Security News > 2024 > August > Raptor Lake microcode limits Intel chips to a mere 1.55 volts to prevent CPU destruction

Intel has divulged more details on its Raptor Lake family of 13th and 14th Gen Core processor failures and the 0x129 microcode that's supposed to prevent further damage from occurring.

The chipmaker previously disclosed that the so-called instability issue plaguing many Raptor Lake chips stems from an elevated operating voltage set by the processor itself.

If voltage is set to a dangerously high value, it can permanently damage the processor, causing crashes at what should be stable frequencies if not fry the thing dead, as Intel customers have discovered.

While AMD has only ever been able to hit 5.7 GHz, and Alder Lake capped out at 5.5 GHz; the fastest Raptor Lake CPUs range from 6 to 6.2 GHz. It's not clear how high the operating voltage was getting before the introduction of the 0x129 microcode, but apparently 1.55v is in the sweet spot to prevent damage but still guarantee high clock speeds.

According to Intel's internal testing, performance hasn't changed for Raptor Lake CPUs except in a few cases.

Intel rival AMD issued two security advisories this week regarding some interesting-but-not-too-scary flaws in its chips.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/08/09/new_raptor_lake_microcode_limits/