Imagine buying a Apex to run at 150w TPD. Sad times.
On the topic of cache/ring. I have mine locked at 49x. It becomes very unstable at 52x+. Maybe my CPUs is a buggy one but it just happens to I lock all the voltages and multiplier. Some of those system crashes level1 was describing are signs are unstable core / voltages.
I've seen memory errors even at x40 ring that went away at x39 ring depending on MT/s and cas of my memory. I started at x8 ring and bumped it up slowly over time and ran x86 memtest a good period. It's once I bumped up to x40 or higher I began seeing issues with like hammer row tests and like inversion tests pop up.
It'll run higher, but you'll start seeing a lot more errors at the same memory timings and voltages is what I had noticed. I found x40 about the upper limits and sort of tolerable/intolerable break point at 7000MT/s CL30. That said if I loosen up CAS and/or drop MT/s you've got more leeway with the ring I believe.
I use below 1v on SA it doesn't seem to have a readily noticeable impact on overall stability for me below a certain point you'll run into bios post issues, but otherwise not much concern setting it lower. That said it's pain if you set it too low because you'll end up in a boot loop cycle and need to clear CMOS.
So like be advised it's pain in the neck annoyance even with a clear CMOS switch it's a general aggravation honestly when you get stuck in limbo land seeing if it'll post or just loop and struggle and eventually you get tired and clear the CMOS. Like if you've been there you'll understand waiting on a bios to maybe bios or maybe decide it doesn't want to it's painfully slow sometimes.
Anyway it seems to me suspect of ring ratio in relationship to L cache voltage and overall general memory times though primarily MT/s and CAS given those are the two most obvious ones to start with command rate, gear ratio, and others of course also play a role.
I feel like ultimately the cache in relationship to voltage and memory alongside the ring just hits a cave in point in reliability and performance expectations around them all. The cache voltage and ring impacts the x86 memtest block level cache performance pretty readily relative to memory settings. Sometimes it's one thing or another that generally limits the overall block level cache test performance results significantly or marginally. I settled on x40 ring because I live dangerously sometimes threading the needle system stability in favor of hint of additional performance.
I'm just a little OCD for system instability it really has nothing to do with performance.
I think part of the reason we're hearing a lot about the 13900K and 14900K chips in particular is they've got more heat output of course, but also they've got more CPU cores on the ring bus which ultimately is additional stress to the ring bus. Plus consumers are like hey it's better silicone lottery thus I can probably push the IMC harder which piles on more stress to the ring bus. It's K model I can probably OCer it a bit harder because binning. Which once again piles on more stress to the ring bus. Like the ring bus is just being dumped on heavily so that's likely no small part of it.
I think there a number of general faults to go around though the fact that server chips are failing is really bad indicator without a shadow of doubt. Like irrespective of consumers OCers and those scenario's these chips are failing on their own under normal conditions and just heavy continuous usage that is expected of them hold up for a number of reasonable years perfectly fine. Given that fact it looks very much like a Intel problem.
I get why they pointed the finger at MB makers those issues didn't exactly help matters. They also were serious enough concerns and faults on MB makers part. Like I'm fine with both Intel and AMD scolding MB maker's being stupid about dubious default configuration settings. Like they gotta stop doing that irrespective of this Intel issue or the one AMD had with X3D chips and voltages and frying that was at least more readily fixable from looks and sounds of it.
Intel needs to suck it up and do the right thing already especially if their well aware of the the root of the problem. You can't just beg tax payers for billions in contributions then turn around and screw over many of those same tax payers at the same time. It's not a scenario you walk away from unscathed that's literally corporate suicide. Build your foundries all you like, but no one is going to trust your products if you screw this situation up. At least the same time other companies aren't going to place much faith in your foundries if you screw this up heavily. Like that doesn't build trust and confidence. They need own up to it if they know what's happening and address it properly.