Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

Over the past few weeks , we ’ve seen anincreasing number of reportsof imbalance on in high spirits - death Intel CPUs like theCore i9 - 14900K. Asus has resign a BIOS update for its Z790 motherboards aimed at address the problem , but it carries a performance loss of upwards of 9 % in some work load .

The most recent BIOS update from Asus includes the Intel Baseline Profile . This profile handicap various optimizations that are automatically applied on Asus Z790 motherboards and run high - terminal Intel chips within Intel ’s specific limits . Hardwareluxxtested the new profile with the Core i9 - 14900 K and establish that the mainframe ran around 9 % slower in multiple tests .

Someone holding the Core i9-12900KS processor.

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

In Cinebench R23 , for example , the German issue detect that the Intel Baseline Profile slashed performance by 9 % . In Y - Cruncher , a benchmark that calculates Pi , the performance drop was 11 % . Even game were feign , withStarfield , Shadow of the Tomb Raider , andF1 2023showing an 8 % drop in performance when test at 720p ( these differences should disappear at high resolutions ) .

One of the primary reasons behind the instability , it seems , is the limitless power budget usable to high - conclusion Intel central processor on some motherboards . With the proper BIOS configurations , the maximum turbo power uncommitted to a chip like the Core i9 - 14900 K is 4,095 watts . Your mainframe will never draw that much power , but such a high limit earmark the chip to puff as much ability as it ask for brief spurts , even if that lead in a crash .

These options follow some BIOS adjustmentswe’ve see expert recommendover the past few days . Asus presumably released the BIOS update in response to Intel ’s probe of the problem , but it ’s not light if other motherboard vendors will follow suit .

The execution drop only applies if you were using the various enhancements uncommitted on Asus Z790 motherboards . However , you might have been using those sweetening without even knowing it . By default , Asus mechanically utilize whatever sweetening it deems good for your mainframe within the BIOS , potentially get instability . If you have n’t mess up with your BIOS configurations , there ’s a good chance your CPU will run slower with the Intel Baseline Profile applied .

gratefully , that should n’t impact gaming performance much . The execution drop mainly shows up in other applications , while the instability that this BIOS update address shows up mainly in games . It ’s not an idealistic trade - off regardless , but hopefully it addresses the problem with crashing for Core i9 - 14900 K owners .

It ’s still not unmortgaged what the scope of the problem is with Intel ’s high - conclusion CPUs . Right now , it seem that the Core i9 - 13900 K and Core i9 - 14900 K are the main perpetrator , with the Core i7 - 13700 K and Core i7 - 14700 K affect to a less degree . Only some of these scrap show instability issues , while other Intel CPUs should n’t have any problems . If you are n’t experiencing instability , you do n’t postulate to implement the Intel Baseline Profile .