THE processors Intel 13e and 14e generations are always at the heart of a story of instability whose origins are difficult to find.
For several weeks now, while it has been preparing the launches of the Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake generations, Intel has been plagued by a history of instability on previous ranges.
The latter had for a time been attributed to abusive settings on motherboards from certain manufacturers, but today seems to go beyond a simple non-compliance with Intel’s recommendations.
Between “abusive” settings…
We talked about it last April, users had noticed chronic instability of their high-end configuration, with unexplained crashes, especially when the load was heavy.
Quickly, the settings used by certain manufacturers on their most muscular motherboard models were singled out. The explanation is as follows: to assert themselves against their competitors, these manufacturers did not hesitate to exceed the technical specifications of Intel processors, at the risk of causing crashes, the chips not being equal to these very demanding settings.
These manufacturers were quick to react by offering “Intel baseline” profiles to return to the specifications of the American firm, but that did not solve everything. Worse, while Intel accused motherboard manufacturers of not respecting its recommendations, the latter responded by explaining that Intel was fully aware and would be guilty of having let it happen.
…and buggy microcode
It must be said that with these settings, the processors displayed significantly higher performance, but since then, other sources have mentioned deeper problems. Igor’s Lab notably indicated that a bug in the microcode of the eTVB (Enhanced Thermal Velocity Boost) would be the cause of most of the problems…
But in truth, no, as Thomas Hannaford, Intel communications manager, explains: “ Contrary to recent media reports, Intel has not confirmed the root cause and continues, with its partners, to investigate user reports of instability issues on Intel Core 13 desktop processorse and 14e generations (K/KF/KS) unlocked. »
In a statement sent by Tom’s HardwareThomas Hannaford adds that “ The patch cited by the press fixes an eTVB bug discovered by Intel while investigating reports of instability. Although this problem potentially contributes to instability, it is not the primary cause. »
For Intel, it’s a bit of a grimace soup. While the company would prefer to focus on the launch of its new generations, it must drag out this story of instability for which it therefore confirms that the problems exist. And above all, it must recognize that it still has not found the root cause of these concerns, while the responsibility of motherboard manufacturers is no longer as clear as before, or in any case, it is not. not total.
€522.36
8
- Alder Lake revised and corrected
- More caches, more cores
- Strong overall performance
Lovers of new technologies, those waiting for the most revolutionary architectures already knew this: Raptor Lake is not cut from the same wood as Alder Lake. At Intel, the next major step will rather be to look for the Meteor Lake architecture that the American still hopes to offer us in the fall of 2023.
Should we therefore denigrate this new generation and is the Raptor as slow as we might have feared compared to the Alder Lake revolution? Our answer is a clear and solid no. First of all, the improvements made to the previous generation are very real and if we can doubt any optimization effort, the increase in the cache or the increase in the number of efficient cores brings, if not much, at least sufficient .
Enough for what? Obviously not to replace your Alder Lake CPU if you broke down a few months ago. On the other hand, enough to evolve an older platform, take advantage of the latest technologies and more assured, more complete support for DDR5 that is a little more accessible with each passing day.
While not being a real “Ryzen killer”, the Core i9-13900K is not cut to pieces by the 7950X and its 16 high-performance cores. It even beats AMD’s latest product in several application tests before supplanting it in most video games. Less energy efficient, Intel’s Raptor Lake is on the other hand cheaper and the cost of the AM5 platform is no longer an advantage for AMD solutions. The debates are more open than ever.
Lovers of new technologies, those waiting for the most revolutionary architectures already knew this: Raptor Lake is not cut from the same wood as Alder Lake. At Intel, the next major step will rather be to look for the Meteor Lake architecture that the American still hopes to offer us in the fall of 2023.
Should we therefore denigrate this new generation and is the Raptor as slow as we might have feared compared to the Alder Lake revolution? Our answer is a clear and solid no. First of all, the improvements made to the previous generation are very real and if we can doubt any optimization effort, the increase in the cache or the increase in the number of efficient cores brings, if not much, at least sufficient .
Enough for what? Obviously not to replace your Alder Lake CPU if you broke down a few months ago. On the other hand, enough to evolve an older platform, take advantage of the latest technologies and more assured, more complete support for DDR5 that is a little more accessible with each passing day.
While not being a real “Ryzen killer”, the Core i9-13900K is not cut to pieces by the 7950X and its 16 high-performance cores. It even beats AMD’s latest product in several application tests before supplanting it in most video games. Less energy efficient, Intel’s Raptor Lake is on the other hand cheaper and the cost of the AM5 platform is no longer an advantage for AMD solutions. The debates are more open than ever.
Source : Tom’s Hardware
Having fallen into video games at a time when it took a great imagination to see here a football match, there a tank fight in these few bars represented on the screen, I have followed all the developments for forty years. Loyal to the PC, but a fan of all genres, I only have trouble with JRPGs. Otherwise, from the driest turn-based strategy to the most spectacular FPS, including sports simulations or musical games, I can do it all... with a preference for management and games combining several styles. My video game pantheon would consist of three series: Elite, Civilization and Max Payne.
Read other articles
0