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

Summary

Intel's 13th and 14th generation CPUs, known as Raptor Lake, are facing significant stability issues, leading to frequent crashes and silicon degradation. Despite Intel's efforts to address the problem through BIOS updates and underclocking, the root cause remains unclear. Gamers and developers are increasingly frustrated, with some calling for a recall and refund of these chips.

Takeaways

• 💥 Intel's 13th and 14th generation CPUs, known as Raptor Lake, have been reported to have significant stability issues.
• 🔍 The most crucial specification when choosing a CPU is often overlooked: the failure rate.
• 🎮 Gaming issues with DirectX12 and Handbrake initially led to frequent crashes, initially blamed on Nvidia drivers but later traced back to Intel's CPUs.
• 🚀 High clock rates and power usage in these CPUs were found to potentially cause silicon degradation and instability.
• 🛠️ A fix suggested was to underclock the CPUs at a lower voltage, leading to an estimated 9% performance loss.
• 📈 A leaked Intel document pointed to a potential issue with the microcode algorithm related to the ETB feature, though Intel denied it was the root cause.
• 🐉 Game developers, such as those from Alderon, have reported 100% failure rates with these chips, affecting end users, game servers, and developers.
• 📊 Analysis by Warframe showed that Raptor Lake chips are specifically causing problems, unlike other chips.
• 📈 Data from YouTuber Level One Text's analysis of crash telemetry data from data centers confirmed a significant stability problem with these chips.
• 🤔 Intel acknowledged the issues and stated they are working on solutions, though they admitted the investigation is challenging.

Q & A

What is the most important specification to consider when buying a CPU?

The most important specification to consider when buying a CPU is not the clock speed, number of cores or threads, transistor count, or cache size, but the failure rate. This is often overlooked because modern CPUs are engineered with high precision and rarely fail due to manufacturing defects.

What is the alleged issue with Intel's 13th and 14th generation CPUs?

Intel's 13th and 14th generation CPUs, also known as Raptor Lake, have been reported to have a high failure rate in certain contexts. This issue has been building up over the last six months, and it appears that even Intel does not fully understand the cause.

What was the initial reaction to the frequent crashes experienced by PC gamers using DirectX12 and Handbreak?

Initially, the blame for the frequent crashes was placed on Nvidia GeForce Graphics drivers. However, Nvidia later refuted this claim and blamed Intel for GPU VRAM issues, advising users to contact Intel support.

What was the suggested fix for the instability issues in Intel CPUs?

The main fix suggested for the instability issues was to underclock the CPUs at a lower voltage. Motherboard manufacturers began rolling out BIOS updates with an Intel Baseline profile to provide these underclock settings, which resulted in an estimated 9% performance loss.

What did a leaked internal document from Intel suggest as the root cause of the instability?

A leaked internal document from Intel suggested that the root cause of the instability was an incorrect value in the microcode algorithm associated with the ETB (Enhanced Thermal Velocity Boost) feature. However, Intel denied this was the root cause but admitted it could be a contributing factor.

What did Alderon, the developer of an MMO game, allege about Intel's CPUs?

Alderon alleged that 100% of the time, these Intel chips will fail. They fail for end users, on game servers, and for developers. They also criticized Intel for providing misleading error messages about running out of video driver memory, even when sufficient memory is available.

What did the analysis by Warframe reveal about the stability of Intel's Raptor Lake chips?

The analysis by Warframe revealed that only the Raptor Lake chips were causing problems, indicating a significant stability issue with these specific Intel chips.

What did YouTuber Level One Text find in his analysis of crash telemetry data from data centers?

Level One Text found that there is indeed a huge stability problem with Intel's Raptor Lake chips, based on his analysis of crash telemetry data from data centers.

What is Intel's response to these allegations and issues?

Intel issued a statement reassuring users that they are working on the issue, although they admitted that the investigation is not easy, which could be interpreted as them not having a clear understanding of what is causing the problems.

What alternative is suggested for those considering building a new gaming rig?

The script suggests considering an AMD processor for those building a new gaming rig, due to the reported issues with Intel's Raptor Lake chips.