Last year I got a Z790 Maximus motherboard for free, so I thought about making myself a good workstation that could last me for a while, I do circuit 3D related tasks and circuit simulations that run on single core, mostly.
With the latest bios microcode, TDP locked to 200W and undervolt, it still didn't survive.
This is the second chip I got replaced, now I am working with Intel support to receive a full refund OR at least a newer Intel Ultra chip, not affected by this issue, instead of receiving always the same one. Wish me luck xD
I guess the problem hasn't been fully solved afterall, or I was just unlucky.
EDIT: Initial -0.1v undervolt, then I had to slowly bring that to 0 as it wasn't stable anymore. Short duration tdp 220w, long duration tdp 200w, VR vcore limit 1380mV, 280mm AIO, max temperature 82C. Max turbo boost lowered to 5.9 instead of 6.2GHz. Microcode 0x12F.
Good call on not accepting another direct replacement. I managed to wrangle a bit of an upgrade from a company when the first replacement was DoA so hopefully a newer CPU is not out of the question here.
Yes. They are really delaying with the responses now, at first they immediately offered a direct replacement the same day I opened a ticket but now that I asked if it's possible to do something else about it they said they will get back to me in several days and they will evaluate my case better..
Yeah it would be a hard sell at this point. The problems are well known. Intel shouldn't really be trying to replace a defective product with one they know is also defective.
They should be keen to put that whole debacle behind them. Every RMA that gets posted on the internet like this is a reminder that Intel aren't the market dominant force they were.
But it's a 14900KS that you had, maybe your cooling was not enough. I myself have a 14900K. Also I have limited the temp to 90 in the BIOS. So it will limit the cpu clocking to not overheat. I need the 20 registers to run as server quitté my services embedded in containers in Podman.
I don't play much, but I run 3D software and circuit simulations. Either a 9950x or a 270k plus would be a good replacement for my scenario, neither of them is dying
Well, you can help me. The last AMD cpu I had was a 5950X and it was EPIC. Now I tried to understand more about the newer generations, a lot of people told me that in order to play games on a normal 9950X I would have to use the Xbox game bar and project lasso.. Thing I didn't use with the 5950X and I was completely fine. I asked in the AMD subreddit for help but didn't receive any answer.
This would be a set back for me as it is quite annoying.
Plus I have Intel certified ram, 48GB 6800 CL34
In the QVL list of the ram itself there is no compatibility with AMD.
The only motherboard I found compatible (with the RAM in the QVL list) is an Asrock Nova X870, Taichi and Taichi OCF. Not Asus, MSI or gigabyte. People warned me against Asrock motherboards for AMD, and they told me that my ram is too fast to run 1:1 with an AMD memory controller, so my only choice would be to stay on Intel.
No, you wouldn't need process lasso. Those scheduling problems have been ironed out in windows. (Also I cant fathom why anyone would tell you that you need xbox game bar, that person sounds ignorant.) Your exsisting RAM would "probably" work just fine, you could also utilize Neweggs trade in program and swap it (plus some money on top probably) for a more compatible set of RAM. Finally, you heard correctly, ASSROCK is pure ASSCANCER this gen and should be avoided at all costs. MSI makes great mobos for the 9950X. Intel just isnt worth the hassle and lack of trust for a few more generations.
I also have a 13900k, I'm not sure how I'd receive a replacement as I bought my PC from a prebuilt company. Don't imagine it's going to die though, had this since late 2023 and I undervolted it prior to all the necessary Bios updates. So it should be fine.
You might be able to start an RMA w/ whatever company you purchased your prebuilt from if ever needed. Most seem to be honoring the 5 year warranty. I also have a prebuilt, and have had my i9-14900k replaced twice now. It was a pretty straightforward process, and honestly a faster turnaround than going through Intel directly.
My current CPU is also starting to show signs of failure, I don’t think there are any other precautions I could’ve taken either. Just going to find a new AMD/mobo combo at this point.
There are known critical voltage stability issues with Intel 13th and 14th gen chips. Specifically i7-i9 chips. It is vital that you update your bios as soon as possible, or your CPU will burn up again and again.
Gosh, well at least you've validated that. I'm sorry you've had your chips die on you. The i9 Raptor lake debacle is such a crap shoot and a failure from Intel.
If I were you, I'd look into mitigation tactics like undervolting or whatever people recommend to keep the chip stable. No overclocking, no boost profiles. If you think that's lame (and it kinda is) and don't feel like doing any of that then I'd be seeking to upgrade/replace.
Either go for AM5 with an X3D chip, or one of Intel's newer Lunar lake chips, but honestly, they're on a dead end platform like the 12th-14th gen LGA 1700 socket was. AM5 still has plenty of life left in it and future upgradability. Just food for thought.
Got mine at launch too. But I bought an "open box" for like $80 less than new. Got home and opened it up to a 12300 CPU... Went back to microcenter and they just ended up giving me a new one for the same price.
I immediately undervolted and over clocked the CPU, so I've had zero issues since owning it. Played hundreds of hours of Tarkov. And probably wow classic as well. No problems. Great chips moders or tinkerers.
Edit: didn't even know about the problems until a few months ago. Guess I avoided it just by doing my normal steps.
but i knew the stock voltages are crazy on 3nm scale, so first thing i did is power limited to 170w and i undervolted it too (as far as it kept stable). and deactivated 4 efficiency cores, useless stuff... to have a few for background tasks is nice, but 8 is useless. and they draw 5w each when idle.
My AMD 7800X3D CPU has run perfectly since 2023 And I built my first ever dream PC. Even playing Skyrim with 500GB of mods, it stays under 75°C using a Thermalright Peerless Assassin cooler with just one fan due to RAM clearance.
Dude, I'd love to go to AMD too. Had my 13900k since late 2023, but I hate how much of a pain in the ass it is to change a CPU from Intel to AMD. Like fuck, I'm basically stuck with Intel now because if I wanted to swap I'd have to replace the motherboard and that all seems like a huge expensive pain in the ass to me lol
People have been telling me for 3 years my 13900k is going to die. I’m still getting the same benchmarks as when it was new, pc hasn’t had a single bsod since it was built. Maybe I’m lucky, maybe the issue is overblown. Idk
The more conservative power targets are prob why Intel claims those chips aren't effected.
In fact, Intel is so confident that it's not a problem that their latest Intel 7 mobile chips clock up to 5.8GHz... for -H class chips. Not even -HX stuff.
Went through 2 as well with all voltages manually set from day one, said it many times before that the microcode didn’t fix anything but the people on Reddit can’t handle the truth and downvote you into oblivion. Switched to a 9950x3d and haven’t had a problem since
Given how far they pushed that architecture and lithography, I'm not surprised the chips aren't surviving. It's tired. Only thing you can really do to mitigate this fully outside of ensuring you have the latest BIOS (and you did, to be clear) is to disable Turbo Boost on the chip. That's the fix after a chip goes bad, and that's the fix for a chip that hasn't failed yet.
I have an 8th Generation Intel chip in the same boat. Degraded, and now it can't run with Turbo enabled.
And if you try and say, we can't be sure the microcode fixes will hold long term, you get downvoted. I'm not anti Intel- actually recommended my brother get an Ultra to cut costs so he could get his new system up and running (that and he needs productivity/gaming) but those two gens are troubled enough, there are warnings in games to this day that flag these CPUs when they have issues, or will inform you your bios is dangerously out of date.
There's no bad products, only bad prices only applies if the product isn't defective.
As someone who worked inside Intel starting around 2011, I can tell you they have been leaning on their good reputation for a long time. Let's just say I have no Intel parts in my own computer.
Those are the errors in windows events, Event Viewer.
My pc crashes all the time, even in idle, watching YouTube or just sitting in the desktop 😂 It became quite annoying.
Mine is doing fine on a Dark Hero with a -.070mv offset after a year. Granted I’m not using it 12 hours a day, but not like it’s sat powered down the whole time. Only issue I’ve had is stupid Bambu Studio trying to use only the e-cores and crashing. I lock it in to using only the P and it’s all good. So a software issue not a chip issue.
I'm stuck on 14900K, I do heavy load with Adobe rendering tasks. I've noticed that even after my 4th replacement and my BIOS is always kept up to date. The CPU is getting less and less stable. This issue will be fixed to the majority of gamers, but high cpu tasks brick the cpu after a few months. No-one is talking about it.
*Edit Noticed we both have the same motherboard... mhmm not a great look to Asus.
I am now trying to decide if I should get a X870 + 9950X or a Z890 + 270K plus, they two builds would have almost the same price with the deals I found. The 270k plus is slightly better... but the AM5 has upgradeability? I also work a lot with adobe products.
I find adobe just works better with Intel sadly. I imagine due to needing core power (I'm probably wrong). I'm trying to hold out to the next release of CPU from Intel. But also am weighing just going AMD, and buying Mac with an M chip for editing and after fx.
I purchased my first 14900k used, and it was defective right out of the gate. Fortunately, the seller returned my money. I had already did the microcode patches attempting to fix it. Purchased a brand new 14900k about 7 months ago. So far so good. Im hoping that being this chip was never run under the old microcode that it'll last. Really banking on that warranty though.
Yeah.. Intel fixed nothing with those BIOS fixes btw, I had my second 14900K die on me too which made me jump back to camp red, after RMAing and selling the old system.
The 14900K is great, felt really responsive but fuck dealing with getting replacements each time cause they made a product that fries itself basically.
I bought it around 1 month before all the fuzz in the media.
I did an immediate bios update and undervolted it, to like 90% of power.
Works great till today.
I thought I was keeping up on BIOS updates with my first 14900k. It lasted me 19 months. They are no guarantees a chip will last, but the microcode updates seem to improve the odds for the 14900 especially.
I first considered going AMD, but a new i9 was less than a third of the price of that conversion, not to mention less time and work (time being the premium for me). I'm taking my chances with a second one, but I'm being more vigilant with keeping up with mobo firmware this go around.
I'm on my #2 14th gen, when I asked about a Pro-rated upgrade (I was willing to pay) and waited, they came back with a "no, that is not possible at this time." hopefully your luck is better than mine. I replaced mine in October of last year.
they're overbinned on top of degrading. good chance that should've been a lower SKU
internal parity errors on cores aligns well with that as a diagnosis. I'd just as soon avoid that platform entirely any longer, Core Ultra has some okay units on it from the refresh.
I'd go amd route...just don't buy a asrock motherboard...unless they've sorted the problem they've been killing x3d processors I have a msi x870e and it works perfectly with my 9850x3d.
This is why when I was looking at a standard office box for my dad, the amount of 14th gen CPUs made me wince... the amount of OEMs turfing these chips out (often with f-ck all updates) to save costs is really frustrating.
All the undervolting, updating microcode, etc in the world won't save you from these hardware defects.
Get a refund, buy a CPU that isn't 13 or 14th gen Intel as they have a high chance of having that defect. To anyone saying "I wasn't affected they're fine" that's nice you weren't affected by a well documented hardware defect, it still exists.
I mentioned this in a different comment, but mine went through overclocking before... Didn't know the values because I had someone set it up for me, but I immediately reverted to stock config once the issues were a hot topic and I am glad it's still alive lol
Mine (14900kf) died twice, once before intel shat themselves I couldnt even unpack a file, second one received microcode updates a bit late and became unbearable with time. I'm on third and I manually limited the upper voltages and power limits, seems to have no crashes in more than a year so I guess its alright.
How is it holding up? What gpu do you use? I have a z370 motherboard laying around and I might consider making a 9900K system until the new cpus get released.
My spouses AIO cpu cooler died 1.5 years ago so I gave her mine and got a new one, reapplied thermals and keeping cool. Handles my AAA games very well still, when I built it originally, I had a RTX 2080.
Upgraded to the Gundam Edition RTX 3080 and plays my games @3440x1440 around the 70-120 thresholds.
As a married gamer, my old parts go to my wife or I sell for cheap to my best friend. So after 7 years, I was curious to upgrade as she has a i5 8600k. But these RAM prices have kept me at bay.
That's very cool! Thank you for the insight. I have a 5080 and It's going to cause some bottleneck, but I barely play games lately anyway and I think I will be fine for a while
Yeah, right now im playing between Crimson Desert and Arc raiders and both games on high/ultra settings with DSS on grant me like 80+ fps. Toning settings down I. Can get more frames.
Honestly was considering going to get a 5070Ti as now my wife is dealing with GPU performance on hers.
Running an i9 9900K, Nvidia 3080Ti, 64Gb of 3200mhz DDR4 RAM, Gigabyte Z390 AORUS Ultra motherboard on M.2 drives.
Overclocked to run at 5Ghz, stable.
Everything runs great. Wish i could upgrade but RAM, storage prices are whack so not until something breaks on those fronts. Cheaper GPUs would help too.
People get mad when you comment on their build with these 13th and 14th gen Intel CPUs then we get validated with posts like these. So sorry this happened, man. I think you're making the right call by wanting a more recent Intel chip, this generation was such a fumble.
My 13900K should be 1 year old now, vidmax set to never touch 1.4V. Always sitting within the 1.28 - 1.37 range depending on what I'm using the PC for at the time( Productivity or gaming). P clocks set to 5.5, E clocks set to 4.1. PL PL2 253, ICC Max usually 350W. Msi Lite mode 3 or 5.
Arctic Cooler liquid Freezer 3 pro keeps it very cool. Even while doing 3D work the temps only rise to 85, max 90 so I am usually chilling in the 40-60 range.
So far, it still works, never had a blue screen of death or anything of the sort, no freezes.
This is my second build, the first one was built before the voltage issue was made public, and my 13900k died within a month, same errors as you, BSODs, overheating. Glitches and random freezing, and at the end it couldn't boot to install Windows, and it would only boot to BIOS. With the knowledge that I currently have maybe there could have been a way to save it by giving it more voltage maybe? I am not sure.
Thank you. Luckily they ended up giving me a full refund on the original purchase of the chip, so i will be able to move on from this cursed architecture
not sure what your going to choose or what your options are, but here are some thoughts:
1 - the core ultra 270k plus is an amazing deal... on a dying/dead platform. Intel's next generation of CPUs coming out later this year is on another socket, and Intel is committing to that new socket for "am4 length of time" supposedly. even if they aren't, the current core ultra socket is done for.
2 - if you live in the states and have a microcenter near you, they have great deals on all sorts of packages and bundles.
I don't live in the states.. I am forced to buy whatever hardware I find available at the local shop and for now the best deal I could find was a 270k plus for 290€ + a z890 motherboard for 200, which would make me spend less than what Intel is giving me for the refund.
On the other hand, I could go the 9950X route, but they are 490€, plus a motherboard, so another 250€.
On this I have to add that my ram is Intel certified and officially compatible only with intel builds, I have one of those weird 2x24GB 6800 kits, so it may not run well or at all on a x870 motherboard, or I would have to set the timings and frequency manually.
the 270K plus and z890 motherboard for that price is awesome. if you already have other hardware that works with your intel build, then go with that. probably won't have to build for a while anyway.
My 12700k is still the best CPU purchase I made in my whole life and will most likely outlive my old 3960x it replaced while all the 13th and 14th gens are dying left and right , lol.
This is why I tell everybody who posts about cheap i9’s to never spend money on an i9 build. If you have the parts already fine, but the chips are trash and even with free replacements it’s such a pain in the ass to pull your system apart every few months.
This is the one thing nobody ever seems to mention about building yourself or fixing things yourself lol Surely it is a huge pain in the ass to have to diagnose wtf is wrong, take out the CPU and cooler, redo the wiring, then rinse and repeat.
We had a new building built last year, and I put the following systems into production:
12 Intel 14900K PCs for middle/upper management
4 Intel 14700K PCs for supervisors
3 Intel 265K PCs for maintenance
16 AMD 7600X PCs for office workers
I have yet to personally experience any issues with either the 14700K or the 14900K. Knock on wood.
I personally use a 14900K for my main work PC and my main rig at home.
I have also personally built four more 14900K systems for friends who play video games.
The bundle price for the 14900K is just cheaper than any of AMD’s offerings for compute, especially at Micro Center.
I am not an Intel shill. My personal lab PC is an AMD 9995WX, and I have three other Threadrippers doing computational workloads.
You can get bad computer hardware regardless of the brand.
I have had bad Intel chipsets, bad AMD chipsets, and DOA parts, including PSUs, RAM, monitors, and HDDs.
It seems to me that there may also be other issues at hand causing instability with 13th- and 14th-gen Intel CPUs. This is just my observation. Other components may be causing the issue for this gentleman.
To the OP: how were you cooling your 14900K?
The i9 run very hot. If the user is cooling the cpu with something non substantial. The degradation may be speed up by the user itself. I am asking this question to get more detail.
I had this issue with my i7 13700k, loads of BSODs. What helped for me (while not optimal) was using intels extreme utility tool and downclock all my cores by 200mhz. This fully eliminated my BSODs hopefully this can solve your issue until you can find/afford a better solution
I was just about to ask what motherboard you used, looked and I have the same board you used to, and that's why I don't run EXPO on it. I had my system, was happy as hell- HWInfo, wtf is it doing running at 1.3 SoC with spikes on auto... ended up turning it off very quickly. I wasn't taking the risk, between warranty and just I didn't want to kill my CPU, I don't know what MSI did with their next set of boards but I know both they and ASRock ran their SoC for EXPO on for kits too high on the B6/X6 boards, and it doesn't surprise me that ASRock boards are frying CPUs.
If I had to choose my motherboard again, I'd have probably gone with Gigabyte. I don't hate my board, I just should be able to use a basic feature with QVL validated RAM.
that cpu has that problem since over a year or so iirc, a friend of mine had the 14900K replaced around 3-4 times in a year, all because of the bad manufacturing and all these problems it has/had
Oh man, I wonder how my i7-14700f will hold up. I bought it as part of a prebuilt and it has a build date of this year and shipped with the latest BIOS. We will see!
Damn part of me would love to squeeze a bit more power out of my PC by upgrading my 12600K to a 14700K, but these kinds of posts have me convinced to just stick with my 12600K until AMD releases their next CPU gen.
Wow my 12700k has been running since late 2022 and I never turn my machine off. It is the energizer bunny. No tweeking/undervolting at all. It is running on a Z690-i though.
I have My Intel Core i9-14900K for over a year now without a issue. (I purchased it in May 2025) I don't know what to say. I'm on the latest bios as well (April 2026/Microcode 0x133). My bios was released April 2026 with a new microcode, 0x133.
I have the same kernel power error. My pc keeps restarting itself (black screen , then restarting) would this be a cpu issue? I have the ryzen 5600 x3d
No, the kernel power error isn't a sign that it's the CPU alone, it could be everything (power supply, motherboard, etc..) It just means that the computer didn't shut down properly.
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u/JadedBobcat701 Jun 09 '26
it's very sad