Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

High - closing Intel CPUs are about to lose some significant public presentation , according to a raw report fromBenchLife(viaVideoCardz ) . The outlet claims Intel has sent guidance to motherboard partners to implement the Intel Default options on Z790 motherboards , followinga undulation of reportsof instability on recent mellow - oddment Intel CPUs .

According to the story , these default stage setting will enforce a PL2 of 188 watts . Intel maintain world power limit ( PL ) for its CPU . PL1 is the infrastructure power , or the superpower that the mainframe can support for long periods of time . PL2 is the maximum cost increase power , which the CPU can hit for brief squirt when under a heavy consignment .

Intel’s 14900K CPU socketed in a motherboard.

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

The PL2 for the Core i9 - 14900 K — the main CPU impacted by recent instability , it seems — is 253W. If the report is accurate , motherboard trafficker will have to turn down the default PL2 to 188W , vastly limiting the execution of high - terminal Intel CPUs . Gigabyte has already released an update enforcing a PL2 of 188W on the Core i9 - 13900 K and Core i9 - 14900 K , which result in upwards of a 20 % reduction in carrying out base on testingconducted by Hardware Unboxed .

So far , Gigabyte is the only motherboard vendor to apply this big businessman demarcation . Asus has released a BIOS update that improves stableness while keeping th PL2 go under at 253W. It can result in up to a9 % performance fall , but it does n’t impact gaming performance much . Meanwhile , MSI has let go a guide for tweak BIOS preferences to improve constancy , and both Biostar and ASRock has release beta BIOS updates with a service line profile .

According to the report , Intel desire these BIOS updates let go of no by and by than the end of May . Intel has said it will make a public argument this month regarding the instability situation , but it has been carefulnot to find fault motherboard vendorsfor the issues up to this full stop . Digital Trends has reached out to Intel for comment on the report , and will update this story when we hear back .

For now , only Gigabyte is impose a PL2 of 188W , and it ’s unclear if other motherboard vendors will follow suit . Intel’sofficial specificationsfor the Core i9 - 14900 K inclination PL2 as 253W. If the account is precise , that has some very serious implication for Intel ’s advertised specifications .

The report claims this will be the default setting for Z790 motherboards , though users are costless to tolerate mellow power limits through the BIOS if they are n’t see instability issue . Up to this head , most Intel CPUs run in the “ Extreme ” major power profile , which configures the options for PL1 = PL2 . In other words , it allows the CPU to function at high world power limit for a sustained period of time .

According toIntel ’s datum sheetfor fourteenth - gen CPUs , the Core i9 - 14900 K can run in a Turbo or Extreme configuration . That runs the CPU at up to a free burning 253W or 320W , severally . The base specification just number PL1 as 125W without any testimonial for PL2 .

All major motherboard vender have direct the instability in one style or another . Although there clear needs to be some distinction about what “ nonpayment ” means for both Intel and motherboard trafficker , it ’s grueling to imagine Intel will confine the king of its mellow - remnant CPUs so radically . If that does cease up being the case , perhaps the instability issues were more severe than previously imagine .