t Possibly Be This Bad… 100% Crash Rate?

For decades, Intel has been a titan in the CPU chip market, consistently pushing the envelope with their technology. The company, founded in 1968, introduced the first Dynamic RAM chip in 1970 and the world's first commercial microprocessor, the 4004, in 1971. These innovations laid the groundwork for the x86 architecture that dominates today, and Intel has been rolling in profits ever since. However, it seems this success story is hitting a major snag recently, particularly concerning Intel's 13th and 14th gen CPUs, better known as Raptor Lake.

A growing issue has plagued these newer chips for the past six months, and not even Intel seems to have a firm grasp on what's going wrong. The troubles began in February when PC gamers using DirectX 12 and HandBrake reported frequent crashes. Initially, Nvidia GeForce drivers were blamed, but Nvidia later redirected the blame to Intel, citing GPU VRAM issues and advising users to contact Intel support directly.

Subsequent investigations by RAD Game Tools, responsible for compression in Unreal Engine, revealed that these crashes could be due to high default clock rates and power consumption causing silicon degradation and instability. The advised fixes typically involved underclocking the CPUs and lowering voltage settings, leading to an approximate 9% performance loss.

In response, motherboard manufacturers started rolling out BIOS updates incorporating an Intel Baseline profile to enforce these reduced settings. Although Intel didn't officially endorse these underclocked settings, it was evident something was amiss. Matters escalated when a leaked internal Intel document attributed the instability to an incorrect value in the microcode algorithm related to the Enhanced Thermal Velocity Boost (ETVB) feature. While Intel denied this was the root cause, they acknowledged it could be a contributing factor.

Developers like those behind the MMO Alderon (featuring dinosaur simulations) have been vocal about their struggles, asserting that the Raptor Lake chips have a 100% failure rate. This sentiment is echoed by Epic Games, RAD Game Tools, and an analysis by Warframe, all pinpointing Raptor Lake CPUs as the problem.

Further compounding the issue, YouTuber Level One Texts analyzed crash telemetry data from data centers and confirmed a significant stability problem with these Intel chips. Although Intel has promised they're investigating the issue, their reassurances sound an awful lot like corporate speak for "we're still clueless."

As an Intel user myself, I'm relieved that my machine runs on a 12th-gen chip. But with these issues unfolding, it's hard not to consider AMD for my next build. We can only hope that Intel resolves this issue soon, for their sake and ours.

Keywords

  • Intel
  • CPU
  • Raptor Lake
  • 13th and 14th gen
  • Crashes
  • DirectX 12
  • HandBrake
  • Nvidia GeForce
  • GPU VRAM
  • Bio updates
  • ETVB
  • Silicon degradation
  • Underclocking
  • Alderon
  • Warframe
  • Level One Texts
  • Stability

FAQ

Q1: What is the main problem with Intel's 13th and 14th gen CPUs? A: These CPUs, also known as Raptor Lake, have high instability and crash rates, particularly when running software like DirectX 12 and HandBrake. This is potentially due to high default clock rates and power consumption leading to silicon degradation.

Q2: Who initially was blamed for the crashes, and who is now considered responsible? A: Initially, Nvidia GeForce drivers were blamed, but Nvidia later redirected the blame to Intel, citing GPU VRAM issues.

Q3: What are the suggested fixes for these Intel CPU issues? A: The primary fix involves underclocking the CPUs and reducing voltage settings. This can lead to an estimated 9% performance loss.

Q4: How has Intel responded to these issues? A: Intel has acknowledged the problem but has yet to provide a definitive cause or solution. They have promised ongoing investigations into the issue.

Q5: What do developers and data centers say about the impact of these issues? A: Developers, including those behind the MMO Alderon, and data center analyses report a 100% failure rate for affected CPUs, causing significant disruptions.