What is causing the problem?
Players are experiencing unexpected crashes in Unreal Engine games using 13th & 14th gen CPUs from Intel. These crashes can occur at any time, but typically happen after 10-20mins of gameplay.
The problem is thought to be caused by Intel's failure to define clear stock power specifications for these CPUs, allowing motherboard manufacturer's to run without power limits. Doing so can drastically alter the maximum clock speed and performance capabilities of a CPU. However, this leads to increased power consumption and heat output. While this will reflect favourable on these CPUs in performance benchmarks, it has inevitability compromised stability.
Running without power limits may cause rapid silicone degradation, shortening the lifespan of these CPUs and leading to instability when using default settings.
A few motherboard manufacturers have introduced "Intel Baseline" settings, which are intended to impose power limits that more closely match the specifications provided by Intel. However, some of these profiles are still above what would be considered "stock" settings.
What can I do to resolve this?
Ultimately, we would recommend that you contact your motherboard manufacturer for advice, as they are responsible for clearly defining settings that may put your CPU under increased stress. However, at a minimum, we would recommend that players update their motherboard to the latest BIOS and configure the CPU to use "Intel Baseline" settings. If you are not comfortable updating or configuring the BIOS, please seek assistance from your local computer specialist. Ultimately, we are waiting for an official statement from Intel to explain how affected players are going to be supported.
Sources:
- Intel CPUs are Crashing Video... Hardware Unboxed
- TechSpot - Recent high-end Intel CPUs are crashing Unreal Engine games
- PCGamer - There are increased reports of crashing in Unreal Engine games, etc. and Epic is blaming Intel chips
- tomsHardware - Is your Intel Core i9-13900K crashing in games? Your motherboard BIOS settings may be to blame — other high-end Intel CPUs also affected (Updated)
- tomsHardware - Intel issues official statement on Core K-series crashes: stick to Intel's official power profiles
- Intel's Biggest Failure in Years: Confirmed Oxidation & Excessive Voltage - Gamers Nexus
Update:
Intel now believes it has found the root causes of these issues, it is referring to as "Vmin Shift Instability". They hope to address this issue by working with motherboard manufacturers to ensure the 0x12B microcode update is distributed via BIOS updates. This rollout may take several weeks, but Intel is pushing for quick validation and implementation.
Once you have done this, it is important that your BIOS is configured to use Intel's recommended limits. Some motherboards will remove all limits and overclock your hardware by default without you changing any settings. Leaving your BIOS on the default settings could cause further stability issues and potential damage your hardware. To learn more, please review the following video.
If the microcode update and enforcing Intel recommended limits doesn't resolve the issue, your CPU may need to be returned, and we encourage you to get in contact with Intel Customer Support.
Official Statements from Intel
- July 2024 Update on Instability Reports on Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen Desktop Processors
- Intel Core 13th/14th Gen desktop processors Stability issue