Essential Guide For 13th & 14th Gen Intel Core PCs

Modern processors are highly intricate, and even a minute defect in manufacturing can lead to significant and widespread consequences. This appears to be the case with 13th and 14th Gen Intel Core desktop processors, where a manufacturing flaw has resulted in users experiencing extensive instability.

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The positive news is that Intel has developed a solution expected to be available later this month. However, the concerning news is that processors may have already sustained irreparable damage.

The root cause of this issue has been traced back to faulty CPU microcode (the firmware managing low-level operations), causing the chip to draw more power than necessary and operating outside its safe limits. Notably, this issue seems to only affect desktop processors, with mobile counterparts of the 13th and 14th Gen Intel Core processors remaining unaffected.

Intel has devised updated microcode to resolve the issue, with a projected completion date of mid-August. Though promising, implementation may be delayed as the updated microcode needs to reach impacted PCs through BIOS updates from motherboard manufacturers or Windows updates.

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However, the situation can worsen. According to a Tom’s Hardware report, once a PC begins crashing, the processor may undergo “irreversible degradation,” indicating permanent harm. In such cases, no microcode update can salvage a damaged processor, and Intel recommends affected customers seek aid from Intel customer support.