Intel today, in a letter to the press, presented an overview of the lower than expected performance of its latest Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors, which the company released this October, to less than enthusiastic reviews. The top Core Ultra 9 285K ended up barely faster than the previous Core i9-14900K in gaming performance, and moderately faster in applications. AMD's November release of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D extended the green team's lead over Intel, prompting Intel to get to work on identifying why "Arrow Lake-S" isn't as fast as the company hoped, and if there was something the company could do about it.

Last month, Intel announced that it had identified probable reasons why "Arrow Lake-S" underperforms and that it is working on a combination of fixes that include OS-level updates from Microsoft, some motherboard-vendor level fixes to their UEFI setup programs, and a microcode update for its processors. Intel's microcode updates have been in the news throughout 2024, as one such update proved crucial in fixing the faulty voltage regulation behavior of its Core "Raptor Lake" processors, which was causing irreversible damage to the chips. Today, the company released documentation that highlights all issues the company identified by Intel, their technical root cause, and what's been done about it. Long story short—most of these issues are already addressed, but the Microcode update should be in circulation by January 2025, when the company expands its Core Ultra 200-series desktop processors with 65 W models.

Update Dec 19th: We tested the new OS patches, and unfortunately we have to report that this not a general fix for Arrow Lake, but just a fix for performance problems specific to 24H2. More in our article.

Update Dec 20th: Last night, ASUS released a non-Beta BIOS with microcode 0x114, we tested it and the findings are included in the Dec 19 article linked above.

The gaming performance of Intel's latest Core Ultra 200-series "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors missed the mark by quite a bit, ending up slower than the 14th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" processors. Adding pressure to Intel is AMD's recent launch of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which extends the company's leadership in gaming performance, ending up to 12% faster than the top Core Ultra 9 285K at gaming (1080p). The company then announced that it has identified possible reasons why gaming performance of "Arrow Lake" ended up below expectations, and that it's working on a microcode-level update to the processor.

A discussion in the ASUS ROG Forums sheds light on what this microcode update could be. Allegedly, it's called the Intel 0x114 Microcode Update, and you can expect it soon in a beta UEFI firmware update from ASUS and other motherboard vendors, which makes it possible that we see a public release of the microcode either by yearend, or in Q1-2025. There's still no word on the extent of gaming performance gain from this microcode, but if we were to speculate, Intel wouldn't bother with such an update if it didn't at least bring "Arrow Lake" to the same gaming performance level as "Raptor Lake," if not higher.

Back in August, Intel started shipping its 0x129 microcode update for 13/14th generation "Raptor Lake" and "Raptor Lake Refresh" processors. This update fixed incorrect voltage requests to the processor that are causing elevated operating voltage. Intel's analysis showed that the root cause of stability problems is voltage levels that are too high during the operation of the processors. These increases in voltage cause degradation that increases the minimum voltage required for stable operation. Intel calls this "Vmin." Today, the company discovered the root cause of this instability issue and informed users that a new microcode patch is underway. As explained by Intel, the Vmin Shift instability problem stems from a clock tree circuit in the IA core. When exposed to high voltage and temperature conditions, this circuit is vulnerable to reliability degradation. Intel's research has shown that these factors can cause a shift in the duty cycle of the clocks, resulting in system instability.

There are four scenarios that can cause Vmin Shift: increased motherboard power delivery, eTVB microcode algorithm running at higher performance operating states even at higher temperatures, microcode SVID algorithm requesting higher voltages at higher frequencies and longer durations, and finally microcode and BIOS requesting elevated core voltages. For motherboard power settings, mitigation is switching back to default settings. For the eTVB issue, the fix is a 0x125 microcode update. The 0x129 patch fixes the SVID algorithm, and the fourth condition, where microcode and BIOS request elevated core voltage, is fixed by the upcoming 0x12B microcode update. Intel is reportedly working with OEMs to start rolling out the 0x12B update with no apparent performance degradation. While the timeframe for shipping this update is unknown, we expect to see it soon. Additionally, Intel once again confirmed that the upcoming "Arrow Lake" CPUs don't have these issues.

Intel has officially started shipping the "0x129" microcode update for its 13th and 14th generation "Raptor Lake" and "Raptor Lake Refresh" processors. This critical update is currently being pushed to all OEM/ODM partners to address the stability issues that Intel's processors have been facing. According to Intel, this microcode update fixes "incorrect voltage requests to the processor that are causing elevated operating voltage." Intel's analysis shows that the root cause of stability problems is caused by too high voltage during operation of the processor. These increases to voltage cause degradation that increases the minimum voltage required for stable operation. Intel calls this "Vmin"—it's a theoretical construct, not an actual voltage, think "speed for an airplane required to fly". The latest 0x129 microcode patch will limit the processor's voltage to no higher than 1.55 V, which should avoid further degradation. Overclocking is still supported, enthusiasts will have to disable the eTVB setting in their BIOS to push the processor beyond the 1.55 V threshold. The company's internal testing shows that the new default settings with limited voltages with standard run-to-run variations show minimal performance impact, with only a single game (Hitman 3: Dartmoor) showing degradation. For a full statement from Intel, see the quote below.

It's official, Intel will not issue a recall for its failing 13th and 14th gen CPUs, despite the problem being much bigger than initially thought. The company was approached by The Verge and the answers to the questions asked, are not looking great. First of all, it appears that at least all 65 W or higher base power Intel 13th and 14th gen CPUs are affected—regardless of SKU and lettering—by the so-called elevated Voltage issue. To be clear, it doesn't mean all these CPUs will start to fail and Intel claims that its microcode update will solve the issue for CPUs that haven't shown any signs of stability issues. However, Intel is not promising that the microcode update will solve the stability issues of CPUs that are experiencing problems, but rather state that "It is possible the patch will provide some instability improvements", but it's asking those with stability issues to contact customer support. The patch is on the other hand expected to solve it for new CPUs, but that doesn't help those that are already experiencing stability issues.

Intel does appear to be swapping out degraded chips, but there's no guarantee that the replacement CPUs will come with the microcode update installed, as Intel is only starting to apply it to products that are currently being produced. The company has also asked all of its OEM partners to apply the update before shipping out new products, but this isn't likely to happen until sometime in early to mid-August according to Intel. It's also unclear when BIOS/UEFI updates will be available for end users from the motherboard manufacturers, since this is the only way to install the microcode update as a consumer. Intel has not gone on record to say if it'll extend the warranty of the affected products, nor did the company provide any details about what kind of information consumers have to provide to their customer support to be able to RMA a faulty CPU. Intel will not halt sales of the affected CPUs either, which means that if you're planning to or are in the middle of building a system using said CPUs, you might want to wait with using it, until a BIOS/UEFI with the microcode update in it, is available for your motherboard. There are more details over at The Verge for those that want to read the full questions and answers, but it's clear that Intel isn't considering the issue as anything more than a regular support issue at this point in time.

Phoronix has recently uncovered an intriguing Linux update, with kernel improvements being prepared to handle greater microcode payloads—they believe that "future AMD CPUs will be getting larger microcode patches." The timing could suggest that upcoming Zen 5 processors will be likely candidates to meet new requirements: "Right now the Linux kernel has a maximum microcode patch size for AMD CPUs that is three times the kernel's page size (typically 4K). But with a patch (published on July 20) that will "increase substantially" to eight times the page size. The increase is intentionally quite a magnitude larger in order to avoid future patches further having to bump the patch size limit in later generations." Earlier this month, some GitHub entries demonstrated that AMD engineers had patched Linux 6.5 with updates for "Family 26" (1Ah) CPU enablement," which Phoronix believes to be for next-gen platforms (Zen 5): "It's also not elaborated on why the CPU microcode size will be increasing. In any event the simple patch to bump the AMD CPU microcode limit is now out for review. It's also marked for back-porting to existing stable kernel versions."

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, announced today the latest BIOS update just recently for AMD platform motherboards. It not only supports 3rd Gen. AMD Ryzen XT desktop processors, but also provides effective solutions for some of the hidden SMM Callout related security issues on the AMD APU.

GIGABYTE has been working closely with AMD to provide the best performance, enhanced user experience, and the recovery of security issues. After the previous release of new BIOS for Ryzen XT processors, GIGABYTE is also aware of the possibility of SMM Callout related security issues on AMD APU processors released from 2016 to 2019. The issue enables attackers to execute any coding and control the whole system through the system manage mode of AMD AGESA microcode.

AMD formally announced its AGESA ComboAM4 1.0.0.5 microcode. The new microcode is intended to be encapsulated into motherboard UEFI firmware updates and distributed by motherboard- and OEM desktop manufacturers, at their discretion. AGESA 1.0.0.5 improves POST (time) with select Micron Technology DDR4-3200 memory chips. An intermittent virtual memory error with certain Realtek onboard Ethernet PHY chips has been fixed. The microcode also improves PCI-Express bus stability and interoperability, in general. A PCIe lane configuration issue with Ryzen 3 Pro 2100GE has been fixed. Besides these, all other performance- and stability-improvements part of older 1.0.0.4 a/ab/abb/abba microcodes are incorporated into 1.0.0.5. Keep an eye on the BIOS updates section of your socket AM4 motherboard's product page on its company website.

Microsoft today has released several microcode updates for Intel CPUs. The updates are meant to be applied in a case-by-case basis under their Windows 10 operating system, and these updates target several releases of that OS (ranging from version 1507 through version 1903/1909). These address several vulnerability exploits related to side-channel and speculative execution attacks on Intel CPUs.

The updates need to be installed specifically for the Windows OS version you're rocking, and on systems with CPUs affected by the vulnerabilities and covered by this microcode update release. These include Intel's Denverton (Atom C3000 series); Sandy Bridge, Sandy Bridge E and EP (2000 and 3000 series), Valleyview (Atom Z3000 series) and Whiskey Lake U CPUs (8000U series, 5000U series, and 4200U series). These updates must be installed manually by users.

Intel is readying a microcode update specially for its X299 Express chipset, to enhance the overclocking capabilities of its 10th generation Core i9 XE "Cascade Lake-X" processors. News of the update was put out in an MSI press release that speaks of the company encapsulating the new microcode in BIOS updates for its entire socket LGA2066 motherboard lineup.

"To enhance the overclocking capability for the newly launched Intel Core X-series Processors (Intel Core i9-10980XE, 10940X, 10920X, 10900X), Intel will provide a new microcode update," the statement from MSI reads. Besides "overclocking capability," the new microcode also helps to "maximize the overall performance" of "Cascade Lake-X" processors," says MSI. The company does not describe what specifically these changes are. The microcode update will be released to end-users as BIOS updates by motherboard manufacturers, so be on the lookout for one, if you're using "Cascade Lake-X."

Microsoft started deploying microcode updates to some of Intel's older Core, Pentium, and Celeron processor generations through Windows Update. The latest Cumulative Update packages chronicled under "KB4497165" apply to machines running Intel's 4th generation Core "Haswell" processors, and low-power Pentium and Celeron chips based on "Apollo Lake," "Gemini Lake," "Valley View," and "Cherry View" microarchitectures.

The microcode update provides firmware-level hardening against four major variants of the MDS class of security vulnerabilities, namely CVE-2019-11091 (MDS Uncacheable Memory), CVE-2018-12126 (Microarchitectural Store Buffer Data Sampling), CVE-2018-12127 (Microarchitectural Load Port Data Sampling), and CVE-2018-12130 (Microarchitectural Fill Buffer Data Sampling).

MSI mid-March began quietly rolling out BIOS updates for its socket AM4 motherboards based on AMD 400-series chipset, with a very ominous BIOS change-log entry: "Support new upcoming AMD CPU." At first, we dismissed this for being the company's follow-up to its 6th March announcement of support for some of the newer Athlon processor models, namely the 220GE and 240GE. After updating our MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC with one of these BIOSes, however, we discovered a very interesting microcode string - AGESA COMBO-AM4 0.0.7.2.

Such a major change in AGESA shouldn't be warranted to add support for two new chips based on existing "Raven Ridge" architecture that both AGESA "Summit Ridge" and AGESA PiR (Pinnacle Ridge) series microcodes should be able to comfortably run. We spoke with sources familiar with AMD microcode, who revealed that this AGESA COMBO-AM4 0.0.7.2 is designed for the upcoming "Zen 2" microarchitecture, and its first socket AM4 implementation, codenamed "Matisse." AMD internal versions of AGESA with Matisse support begin with the version sequence 0.0.7.x., and as we head closer to formal launch of these chips, AMD could release a 1.0.0.0 version of "AGESA COMBO-AM4." For our B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC, the BIOS version packing this new AGESA is v1.60, and we wager this board should now be able to run Ryzen "Matisse" engineering samples. Now, if we can only get our hands on one.

Much of the secret sauce that made Intel processors faster than AMD is going sour, as the cybersecurity community is finding gaping security vulnerabilities by exploiting features such as speculative execution. Intel's microcode updates that mitigate these vulnerabilities impact performance. Intel isn't too happy about public performance numbers put out by its customers, which it fears could blunt the competitive edge of its products. The company has hence updated the license terms governing the microcode update distribution to explicitly forbid its users from publishing comparative "before/after" performance numbers of patched processors.

The updated license for the microcode update has this controversial sentence (pay attention to "v"):

"You will not, and will not allow any third party to (i) use, copy, distribute, sell or offer to sell the Software or associated documentation; (ii) modify, adapt, enhance, disassemble, decompile, reverse engineer, change or create derivative works from the Software except and only to the extent as specifically required by mandatory applicable laws or any applicable third party license terms accompanying the Software; (iii) use or make the Software available for the use or benefit of third parties; or (iv) use the Software on Your products other than those that include the Intel hardware product(s), platform(s), or software identified in the Software; or (v) publish or provide any Software benchmark or comparison test results."

A new variant of the "Spectre" CPU vulnerability was discovered affecting Intel processors, by security researchers Vladimir Kiriansky and Carl Waldspurger, who are eligible to bag a USD $100,000 bounty by Intel, inviting researchers to sniff out vulnerabilities from its processors. This discovery, chronicled under CVE-2018-3693, is among 12 new CVEs Intel will publish later this week. The company is also expected to announce quarterly CPU microcode updates to allay fears of its enterprise customers.

The new vulnerability, like most other "Spectre" variants, targets the speculative execution engine of the processor, in a bounds-check bypass store attack. A malicious program already running on the affected machine can alter function pointers and return addresses in the speculative execution engine, thereby redirecting the flow of data out of protected memory address-spaces, making it visible to malware. This data could be anything, including cryptographic keys, passwords, and other sensitive information, according to "The Register." Intel chronicled this vulnerability in section 2.2.1 of its revised speculative execution side-channel attacks whitepaper. You can also catch a more detailed whitepaper from the researchers themselves.

Following all of the unofficial, tentative tidbits of information following Intel's on-again, off-again 9000 series CPU lineup (which still belongs to the 8th Generation), we now have official confirmation - as is usual, through Intel's documentation. In this instance, the "culprit" is Intel's Microcode Revision Guidance. The Coffee Lake S series featuring 6+2 configurations are now listed with Core i5-9600(K), Core i5-9500(T) and the Core i5-9400, while the Core i3-9100 and Core i3-9000 SKUs are listed with a 4+2 configuration.

Update: Intel's 8th Gen Specification Update now lists clocks and core count for the aforementioned CPUs. Overall, there's an increased 100 or 200 MHz Max Turbo frequency across the board within the same TDP package, and some instances of 100 MHz base frequency increases over Intel's 8000 series CPUs (can't just call them 8th gen anymore now can we?). The 9600K, for example, increases base clocks from the 8600K by 100 MHz (up to 3.7 GHz base), but pole-vaults its predecessor in maximum Turbo (up to 4.5 GHz).

Intel today released the latest round of CPU micro-code updates for its processors, which expand support for Intel processor microarchitectures ranging all the way back to 1st generation Core "Westmere," and "Lynnfield," and including "Sandy Bridge" and "Ivy Bridge" along the way, at various stages of roll-out (beta, pre-production, and production). This update probably features hardening against "Spectre" variant 4, and perhaps even RSRR (rogue system register read) variant 3A, chronicled in CVE-2018-3640.

Intel on their latest Microcode Revision Guidance Guide has apparently stopped development of mitigations for some of its processor families that still haven't been updated to combat the threat of Spectre. The odyssey for the return to form of security on Intel products has been a steep, and a slow one, as the company has struggled to deploy mitigations for speculative code execution on its processor families that run it. Updates for some families of products, however - such as Penryn, Wolfdale, Bloomfield and Yorkfield, among others - are apparently not going to get an update at all.

Via updated documents on its Microcode Revision guide, Intel has revealed that they have finally developed and started deploying microcode security updates for their Broadwell and Haswell-based microprocessors. The microcode update comes after a flurry of nearly platform-specific updates that aimed to mitigate known vulnerabilities in Intel's CPUs to the exploits known as Spectre and Meltdown.

While that's good news, Intel's patching odyssey still isn't over, by any means. According to Intel's documentation, the Spectre fixes for Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge are still in beta and are being tested by hardware partners, so that's two other architectures that still remain vulnerable. Of course, this discussion of who's vulnerable and isn't really can't be reduced to which architectures Intel has released its updates to. Users have to remember that the trickle-down process from Intel's patch validation and distribution through manufacturers to end users' systems is a morose one, and is also partially in the hands of sometimes not too tech-savy users. Time will tell if these flaws will have any major impact in some users or businesses.

In another step of our Spectre/Meltdown odyssey, Intel has started deployment of a fixed update for its Skylake processors, which aims to neuter chances of a malicious attacker exploiting the (now) known vulnerabilities. This update, which comes after a botched first update attempt that was causing widespread system reboots and prompted Intel to change its update guidelines, is only for the Skylake platform; other Intel CPUs' updates remain in Beta state, and there's no word on when they might see a final deployment.

The new microcode is being distributed to industry partners, so that they can include it in a new range of firmware updates that will, hopefully, end the instability and vulnerabilities present in current mobile and desktop Skylake implementations. Users of other Intel architectures will still have to wait a while longer before updates for their systems are certified by Intel, distributed to industry partners, and then trickle to end users via firmware updates.

A critical flaw was discovered in the way Intel implemented its simultaneous multi-threading technology, HyperThreading, on "Skylake" and "Kaby Lake" processors. Being a micro-architecture specific flaw, this could affect all implementations, from low-power mobile chips, to mainstream desktop, high-end desktop, and perhaps even enterprise-segment Xeon processors. At this time, there are no security implications of this flaw.

Intel chronicled this flaw in its micro-architecture errata "SKZ7/SKW144/SKL150/SKX150/SKZ7/KBL095/KBW095," and described it as follows: "Under complex micro-architectural conditions, short loops of less than 64 instructions that use AH, BH, CH or DH registers as well as their corresponding wider register (e.g. RAX, EAX or AX for AH) may cause unpredictable system behavior. This can only happen when both logical processors on the same physical processor are active." As an implication, Intel goes on to note that Due to this erratum, the system may experience unpredictable system behavior."