Intel chip bug FAQ: Which PCs are affected, how to get the patch, and everything else you need to know

Below is a list provided by Intel. According to the company, only the desktop versions are affected and not the mobile/laptop versions:

Intel describes them as instability issues “commonly experienced as consistent application crashes and repeated hangs.”

It depends on how you acquired the PC or processor:

• Boxed processors (you bought a processor for a PC you built) – Contact Intel Customer Support.
• Tray processors (you’re a system builder who buys a lot of chips) – Contact the place of purchase.
• OEM/System Integrator Intel Core 13th/14th Gen-powered desktop system (you bought a pre-built PC) – Contact your system manufacturer.

Intel has extended the warranty for affected processors by two years. 

Who covers the cost of swapping out processors on a system you built yourself or those smaller system builder companies? Intel has been silent. 

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Similarly, there is no guidance for consumers who may have paid for repairs thinking the issue was related to factors such as incorrect installation or overclocking.

The patch — called “microcode 0x129 update” — prevents the elevated voltages from being sent to the cores, and should prevent both the crashes and instability issues, and stop the CPU from being damaged by elevated voltages. 

It is important to note that this update will not fix damaged hardware. If the PC has crashed or been unstable due to this issue, the CPU is damaged. 

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But, Intel has said that it is investigating possible “mitigations” for systems already showing symptoms, and will have more information by the end of August. However, Intel continues to recommend that affected users get their processors swapped out under warranty.

This is where things get messy.

It had been assumed that Intel and motherboard makers would make use of Windows Update to push the patch out to affected systems. However, users will now need to download and install BIOS updates from the relevant motherboard manufacturer. To do this, you need to know what motherboard you have (this guide will help you identify your hardware), download the patch for the appropriate motherboard, and correctly install it.

So far, at the time of writing, Gigabyte, MSI and Asus have published information on BIOS updates, and I can find sporadic updates from other manufacturers such as ASRock. Keep an eye out on the download pages and support forums.

Yes, Intel has published a list of recommended safe settings. If you want to tweak your motherboard ahead of getting a patch — and assuming your board allows for it — here are the settings you should use.

It’s hard to tell.

Intel is confident that this patch solves the problem, and claims that the microcode has little or no detrimental effect on performance.

But I’m seeing a number of reports that show that the new microcode update performs worse but also forces the CPU to run at higher temperatures and increased wattages. The microcode update is also forcing CPUs to thermal throttle — limit performance when the temperatures get too high — which could also be shortening the life of the chips.

I’ve seen suggestions that users should tweak their PCs running these processors even more conservatively.  For example, the YouTube channel Tech YES City suggests going back to the earliest stable BIOS update, manually setting the CPU speed to 5.2GHz, disabling the E-Cores, setting the VDD_CPU and VDD_IMC voltages to 1.3V, and then setting the RAM speeds to a spot where everything is stable at that reduced VDD_IMC voltage.

Don’t!

While the update will not prevent unlocked chips, Intel recommends users “proceed with caution when overclocking their desktop processors, as overclocking may void their warranty and/or affect system health,” and also recommends “customers with Intel Core 13th- and 14th-Gen desktop processors utilize the Intel Default Settings.”

But tests have shown that choosing a settings other than the Intel defaults can cause damaging voltages to be sent to the processor. 

No.

Tweaking the settings to anything other than the new Intel defaults — for example, selecting the motherboard maker’s defaults — can potentially cause high voltages to be sent to the CPU, damaging the CPU. It seems that for now, the only safe settings to use on updated systems are the Intel defaults. 

According to Intel’s investigations, future products are all unaffected by this issue.