Intel Publishes First Microcode Update for Raptor Lake Stability Issue, BIOSes Going Out Now

After a series of financial woes and stability issues with its Raptor Lake chips, the company may be getting some good news on Friday. This week, they launched the first version of their highly anticipated microcode fix for desktop Raptor Lake processors, along with the first detailed explanation of the underlying issue.

The new microcode version 0x129 is Intel’s first attempt to address the voltage rise issue that appears to be responsible for the performance degradation of Raptor Lake processors over the past year and a half. Intel has been investigating the issue all year, and after a slow start, it has begun to make more significant progress in recent weeks, identifying what it calls an “increased operating voltage” issue in its high-TDP desktop Raptor Lake laptops (13^th & 14^th Generation Core) chips. As early as late July, the company Microcode patch release date is mid-August To address (or rather, prevent) the downgrade issue, Intel has started sending microcode to its motherboard partners just before the deadline.

However, even with this new microcode, Intel hasn’t addressed the stability issues. Intel is still investigating whether it is possible to improve the stability of processors that have been downgraded, and the overall tone of Intel’s announcement is very similar to a beta software fix – Intel will not submit this specific microcode revision for distribution via an operating system update, For example. So even if this microcode succeeds in preventing ongoing regressions, Intel doesn’t appear to be completely over the issue yet, and the company may be working on finding a fix suitable for a wider release.

Upper limit is 1.55v: voltage rise causes voltage rise

So what exactly does the 0x129 microcode update do? In short, it limits the voltage of affected Raptor Lake desktop chips to a still-warm (but spec-compliant) 1.55v. As noted in Intel’s previous announcement, excessive voltage appears to be the cause of the issue, so limiting the voltage to the appropriate limits determined by Intel should prevent future die damage.

A letter from the company to all sectors of society Also providing the first overview of what goes on behind the scenes of degraded wafers. Those chips that have succumbed to recurring voltage spikes have deteriorated to the point where the minimum voltage (Vmin) required to run the chip has exceeded Intel’s original specifications. As a result, these wafers are no longer available enough operating voltage.

Seasoned overclockers will no doubt find this a familiar story, as this is one of the ways that overclocked processors degrade over time. In these cases – just like the Raptor Lake issue – more voltage is needed to keep the die stable, especially in workloads where the die voltage has dropped.

While all signs point to this degradation being irreversible (and Intel’s many RMAs in the future), there is a glimmer of hope. If Intel’s analysis is correct and that downgraded Raptor Lake chips can still operate properly at higher Vmin voltages, it might be possible to salvage at least some of those chips and bring them back to stability.

Intel calls it the “Vmin shift,” and it’s the company’s next research goal. According to the company’s letter, they aim to provide an update by “the end of August.”

Meanwhile, Intel’s eager motherboard partners have begun releasing BIOSes with the new microcode, with Asus and MSI rushing to release BIOSes before Intel even had a chance to properly announce the microcode. Both vendors are releasing them as beta BIOS, reflecting the generally early nature of microcode fixes themselves. While we anticipate that most users will want to install this glitch as soon as possible to mitigate further damage to affected chips, caution is advised with these beta BIOSes.

As mentioned earlier, Intel currently only distributes the 0x129 microcode through BIOS updates. This microcode will not enter other systems through operating system updates. At this time, we still expect distribution via an operating system update to be the end result of this fix, but Intel has not yet provided a timeline or other guidance as to when this will happen. So, at least for PC enthusiasts, a BIOS update is currently the only way to get it.

Performance impact: usually zero – but not always

Finally, Intel’s message also provides some guidance on the performance impact of the new microcode based on its internal testing. The company has previously said that they don’t expect a significant impact on performance, and based on their extended testing, that remains largely the case. However, some workloads will suffer performance degradation as a result.

So far, Intel has seen regressions in some workloads. This includes PugetBench GPU performance scores, as well as the game’s Hitman 3: Dartmoor. Beyond that, almost everything else Intel tested, including common benchmarks like Cinebench and major games, showed no performance degradation. Therefore, the overall result of the repair is not a perfect recovery, but it also does not result in extensive performance loss.

As for Anand Technologytime permitting, we will study this in depth on our own benchmark suite. we have Another CPU is coming next weekso there’s no shortage of work to do in the next few days. (Sorry, Gavin!)

Intel’s full statement