Intel doesn't yet have a fix for chips that crash

For months, Intel's most powerful desktop gaming processors have been unusually prone to intermittently crashing games for no apparent reason. Despite all the fixes, Intel has admitted that they still don't have a final solution to fix the random crashes of the Intel Core i9 Raptor Lake and Raptor Lake S chips.

"Contrary to recent media reports, Intel has not confirmed the root cause and, together with partners, continues to investigate user reports of instability issues on unlocked 13th and 14th generation Intel Core desktop processors (K/KF/KS)," it said in a statement. Intel spokesman Thomas Hannaford said.

“The microcode patch referenced in the press reports addresses an eTVB bug that Intel discovered while investigating reports of instability. Although this problem is a potential contributor to instability, it is not the main cause.”

Intel's official statement refers to internal Intel documents that were leaked to the public today and obtained by Igor's Lab. Those documents suggest that part of the problem is that Intel's chips were improperly overclocking their cores using a feature called Enhanced Thermal Velocity Boost (eTVB), even though they should have known they were too hot for that.

Intel does confirm that eTVB was potentially part of the problem, but apparently not the "root cause" of the overall problem. Users are eagerly waiting for Intel to finally fix the very annoying bug. Dissatisfaction is even greater, as these are relatively expensive processors.