Recap: Since their release last fall, Intel's 13th-gen Raptor Lake and 14th-gen unlocked K-series desktop CPUs have been making waves – but not always in a good way. While offering top performance, these chips have also been plagued by stability issues for many users due to overly aggressive power settings. Intel is now cracking down, demanding that board partners implement new, more restrained defaults by the end of May.
The news comes from reports at saraba1st.com and Igor's Lab, citing sources familiar with Intel's plans. While not officially confirmed by Intel itself yet, the details have been corroborated from multiple angles, so we can likely take it that changes are coming down the pipeline.
Intel is asking that a new "Intel Default Settings" power profile become the out-of-box standard BIOS configuration on all LGA1700 motherboards. This profile will reportedly lock the CPUs' PL2 (maximum turbo power limit) to 188W – far lower than the 253W allowed by the Performance and Extreme profiles many vendors currently enable by default.
The move follows in the footsteps of recent BIOS updates from Asus and Gigabyte that incorporated Intel's recommended "baseline" settings. Those updates were successful enough at improving stability that Intel now feels emboldened to enforce the same approach industry-wide.
But don't worry, while reining in the extreme power limits, Intel's defaults will still keep key performance-enhancing features like Current Excursion Protection, ICCMax Unlimited, Turbo Velocity Boost, and Enhanced TVB enabled. The change is a targeted strike at the over-the-top overclocking and power delivery settings some vendors had been using out of the box in pursuit of benchmark wins.
According to sources, Intel specifically recommends not increasing PL1 and PL2 power limits beyond their stock ratings, nor pushing ICCMax current over 400A. So those 4096W PL2 and 512A limits some boards were configured for will be history.
Late last month, a leaked Intel notice obtained by Igor's Lab suggested the stability issues stemmed from motherboard makers disabling safeguards for higher performance. It listed settings like Current Excursion Protection and thermal limits being disabled on many 600/700-series boards, along with excessive power and voltage limit increases beyond Intel's specs.
The new defaults should provide a much-needed dose of stabilizing medicine for the 13th- and 14th-gen CPUs, even if it comes at some performance cost versus the extreme power profiles. By making it the mandatory baseline, Intel ensures even less experienced users can enjoy a smooth, reliable experience right out of the gate without having to dig into BIOS settings – though hardcore overclockers may lament the loss of those higher power limits.