Any MSI laptop users suffering from intel gen 13/14 (mobile) issues connected to mainstream degradation?

That is a good question to ask. We do however face the problem that separating out a potentially degradation issue from a lot of other potential issues could be like a can of worms. It’s exceedingly difficult to troubleshoot laptops due to the limited access to BIOS and the proprietary nature of their hardware. Also, I’m not sure how many laptop users visit this forum. It could end up a small sample size of respondents. But let’s see what kind of responses you get.
 
The performance drop of a CPU is often mainly due to thermal capability. Most people first address this by repasting the thermal grease. Of course, we can not completely rule out the possibility of CPU degradation over time. Unless the thermal capability is confirmed to be fine and the CPU is replaced with one of the same specifications, it is not possible to know the real reason. However, implementing this method is not very feasible.
 
if its degrading it should eventually get to point where it is unstable, so i think we just need to wait and see, but based on this article im not too optimistic.
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I've been following this and have yet to figure out what CPUs are affected. I see posts elsewhere that Intel says the 65W TDP CPUs have the issue, but then people talk about K versions having issues but those are 125W not 65W. And based on this forum I think MSI only sold 5 of my laptop (GT77HX):-). So it is hard to know if there is a problem for us or not. My general impression is Intel says there is a problem with the firmware microcode that can cause the CPU to get a higher voltage than the BIOS is requesting and the CPU supports. This can cause the silicon to degrade over time to the point where the CPU must be replaced. In theory they are making an update to the firmware to prevent further damage. But just because the wrong voltage is being used doesn't mean damage will occur since you have the bell curve of yield on the CPU parts. So some can take it, others cannot (just like when you try to overclock). And even then, you still might not have the problem depending on all the other settings that might keep the CPU from getting into that state space. And on top of that you have other unrelated issues that people just immediately blame on this which further confuses things. In the meantime, my laptop works so I'll just keep enjoying it until something breaks.
 
Even if laptop variants would be affected i dont think its easy thing for intel to admit, its one thing to replace desktop cpus, but what can you even do with laptop cpus? replace whole laptops only right? so i think at most they will update microcode and pray those cpus last for 2 years until warranty runs out. Even though intel supposedly knew about the problem since 2022 so hopefully they are not dumb enough to release faulty mobile cpus if they knew about it.
 
did anyone try this method to update microcode? or is it better to wait for msi bios update? is there even going to be one for laptops?
 
did anyone try this method to update microcode? or is it better to wait for msi bios update? is there even going to be one for laptops?
I don't recommend updating the Microcode on your own because you may not know if the update could conflict with the original settings or features of your MSI computer, potentially causing unexpected issues. If you do encounter any bugs, I suggest you directly contact MSI Support to identify the exact cause. If they find that the issue is indeed related to the Microcode, they will update the BIOS including the Microcode to fix it. Therefore, I don't think there's any need to panic at this stage.
 
After confirming with MSI Support, regarding instability in certain 13th and 14th generation processors, they said that MSI Notebook products do not use the affected processors and therefore are not impacted.
 
I am pretty sure the laptop CPUs will be affected. Case in point: I have a MSI GE68HX 14VIG laptop with a i9-14900HX CPU.
Under normal conditions (just at the win11 desktop, nothing else going on) HWmonitor reports VIDmax up to 1.52V, which is very significantly exceeding the Intel limit of 1.3V. Exceeding that limit is what causes the silicon degradation and instability. I haven't experienced any crashes (yet) but I am very worried because I paid a lot for this laptop.
I just updated the BIOS to the latest provided by MSI as of 8/8/24 (version E15M1IMS.70D - which is actually dated back in April) and it has not made any difference. I didn't expect it to, because the microcode version in that file is 116, not the 129 which provides the mitigation. Also the BIOS does not provide any mechanism to override the default VID settings, like set a negative offset etc.

I am hoping that MSI will do something about it, unless they want to have a LOT of laptop RMAs on their hands in short order.

(edit) I opened a ticket with MSI support and got a reply already, saying that they plan to fix it in the second half of August. That would be great.
 
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ye 1.52 doesnt sound very good, i have i9 13980hx and i dont go above 1.45 even in games, but i did undervolt and also disabled cpu boost in power plan - power options, by setting maximum cpu power to 99%(not sure how much does this help).
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Undervolt is more important i believe and it should be also possible on your laptop, try to check this video, its pretty long but very detailed.
 
Yeah I had found those settings eventually by myself, did some testing, -120mV is the max undervolt I can use for a stable system. Even with that I still get spikes up to 1.425V on the cores.
 
microcode limit is to 1.55v so 1.4-1.45 should be fine with some reserve
 
Based on MSI's statement, it only mentions desktop computers, and it seems that different support staff have provided varying answers. We will need to wait and see how MSI claims the instability issues in their future statements.
Furthermore, Intel and other computer brands (such as ASUS) have not mentioned any impact on mobile CPUs. Currently, there is no evidence to suggest that mobile CPUs are affected, so it is best not to speculate recklessly.
 
i think its opposite of reckless, we rather take precautions just in case intel is not telling complete truth, if the degradation is slower on mobile cpus, they might last until warranty and if they start dying after its not intels problem anymore, ofc its just a speculation and i hope its wrong, but better safe than sorry.
 
i think its opposite of reckless, we rather take precautions just in case intel is not telling complete truth, if the degradation is slower on mobile cpus, they might last until warranty and if they start dying after its not intels problem anymore, ofc its just a speculation and i hope its wrong, but better safe than sorry.
I understand your concern. If the warranty has expired and Intel still does not acknowledge this as their issue, I don’t think we can request a free replacement.
If many mobile CPUs start having issues, Intel might begin to take the problem seriously and start to analyze it. For now, we can only wait.
 
However, between the 2 alternatives:
1. The CPU is well taken care of, with proper voltage limits, and does not die but rather performs as it should for the next 5-6 years at least, and
2. The CPU dies in warranty and gets replaced (or for a laptop, the whole motherboard gets replaced because they are BGA chips, soldered) after having to go through the hassle of RMA, not having a laptop for a few weeks etc.
I'll take #1, thank you.
 
Hello I bought MSI Vector 16HX A14V about two months ago. I have all kinds of issues during this time, also opened the discussion below.
First, I contacted with MSI Online Support and they suggested driver solutions, it did not fixed the laptop. Then they suggested it could be a hardware issue so I sent laptop to local technical service twice. They claimed, there aren't any hardware issues. At this point I also don't know what to do because of instability during playing games and constant crashes. I wanted to refund it twice but because of the claim of local technical service, the distributor does not allow me to refund it. I just wanted to write it here, too.
I can not use the product I bought as intended. I don't know the technical details of undervolt values etc. but I have videos of crashes, errors, freezes and instability issues during playing games. Also, Intel may not take the responsibility of their products (it is also not acceptable and we can see the results by looking at the stocks) but I am shocked that two different support services related to MSI have two different opinions regarding the problems.
 
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