Intel has claimed the microcode replace it is delivering for wonky thirteenth and 14th era Raptor Lake CPUs will not compromise the chips’ prime finish clock speeds.
At a press convention held by Intel and Asus in China, a Chipzilla rep reportedly mentioned “The replace patch won’t have an effect on the turbo frequency functionality,” in keeping with a presentation slide captured by a Weibo consumer and run via Google Translate, which we imagine is correct.
The upcoming microcode patch, slated to reach in mid-August, goals to cease Raptor Lake chips from frying themselves by decreasing the quantity of voltage the CPUs use. Extra voltage can and can trigger processors to destroy themselves – and certainly loads of Intel chip house owners have complained in regards to the situation since Raptor Lake debuted in late 2022 with the thirteenth Gen product.
Nevertheless, there was hypothesis that the replace would possibly cut back efficiency. In spite of everything, Raptor Lake CPUs include record-breaking increase clock speeds, which require a good quantity of voltage. If Intel is to be believed, nothing will change after the replace is launched – which is sweet information for Raptor Lake chip house owners even when they’ve cause to fret their processors might cook dinner in their very own juices.
There are, nevertheless, methods Intel might technically preserve clock pace at present ranges however nonetheless depress efficiency. Unlocked, Okay-class Raptor Lake CPUs will chug alongside on the identical clock pace beneath load for an infinite period of time by default – however Intel might change that and have these processors cease boosting, or increase to a decrease worth, or restrict the time spent at boosted speeds, to forestall harm.
That is how Raptor Lake CPUs that may’t use Turbo Increase work: they’ve the next energy restrict (termed PL2) which they normally run at for 28 seconds, earlier than settling right into a decrease energy restrict (PL1).
If Intel compromises on increase frequencies in a roundabout way, it might spark even additional backlash. AMD was on the receiving finish of consumer complaints in 2019 after it launched its Ryzen 3000 sequence, which had been discovered to not hit marketed speeds correctly. Ever since, the chip maker clarifies that its “max increase clock” is for “bursty single-threaded workloads” and is determined by quite a lot of elements like cooling and the motherboard used.
The Register has reached out to Intel for additional touch upon the efficiency implications of the brand new microcode. ®
