You’ll need to spot the signs of failing chip yourself Updated: Oct 7, 2024 4:23 pm WePC is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more Table of Contents Table of Contents Intel currently does not have a tool to detect chips affected by crashing errors, but it is exploring the possibility of developing one. Intel says that it doesn’t have a reliable tool that can help detect if a 13th and 14th Gen CPU has been affected by instability issues and whether it will survive or not. However, Intel did tell Tom’s Hardware that it is open to the possibility of developing a detection tool and will release an update if it releases one. Previously, Intel confirmed that the latest 0x12B microcode is the final mitigation against Vmin shift instability issues in 13th and 14th-gen CPUs, and downloading the BIOS update will resolve all issues. However, a diagnosis tool would be helpful for those who are not sure if their CPUs are affected by the stability issues that can permanently damage the chip. Over the past year, 13th and 14th-gen processors have had several issues that led to lower performance and system crashes. While Intel did identify four issues with the Raptor Lake and Raptor Lake Refresh processors, it took the Team Blue several months before putting an end to this crashing nightmare. Unfortunately, chips that have already suffered circuit damages due to these crashing errors will not see any improvement even after installing the latest patch. Fortunately, Intel has made it pretty clear that it will be offering an extra two-year warranty on top of the existing three years for all affected processors from the Intel Core i5, i7, and i9 families, giving them five years of coverage. However, getting a replacement chip via the RMA process could take a few days, which means that unless you have a backup device you will be left without a computer for a while. Hence, if Intel developed a home-use tool that could help users detect failing chips, it would save some customers from an unnecessary RMA. Intel suggests sticking to default power settings even after installing the latest updates Apart from the microcode update, Intel suggests users use the Intel Default Settings as part of the mitigation against the Vmin shift instability issues. While Intel recommends the idea of using Intel’s default plan even after downloading the latest patch updates, users are free to increase PL1 and PL2 power limits beyond the “recommended values” and remain under warranty.
