MSI To Address Intel 13th & 14th Gen CPU Instability Issues With New Microcode Patch By Mid-August

MSI is working on a new BIOS to resolve the instability issue users are facing with the Intel 13th & 14th Gen Desktop CPUs.

Soon after Intel acknowledged the instability problems with Raptor Lake and Refresh chips Core i9 CPUs, MSI provided updates on the recent developments in the company. Today, MSI issued a press release stating that they are working closely with Intel to understand the instability problems and are monitoring the progress. Adding to that, it said it will provide an updated BIOS to the users followed by the microcode update which Intel is set to release in mid-August.

Regarding the recent Intel® Core™ 13th /14th Gen desktop processors instability, MSI has worked closely with Intel to understand the situation and is closely monitoring the progress. We will provide the updated BIOS to our customers and users as soon as possible after the new microcode is released in the middle of August. Stay tuned.

via MSI

The PR didn't include anything substantial information that would reveal the root causes we talked about earlier. The root cause isn't just going away with a simple BIOS update since the problem is related to several factors that increase the minimum operating voltage to the extent that it becomes unsafe for the CPU to continue its operation, resulting in freezes and crashes.

However, Intel did not reveal this particular information in its Reddit post and simply blamed 'Elevated Operating Voltage' for the occurrence of such problems. It was Igor's Lab that further explained the problem through a leaked communication report, which contains somewhat detailed information as to why the voltages were going above the safe level. Nonetheless, Intel is working on a microcode patch that is supposed to limit the VID requests above 1.55V, which again doesn't guarantee a complete fix.

Intel will still need to monitor and continue its analysis following the release of the microcode till the instability issues are mitigated completely. Previously, Intel blamed it on the motherboard manufacturers even after acknowledging that it didn't find the root cause for such instabilities. To this day, Intel doesn't seem to be confident about the root cause if we take a look at its Reddit post. Motherboard vendors like MSI previously offered some alternatives to prevent instability through BIOS tweaks a few times but since this doesn't fix the voltage spikes, it's completely up to Intel to find a permanent fix to save its reputation.

At the moment, higher-end chips 14th & 13th Gen chips like the Core i9-14900K & Core i9-13900K and some Core i7s are the common CPUs that are facing such issues. Thankfully, there aren't any reports of Core i5s being affected by this instability problem. Expect more such updates in the coming days before Intel releases its microcode.

News Source: MSI