Does the new microcode prevent the cpu from using over 1.35v at stock motherboard settings?

Sajin
Does the new microcode prevent the cpu from using over 1.35v at stock motherboard settings?

It sets a maximum voltage limit to avoid value spikes, but not sure what else it does, or what exactly triggers it.
 
Some info here (link).

• "The latest microcode update (0x129) will limit voltage requests above 1.55V as a preventative mitigation for processors not experiencing instability symptoms."
• "For unlocked Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen desktop processors, this latest microcode update (0x129) will not prevent users from overclocking if they so choose. Users can disable the eTVB setting in their BIOS if they wish to push above the 1.55V threshold"

 

Nereus

Sajin
Does the new microcode prevent the cpu from using over 1.35v at stock motherboard settings?

It sets a maximum voltage limit to avoid value spikes, but not sure what else it does, or what exactly triggers it.
 
Some info here (link).

• "The latest microcode update (0x129) will limit voltage requests above 1.55V as a preventative mitigation for processors not experiencing instability symptoms."
• "For unlocked Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen desktop processors, this latest microcode update (0x129) will not prevent users from overclocking if they so choose. Users can disable the eTVB setting in their BIOS if they wish to push above the 1.55V threshold"

 

Thanks. I just watched a video about the micro code update, and it appears the voltage is still going above 1.4v at times, but not close to 1.6v like before.

Like I said in my previous posts, you want to keep the voltage below 1.35v as you will notice if you type in 1.35v into the vcore, the numbers turn yellow indicating you are setting a high voltage. Just set the vcore at 1.345v and a negative offset of whatever you need to set to keep it below 1.35v at all times. The micro code doesn't actually fix the problem. It is still a ticking time bomb with just a longer fuse now, so instead of 1 years time of your cpu degrading it might take 2, or 3, but it will still degrade unless you manually tune the cpu yourself, and stop the boost algorithm from dictating the speed, and the voltage of your cpu. I listed in my previous post on here steps 1-8 how to tune your cpu yourself and stop the degradation.

Martin V

Like I said in my previous posts, you want to keep the voltage below 1.35v as you will notice if you type in 1.35v into the vcore, the numbers turn yellow indicating you are setting a high voltage. Just set the vcore at 1.345v and a negative offset of whatever you need to set to keep it below 1.35v at all times. The micro code doesn't actually fix the problem. It is still a ticking time bomb with just a longer fuse now, so instead of 1 years time of your cpu degrading it might take 2, or 3, but it will still degrade unless you manually tune the cpu yourself, and stop the boost algorithm from dictating the speed, and the voltage of your cpu. I listed in my previous post on here steps 1-8 how to tune your cpu yourself and stop the degradation.

What you’re saying about tuning your cpu to keep it below 1.35v is fine, but I don’t believe voltage is the only thing that is causing the cpu’s to degrade. As we all know not all cpu’s are created equal, so some may require more voltage to be stable.

On my z690 dark kingpin running a cinebench r23 multicore test the vcore maxes out at 1.376v on my 13900k. Doing a single core test it went to 1.382v. Idling just on the desktop the vcore is at 1.35v. This is with the board at default settings as well. I've never seen the vcore go above 1.382v during gaming or stress testing. This is on bios version 2.03. I’ve ran these settings for over a year and a half. My cpu has zero issues.

If voltage was the main culprit to this issue intel would be locking voltage to 1.35v at stock motherboard settings with the new microcode, but they aren’t as not all cpu’s are created equal, and locking them all to 1.35v or lower would cause some to be unstable.

Will running a higher voltage degrade your cpu faster? Yes.
Will running a lower voltage help make your cpu last longer? Most likely.
Will running a lower voltage prevent your cpu from degrading? No. Just using the cpu daily will cause it to degrade overtime just from it being used, so using a lower voltage isn’t going to save your cpu, but it will help slow down the degrading process.

Junk silicon is just junk. You get a good one, or you don’t. Seems like there is alot of junk silicon floating around in the 13th & 14th gen cpu’s. Glad mine isn’t one of them.

The problem is 2 fold, it is the 2 cores that ramp up to say 6 ghz on a 13900ks like I have, plus the aditional voltage over 1.35v. That is why you need to also lock all the cores to the cpus real speed which on a 13900ks is 5.6 ghz. Intel doesnt care they want to compete with AMD, they knew what they were doing. Now with the new micro code all it does is by a little more time, just long enough for the extended warranties to run out and then the chips degrade. Tuning your pc yourself like I stated before with lower voltage will make it last a lot longer like it should 5+ years as most people do not upgrade for a long time, and dont want to either.

As far as junk silican goes, I disagree as Raptor Lake is based on Alder Lake just extended with extra cores and faster speeds. We would have saw issues with 12th gen and as far as I know there are none. I had a 12900ks when it first launched and I never tuned it, just ran it stock, and it ran fine even after 1 year of use. I then resused my 12900ks in another build for a family member and it is still going strong, and still running stock with no problems.

Meanwhile, when I upgraded to my first 13900ks when it launched it degraded after 1 year of use; I then rma it back to Intel and they gave me a full refund, and I then bought my now 2nd 13900ks, but this time I tuned it with locking the all cores to 5.6 ghz, lowering the vcore to 1.345v with a -110 offset, dropping the vcore pwm power frquency to 400, and also power limting the cpu to 253 watts, and it has been running fine for the last 3 months that I have had it with no problems.

Martin V
The problem is 2 fold, it is the 2 cores that ramp up to say 6 ghz on a 13900ks like I have, plus the aditional voltage over 1.35v. That is why you need to also lock all the cores to the cpus real speed which on a 13900ks is 5.6 ghz. Intel doesnt care they want to compete with AMD, they knew what they were doing. Now with the new micro code all it does is by a little more time, just long enough for the extended warranties to run out and then the chips degrade. Tuning your pc yourself like I stated before with lower voltage will make it last a lot longer like it should 5+ years as most people do not upgrade for a long time, and dont want to either.

You can hope tuning might make it last longer. I’ve read a post of a 13600k @ 1.34v degrading in only 4 months. I’ve also read about another users 13900k degrading in several months @ 1.28v.

If the cpu is already degraded then tuning it wont save it as it has degraded, so in that case you would have to add voltage to keep it stable at its normal clock speed, but even if they were to lower the clocks speed well below to say 5.2 even with low voltage, if it has degraded none of that will matter as the damage is done.

Also, you need to not just lower the voltage but lock the cores too! If you do one without doing the other it wont work.

Sajin

Martin V

Like I said in my previous posts, you want to keep the voltage below 1.35v as you will notice if you type in 1.35v into the vcore, the numbers turn yellow indicating you are setting a high voltage. Just set the vcore at 1.345v and a negative offset of whatever you need to set to keep it below 1.35v at all times. The micro code doesn't actually fix the problem. It is still a ticking time bomb with just a longer fuse now, so instead of 1 years time of your cpu degrading it might take 2, or 3, but it will still degrade unless you manually tune the cpu yourself, and stop the boost algorithm from dictating the speed, and the voltage of your cpu. I listed in my previous post on here steps 1-8 how to tune your cpu yourself and stop the degradation.

What you’re saying about tuning your cpu to keep it below 1.35v is fine, but I don’t believe voltage is the only thing that is causing the cpu’s to degrade. As we all know not all cpu’s are created equal, so some may require more voltage to be stable.

On my z690 dark kingpin running a cinebench r23 multicore test the vcore maxes out at 1.376v on my 13900k. Doing a single core test it went to 1.382v. Idling just on the desktop the vcore is at 1.35v. This is with the board at default settings as well. I've never seen the vcore go above 1.382v during gaming or stress testing. This is on bios version 2.03. I’ve ran these settings for over a year and a half. My cpu has zero issues.

If voltage was the main culprit to this issue intel would be locking voltage to 1.35v at stock motherboard settings with the new microcode, but they aren’t as not all cpu’s are created equal, and locking them all to 1.35v or lower would cause some to be unstable.

Will running a higher voltage degrade your cpu faster? Yes.
Will running a lower voltage help make your cpu last longer? Most likely.
Will running a lower voltage prevent your cpu from degrading? No. Just using the cpu daily will cause it to degrade overtime just from it being used, so using a lower voltage isn’t going to save your cpu, but it will help slow down the degrading process.

Junk silicon is just junk. You get a good one, or you don’t. Seems like there is alot of junk silicon floating around in the 13th & 14th gen cpu’s. Glad mine isn’t one of them.

Raptor Lake microcode limits Intel chips to a mere 1.55 volts to prevent CPU destruction

Yeah, like I said the micro code is just buying you a little bit longer time, but 1.55v is still way too high. Anything over 1.35v is considered high voltage that can degrade the cpu faster and make it have a shorter life span. Notice also the micro code doesnt lock the cores, why? They still want those to cores to ramp up to hit 6 ghz or whatever the max speed is depending on a cpu which is part of the problem.