Intel Rolls Out Third Major “0x12B” Microcode Patch To Fix 14th & 13th Gen CPU Instability Issues

Intel has a new update regarding the 14th & 13th Gen Instability issues & is rolling out a new microcode patch called "0x12B" to address the root cause.

Intel's 14th & 13th Gen Vmin Shift Instability Root Cause Now Being Addressed By A Third Major Microcode Patch Called 0x12B, Rolling Out Now

Last month, Intel released its "0x129" microcode patch, the second one after the 0x125 patch, to address the 14th and 13th Gen Instability issues. Since the new rollout, there have been fewer reports of crashes and problems occurring on the desktop platforms. These patches avoid any potential damage to new chips as chips that have already been degraded remain the same & need to be downclocked/undervolted to operate as normal.

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During its ongoing investigation, Intel discovered another issue with Vmin shift in affected CPUs, which can cause the motherboard and BIOS code to request elevated voltages during idle or light activity periods. This could lead to crashes and instability and it looks like the 0x12B microcode for the 14th & 13th Gen CPUs will address this elevated voltage request while also retaining the 0x125 and 0x129 patch fixes.

Just like the previous microcode patches, the new 0x12B release will be handed over to system and motherboard partners which will then roll it out to their customers through new BIOS releases. The new BIOS is expected to take several weeks to complete though we might see a few motherboard makers roll them out early.

Our sources already reported a new BIOS patch to follow the 0x129 microcode and it looks like they were right though under a new name and slightly late.

Intel also states that the performance difference between the 0x125 and 0x12B microcode patches are within run-to-run variations and users shouldn't see a noticeable impact on performance in any application or game.

The company also reiterated its previous statement that the