Intel's inching closer but it still doesn't have an answer to its Raptor Lake problem
The reports have been popping up for years, and while they were dismissed early on, it became abundantly clear recently that there was something wrong with Intel's Raptor Lake CPUs. When it all came to a head, Intel didn't have an answer and pushed the blame towards motherboard manufacturers for running its CPUs out of spec. Intel even went as far as telling them to get their boards into compliance.
Intel Core i9 14900K in a CPU socket in a motherboard
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In response, motherboard brands did what they could and pushed out an update that introduced a new setting that was meant to fix the issue. But Intel warned users against the profile, and recommended users to stick with the default settings instead. With so much time now passed, Intel has yet to deliver a reason to the public about why this is still an issue and how it can be fixed. And while there was a report on what might be causing this, Intel has now chimed in stating that it's still working with its partners to get all the answers.
Nothing's changed, but Intel at least has responded
Intel Core i9-14900KS with its box and wafer
The initial report came from igor´sLAB, which reportedly obtained a document that addressed the issue and provided a clear reason why Intel's Raptor Lake chips have been suffering from stability problems. As far as what's causing the issue, the document stated that there is an "incorrect value in a microcode algorithm" which is associated with the chip's eTVB feature.
Now, this is where things start to get interesting, with Intel issuing a response to the report to Tom's Hardware, stating that it's still working with its partners to identify the issue. The brand also commented on the eTVB bug stating:
The microcode patch referenced in press reports fixes an eTVB bug discovered by Intel while investigating the instability reports. While this issue is potentially contributing to instability, it is not the root cause.
So it looks like for now, there still isn't a solid answer to why this problem is happening. But with Intel sharing some of its findings, at least we know that the company is working on it internally and that the aforementioned eTVB bug can be fixed at some point with a firmware update.
Of course, if you've recently purchased an Intel CPU, it might be a good time to return it if possible and perhaps wait it out. Or if you need to build a new PC now, then go with an alternative from AMD. If that isn't an option, then some online have found that adjusting the clock speeds and voltages has mitigated the issue. Of course, the best solution is going to be the one that comes from Intel — but how long is it going to take?