New microcode for Intel 13th and 14th gen issues 9/25/2024 UPDATE

PurSpyk!! · Aug 11, 2024

Steve C said:
Asus have now released a beta BIOS with microcode 0x129 for my Z790 board. What do people think of this beta release? I usually skip beta BIOS releases and wait for the fully tested BIOS update.

Been playing around with the beta bios for my Asus z790 ProArt Creators board this weekend, and it seems ok. I am running the Intel Extreme profile no other changes except I set the cpu Load line calibration to 4, on Auto its not stable (auto is what it defaults to). Ran a few benchmarks, Cinebench R23 but my score are a bit lower than what's posted online, but that might be related to my memory speed which is 5600.

PerpetualCycle · Aug 11, 2024

Steve C said:
Asus have now released a beta BIOS with microcode 0x129 for my Z790 board. What do people think of this beta release? I usually skip beta BIOS releases and wait for the fully tested BIOS update.

I thought you were going to wait

. As I said it works great for me. I overclock my memory (tighten the timings significantly). I had to make an adjustment (for the better) on the memory voltages and that is it, but you won't need to worry about that. My CPU overclock is just fine as is, though I did lower the voltage some.

I expect the non-beta will be out soon.

EDIT:
I should add a disclaimer I don't use the Intel profiles in the BIOS, but the Asus and I undervolt and overclock and adjust BIOS settings myself. My limits are Power 320/320W, Current unlimited (the power is sufficient to keep this in safe range), IA voltage limit 1500 mv. AVX2 guardband is 100 (=1 = no change). I use LLC4 with the loadlines ACLL = 0,22 DCLL=1.0, and adaptive core and all core p-cores 5.7GHz and E-cores 4.4 GHz. The KS processor and cooling I have are pretty good, so the voltage stays under 1.3V max.

BrandonR · Aug 15, 2024

ASUS released the stable BIOS update regarding 13/14th gen. just got done updating to the latest and no issues so far.

Steve C · Aug 15, 2024

BrandonR said:
ASUS released the stable BIOS update regarding 13/14th gen. just got done updating to the latest and no issues so far.

Some boards including mine are still on the beta BIOS

BrandonR · Aug 15, 2024

ASUS removed the stable BIOS from the website. not sure if I should be concerned about that? anyone have had experience with using a version of BIOS they removed?

Steve C · Aug 15, 2024

BrandonR said:
ASUS removed the stable BIOS from the website. not sure if I should be concerned about that? anyone have had experience with using a version of BIOS they removed?

I usually wait a few weeks for feedback on the Asus site below before upgrading to a new stable BIOS and never install a beta BIOS.
Intel 700 & 600 Series

PerpetualCycle · Aug 15, 2024

BrandonR said:
ASUS removed the stable BIOS from the website. not sure if I should be concerned about that? anyone have had experience with using a version of BIOS they removed?

Their support websites are always a mess, it probably means nothing. For my board, the beta BIOS is the same as the non-beta - they just took beta out of the description.

PerpetualCycle · Aug 15, 2024

My view on this BIOS has evolved a little after some research and experience with it.

1. If you use the Intel profile, the BIOS freezes a lot of other settings like CPU multipliers, etc., so you can't make any kind of overclock on top of it.
2. If you use the Motherboard's profile instead of one of the Intel, then you loose the voltage fix which is the reason for upgrading. the BIOS (was verified on an oscilloscope on a Gigabyte motherboard by buildzoid).

Which are OK for most people I think.

But Intel apparently did change their loadline (LLC) from 4 to 5 in their profile, so you may notice some differences in voltage and temperature. if you use their profiles.

PerpetualCycle · Aug 15, 2024

One last note:

Recollect that the new 0x129 microcode "fixes" the voltage/degradation issue by limiting the voltage requests to 1550 mV in the microcode.
Some board BIOS (including Gigabyte and Asus) have a setting called "IA VR voltage limit (which I have set to 1500 mv).

I just watched the latest video by buildzoid on loadlines that verified for me (with oscilloscope), that this has the same effect has the microcode setting. So, if you have this setting, you do not have to upgrade the BIOS, but just use this setting.

I attach the video. It is technical and rambling, but his conclusions and observations are spot on. He discusses VR Voltage limit at around 1:15:00, but you need to understand loadlines overshoot etc. etc.

And here a video dedicated to the limit.

Marcus Vinicus · Aug 15, 2024

I yesterday updated my ProArt Z790 to the final version of bios 2504 from 2302 and haven't had any issues so far. Ran Cinebench R23 and the scores are very similar to before.

retiredat44 · Aug 16, 2024

oh dammit !,, not again,, one of these times my mb will brick because of Asus and intel... !! ~~pissed.. here we go again with another bios update. No New update, I think I am finished with updates.. I can only hope~~ Here is the last Bios for mine..
ROG STRIX Z790-H GAMING WIFI BIOS 2503

Version 2503
13.01 MB 2024/08/08
"The new BIOS includes Intel microcode 0x129 and adjusts the factory default settings for the non-K processors, enhancing the stability of Intel Core 13th and 14th gen desktop processors.

Steve C · Aug 17, 2024

I've just updated my TUF Gaming Plus WiFi Z790 board with i7-13700K CPU with BIOS 1663.

I like to set a thermal limit of 85C since I have a Noctua fan for air cooling. The previous BIOS gave me a Cinebench score of 28526 (91.2% of max CPU score due to thermal throttling). The best I can do so far with the new BIOS is a Cinebench score about 1000 points lower of 27482. My current sweet spot settings for the new BIOS are:

Max CPU temperature - 85C

Power limits - 253 / 253W

SVID Behaviour - Intel Fail Safe

Asus Mulicore - Disabled Enforce all limits

Adaptive undervolt -0.075V

The above settings give the Cinebench score of 27482, VCore 1.314V, Power 221W when running Cinebench.

I noted something very weird with the SVID behaviour setting. If I set this to Typical or Auto which I used in the previous BIOS (which gave a better score) then in the new BIOS the Cinebench score plummets to c. 14000 and the CPU only reaches 76C without any throttling. What's going on here? A bug in the BIOS perhaps?

PerpetualCycle · Sep 25, 2024

Additional microcode incoming for the voltage "vmin shift". Today's update from Intel.:

Microcode and BIOS code requesting elevated core voltages which can cause Vmin shift especially during periods of idle and/or light activity.
a. Mitigation: Intel® is releasing microcode 0x12B, which encompasses 0x125 and 0x129 microcode updates, and addresses elevated voltage requests by the processor during idle and/or light activity periods.

Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen Desktop Instability Root Cause Update

Following extensive investigation of the Intel® Core™ 13th and 14th Gen desktop processor Vmin Shift Instability issue, Intel can now confirm the root cause diagnosis for the issue. This post will cover Intel’s understanding of the root cause, as well as additional mitigations and next steps for...

community.intel.com

Steve C · Sep 26, 2024

PerpetualCycle said:
Additional microcode incoming for the voltage "vmin shift". Today's update from Intel.:

Microcode and BIOS code requesting elevated core voltages which can cause Vmin shift especially during periods of idle and/or light activity.
a. Mitigation: Intel® is releasing microcode 0x12B, which encompasses 0x125 and 0x129 microcode updates, and addresses elevated voltage requests by the processor during idle and/or light activity periods.

Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen Desktop Instability Root Cause Update

Following extensive investigation of the Intel® Core™ 13th and 14th Gen desktop processor Vmin Shift Instability issue, Intel can now confirm the root cause diagnosis for the issue. This post will cover Intel’s understanding of the root cause, as well as additional mitigations and next steps for...

community.intel.com

You would hope any half competent firmware engineer would have spotted this problem before now

PerpetualCycle · Sep 26, 2024

Steve C said:
You would hope any half competent firmware engineer would have spotted this problem before now

Indeed. But it is a bit complex and I expect subtle signs.

New microcode for Intel 13th and 14th gen issues 9/25/2024 UPDATE

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