Let me explain briefly. The processors of generation 13 and 14 (K or non-K) have some stability problems that seem to be related to poor voltage control. These are very high voltage spikes that can happen even with the system in idle, but are more accentuated when the workload is high, such as when rendering a video or when compiling the shaders of a game. These voltage peaks cannot be seen with simple monitoring software, but require a very sensitive special device, as the peaks occur in milliseconds. Although Intel has not yet found the root problem, it has been released several microcodes that mitigate these stability problems. The latest microcode is 0x129. This microcode limit the voltage to be within a safe range, which appears to be 1.5V. However, this microcode has been optimized as you have seen in several BIOS updates.
Any CPU degrades over time, whether Intel or AMD. The problem with the 13th and 14th generation processors is that their degradation is faster. Even this degradation is greater the more powerful the CPU is (hence the main affected are the i9) and when the BIOS has very aggressive options, like unlimited power, turbo boost, etc. The CPU may only last a few months or a year, but there will come a time when it will no longer be functional. That is why Intel has extended the warranty on these CPUs (as long as they are retail versions or you do not have a laptop or a branded computer, whose warranty would depend on the manufacturer).
If your CPU becomes unstable it is because it has already reached a significant level of degradation and would need to be replaced. To check the stability of the CPU you can do several things (I recommend you to do these tests by disabling the XMP profile in the BIOS, as XMP can add more instability):
- - Install an nVidia driver (if you have an nVidia graphics card): It seems that during the initial installation process this driver requires a lot of CPU. If your CPU is unstable, the driver will tell you that it cannot be installed or that an error has occurred.
- - Running a last generation game: during the startup of these games, the shaders have to be compiled, which requires a very high CPU usage. If your CPU is unstable, the game will tell you that an error has occurred, the game will crash, or you will get the usual message that you don't have enough video memory. This last message caused a lot of confusion at first, as people thought the culprit was the graphics card when the culprit was the CPU.
- - Rendering a video with programs such as Handbrake: during video rendering the CPU is used very intensively. If the CPU is unstable, you will get an error, the computer will restart or the program will stop responding.
- - Use a computer performance test program, such as Cinebench or OCCT: if your CPU is unstable, you will get errors during CPU stress tests.
In addition to installing the latest BIOS version that includes the 0x129 microcode, it is important that in the BIOS you use Intel's default settings. This configuration will set the factory settings for the CPU, limiting the voltage, the power (the limit is 253w, not 4094w which is a nonsense), as well as other settings that forum users have described in several posts.
