Intel announced that it has identified four scenarios that can cause voltage stability issues with 13th and 14th generation Core processors and has released new updates to address the issues. The company’s customers have been having problems with these processors since 2022, but it wasn’t until July of this year that the company discovered that the instability issue was caused by increased operating voltage. The company explained at the time that a microcode algorithm was sending incorrect voltage requests to the processor. Microcode, or machine code, is a set of hardware-level instructions. In the same announcement, Intel promised to release a microcode patch to address the “root cause of high voltage exposure.”
In a new post on its community page, Intel listed four scenarios that can cause voltage instability, starting with the motherboard’s power delivery settings exceeding power guidance. Another scenario is that microcode algorithms were allowing the processor to operate at higher performance states at higher temperatures. The company already released a microcode patch for this in June. The third scenario involves another microcode algorithm that requires high voltages at frequencies and durations that can cause problems. Intel also released a patch for this in August.
The latest microcode patch released by the company (codenamed 0x12B) addresses the fourth scenario. Apparently, the processor may request an increase in core voltage during light activity or when the computer is idle. Intel distributed this patch to motherboard manufacturers, as it must be loaded as a BIOS update. The company is already working with partners, but it could still be weeks before manufacturers roll out the fix to their products.
Voltage stability issues plaguing Intel’s 13th and 14th generation Core processors can cause your computer to crash or fail completely. Also, according to previous reports, installing the patch released by Intel will not fix PCs that have already started showing symptoms of the problem. Immediately after Intel announced that it had identified the cause of the processor failure, it extended its warranty for two years to allow customers to replace their processors. This was very welcome, considering that even PCs that initially worked well can develop problems and eventually stop working.
