Intel 14th-gen Stability BIOS Update Severely Impacts Multicore Performance
A recent BIOS update (microcode 0x129) designed to address stability issues and performance degradation in Intel's 13th- and 14th-gen CPUs has resulted in a significant multicore performance hit, contrary to Intel's claims.
Performance Degradation:
- Tests conducted by PC Guide on an Intel Core i9-14900K with an Asus Maximum Z790 motherboard showed a 22-23% drop in multicore performance after the BIOS update.
- Cinebench scores plummeted by 22.9%, while Blender rendering performance also suffered a 22% decline.
Gaming Performance Unaffected:
- Fortunately, gaming performance remained consistent before and after the update, with no noticeable FPS drops in games like Counter-Strike 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and Days Gone.
Possible Cause:
- While the exact cause is unclear, it appears that Intel's Thermal Velocity Boost (TVB) may not be functioning correctly after the update.
- Tests revealed lower CPU clock speeds and higher CPU temperatures during multicore workloads, suggesting a potential issue with TVB's boosting algorithm.
Final Thoughts:
- The BIOS update, while addressing stability concerns, has introduced a significant performance regression for multicore workloads.
- It remains to be seen whether Intel and its motherboard partners can resolve this issue without further impacting performance.
- Intel CPU owners are advised to exercise caution when installing this update and to monitor their system performance closely.
