Intel has released the 0x12B microcode for 13th and 14th Gen Intel Core desktop processors to improve system stability. In response, MSI has updated the BIOS for its Intel 700 and 600 series motherboards with this new microcode to address stability issues. The first batch of updated BIOS versions is now available, with additional models to follow. Users are encouraged to check MSI's official channels and product pages for the latest BIOS updates.

Z790

• MEG Z790 GODLIKE MAX
• MEG Z790 ACE MAX
• MPG Z790 CARBON MAX WIFI
• MPG Z790 CARBON MAX WIFI II
• MPG Z790 EDGE TI WIFI
• MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI
• MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK WIFI
• PRO Z790-P WIFI
• PRO Z790-VC WIFI
• Z790 GAMING PLUS WIFI
• Z790MPOWER

T-FORCE, Team Group's gaming brand, and T-CREATE, its creator-focused brand, are launching dual-mode DDR5 overclocking memory modules for Intel and AMD platforms with speeds up to 8000 MHz. This highlights Team Group's industry-leading overclocking capabilities, delivering the ultimate performance for gamers and creators.

T-FORCE, known for pushing the boundaries of performance, and T-CREATE, focused on stable and efficient performance, will offer a range of DDR5 dual-mode overclocking memory modules under their product portfolio. These modules will come in eight speeds, ranging from 6400 MHz to 8000 MHz, catering to diverse needs and providing optimal performance for gaming enthusiasts and content creators managing complex workflows. The dual-mode memory modules will be available in 2x16GB and 2x24GB capacity options. A single 24 GB stick significantly expands memory capacity for handling large workloads, leading to smoother and more efficient performance. The memory modules are fully compatible with Intel XMP 3.0 (Extreme Memory Profile) and AMD EXPO (Extended Profiles for Overclocking) profiles, ensuring seamless one-click overclocking on the latest AMD X870E and Intel Z790 platforms, delivering an exceptional user experience across both platforms.

Colorful Technology Company Limited, a leading brand in gaming PC components, gaming laptops, and Hi-fi audio products, launches the flagship iGame Z790D5 Vulcan W and Z790D5 Vulcan X motherboards. First seen at COMPUTEX 2024, the iGame Z790D5 Vulcan is available in white and black models and comes in an E-ATX form-factor. The motherboard comes equipped with the latest technologies including USB4 40 Gbps connectivity and the latest Wi-Fi 7 solution.

Designed for high-performance gaming and content creation, the iGame Z790D5 Vulcan W/X motherboards are equipped with a 19+1+1 power phase design with DrMos 105 A power stages. Furthermore, the motherboard has a dedicated LN2 Mode for extreme overclocking. The motherboard's server-grade 8-layer low-loss PCB helps achieve higher and stable overclocks.

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, IPC solutions, and storage devices, today announces the latest BIOS updates for Intel 700 and 600 series motherboards with the 0x129 microcode to mitigate the instability of the Intel Core 14th /13th Gen desktop processors. In response to recent instability concerns with Intel Core 14th and 13th Gen desktop processors, BIOSTAR releases BIOS update for Intel 700 and 600 series motherboards including the new 0x129 microcode, designed to enhance system stability for best performance.

The first batch release will cover the Z790 VALKYRIE and Z790A-SILVER, with further updates for the entire Intel 700 and 600 series motherboards expected to follow in the coming weeks. For further information, please visit BIOSTAR official website for latest information.

Regarding the instability of the Intel Core 14th /13th Gen desktop processors, MSI will release the latest BIOS of Intel 700 and 600 series motherboards and 14th /13th Generation Desktop PC with 0x129 microcode to mitigate the instability.

The 1st batch of BIOS releasing models are MEG Z790 GODLIKE MAX, MEG Z790 ACE MAX, MPG Z790 CARBON MAX WIFI II, MPG Z790 CARBON WIFI, MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI and Z790MPOWER. All BIOS of Intel 700 and 600 series motherboards and 14th /13th Generation Desktop PC will be released soon in coming weeks by the end of August. MSI will continue to update our users on the latest news. Please follow MSI's official channels and check the product pages for the latest BIOS updates.

ASUS today became the first motherboard vendor to release UEFI firmware updates that encapsulate the latest 126 microcode update by Intel. This microcode update is Intel's response to the stability issues plaguing 14th Gen and 13th Gen Core desktop processors based on the "Raptor Lake" or "Raptor Lake Refresh" silicon, which was caused by an improper implementation of the on-die power management, which caused high voltages to run through the silicon, causing their physical degradation over time. If you are already experiencing stability issues, you should be able to claim an RMA or service under warranty, since your processor has already degraded. If, however, your processor is new, and is stable with all kinds of workloads, including games and compute-heavy productivity, then this UEFI firmware update is crucial in preventing its degradation, as it corrects the issue. Safedisk, a professional overclocker associated with ASUS, posted a list of ASUS ROG and ProArt motherboard models based on the Intel Z790 chipset, with links to their firmware update files. It stands to reason that the company is releasing these updates across its other product lines, such as TUF Gaming and Prime.

You can find the list here.

If you don't find your motherboard model in that list, keep checking the Support section of your motherboard's product page on the ASUS website, you'll either find it there, or one of these days the company will put it up. This aligns with Intel's timeline of a mid-August release for the microcode update.

Colorful Technology Company Limited, a leading brand in gaming PC components, gaming laptops, and Hi-fi audio products, is proud to announce the CVN Z790D5 ARK FROZEN motherboard for the 14th Gen, 13th Gen, and 12th Gen Intel Core processors. The motherboard supports DDR5 memory and comes with four PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots for high-speed NVMe SSDs.

The design of the CVN Z790D5 ARK FROZEN is inspired by the powerful CVN-class battleships. The motherboard features a titanium gray color from the heat sinks to the PCB finish. The motherboard features a 14+1+1 digital power phase design with 90 A high-spec DrMOS VRMs with tantalum polymer capacitor to support high-end Intel Core i9 processors with ease. The CVN Z790D5 ARK FROZEN motherboard comes with a 2.5 GbE Ethernet port and Wi-Fi 6E with Bluetooth 5.3. The motherboard has single PCIe 5.0 X16 slot that's backward compatible with PCIe 4.0 devices such as the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Series graphics cards. There's also a bottom PCIe 4.0x4 slot for add-in devices such as RAID controllers, capture cards, and others.

MSI, a leading brand in gaming hardware, is thrilled to announce its new partnership with Kepler Interactive, a renowned innovative game publisher. MSI and Kepler Interactive are set to bring gamers an extraordinary experience with the much-anticipated release of Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, available now on via Steam and Epic Games Store.

Embark on a thrilling journey with Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn by A44 Games, the developers of Ashen. Explore a rich, new world filled with ancient mysteries, engage in explosive, fast-paced combat, and wield powerful firearms and magic in your quest to kill all Gods. Are you ready to reclaim the dawn and restore hope to humanity? Start your epic journey with MSI's special offer—purchase selected MSI products and receive Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn for free on PC. Upgrade your gaming setup with MSI's latest motherboards. Immerse yourself in the captivating world of Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn and experience unparalleled gaming excitement.

MSI, a leading gaming hardware brand, proudly announces an exciting collaboration with SEGA, a leading Japanese game publisher, to jointly bring gamers on the exploration of the post-apocalyptic world of the newest Shin Megami Tensei game - Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance.

THE DEFINITIVE VERSION OF SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI V
Fully evolved with stunning visuals for modern consoles, the dark lore, unnerving atmosphere, and beautiful and monstrous demons are back and better than ever. Massively expanded with new areas, demons, and music, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance features more accessible gameplay, an improved battle system, new demon experiences, and greater field exploration.

EK, the leading manufacturer of premium liquid cooling gear, is proud to introduce the EK-Quantum Momentum² ROG Maximus Z790 Extreme D-RGB - Plexi. This top-tier Ultrablock-class product, part of EK's renowned Quantum Line, is engineered for the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Extreme motherboard to ensure flawless compatibility.

The EK-Quantum Momentum² ROG Maximus Z790 Extreme D-RGB - Plexi is equipped with the award-winning EK-Quantum Velocity² cooling engine, delivering direct cooling to crucial motherboard components, such as the primary M.2 drive. This monoblock also features:

• Direct connection to Vector² GPU water block and Active Backplate Sets via bypass valves
• Temperature sensors
• Liquid flow meter
• Direct integration with the ROG water-cooling zone
• ILM Replacement Kit

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, is pleased to announce that CENS from Germany won the title of OC Champion in the 8th Annual OC World Cup 2024 overclocking competition. After a grueling day of extreme overclocking with liquid nitrogen cooling, using the latest Intel Core i9-14900KF processor and ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore motherboard, CENS is walking away with the grand cash prize of $10,000 USD!

After the first 3 days of exhausting extreme overclocking in the Live Qualifier Stage of the OC World Cup 2024, biso biso, CENS, and Seby qualified for the Grand Final Stage on June 7. The Grand Final round is comprised of a maximum memory frequency challenge and 3 benchmarks with CPU speed fixed at a maximum of 7 GHz, demonstrating the incredible capability of the latest 14th Gen Intel Core processors and the extraordinary overclock skills of each OC World Cup 2024 Grand Final contestant.

At Computex 2024, Colorful has introduced a new PC series of premium componentry for games, called iGame Ultra Series. Carrying a premium white aesthetics, the Ultra Series serves as clean and elegant component for PC builds. At the heart of the Ultra Series is the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER graphics card. The card has a triple-fan cooling solution with vapor chamber technology that keeps temperatures under control. Powering this GPU is the iGame Z790D5 Ultra motherboard. Supporting the latest Intel 14th Gen CPUs and up to 192 GB of DDR5-7800 RAM. An array of ultra-fast PCIe 5.0 and 4.0 M.2 slots allow multiple high-speed SSDs for ridiculous storage performance. Keeping all of these elite components running is the 850 W iGame P850G Ultra W 80 Plus Gold power supply. Its modular design with dedicated PCIe 5.0 connectors ensures clean cable management and stable power delivery. For cooling the CPU, there is the iGame LQ360 Ultra W all-in-one liquid cooler, which sports a massive 360 mm radiator and a trio of high-static pressure fans. All of these premium components are housed in the iGame C23A Ultra W full-tower chassis. With a spacious dual-compartment layout, front USB-C port, and preinstalled vertical GPU bracket, it offers both incredible expandability and sleek aesthetics.

Colorful Technology Company Limited, a leading brand in gaming PC components, gaming laptops, and Hi-fi audio products, is excited to announce its participation at COMPUTEX 2024 from Jun 4 to Jun 7, 2024. COLORFUL Technology will be exhibiting its latest and upcoming products at the booth L0417a located at 4F, Hall 1 of the Nangang Exhibition Center. This year, COLORFUL Technology will expand its popular Vulcan, Neptune and Mini Series to more than just graphics cards and will include other PC components to complete a full gaming PC. COLORFUL will also be introducing new liquid cooling for the COLORFUL iGame GeForce RTX 4090 Vulcan LAB.

Featuring the themed gaming PCs launched and launching this year which includes the COLORFIRE MEOW and iGame ULTRA gaming PC Sets. Upcoming Vulcan, and MINI Series gaming PCs. The Vulcan Series consists of new concept products which will include a motherboard, DDR5 memory, chassis, peripherals, PSU, and liquid cooler featuring Asetek pump technology. The iGame Z790D5 Vulcan is designed to be a high-end motherboard. COLORFUL is already preparing a new Vulcan motherboard to the next-generation Intel Core processors.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, released the latest beta BIOS with Intel Baseline feature on Z790, B760 series motherboards for enhanced stability, regarding the feedback from Intel that high power consumption settings may cause system instability with 13/14th generation CPUs.⁠

GIGABYTE always prioritizes user experience, focusing on both performance and stability. Additionally, as a close ally of Intel, we promptly introduced the Intel Baseline feature with the latest beta BIOS. When using 13th and 14th generation K-SKU CPUs, the Intel Baseline setting will appear in the "Turbo Power Limits" option under "Advanced CPU Settings". After enabling Intel Baseline, the performance will be expected to be limited due to the power setting adjustments.

GIGABYTE Technology announces the launch of its highly anticipated XTREME Prestige Limited Edition series, featuring the Z790 AORUS XTREME X ICE Motherboard and the AORUS GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER XTREME ICE 16G Graphics Card. This exclusive release merges top-tier performance with unparalleled design, catering to the discerning tastes of gaming enthusiasts and collectors alike.

The XTREME Prestige Limited Edition sets a new standard in the realm of gaming hardware. It is crafted to perfection, embracing the latest Current White Gaming Builds trend. Each component showcases white iridescence, accented with crystallized titanium textures and adorned with a 99% Au gold serial plaque, embodying luxury and exclusivity. The series not only dazzles with its aesthetic appeal but also promises exceptional gaming and computing performance.

ASUS today announced its participation in the upcoming NAB Show 2024, themed "A Glimpse into Tomorrow's Tech." Visitors to the ASUS booth (C2934, LVCC Central Hall, Exhibition Time: April 14-17, 2024) will have the opportunity to explore the future of content creation with hands-on experiences and demonstrations of groundbreaking innovations. The ASUS showcase will highlight a range of cutting-edge technology ideal for the challenges of XR and virtual production, including the ProArt Display PA32KCX, the world's first 8K Mini LED professional monitor, in addition to AI-powered workstations and color management solutions.

Shooting in 8K gives creators at the cutting-edge of XR and virtual production exceptionally high-resolution footage, affording them wide flexibility in post-production without sacrificing the ability to produce final products in a full 4K resolution. To allow these creators to work with raw 8K footage in full detail, ASUS today announced the ProArt Display PA32KCX, the world's first 8K Mini LED professional monitor. This 32-inch 8K (7680 x 4320) offers an average ΔE value of less than one for world-leading color accuracy, and it covers 97% of the cinema-grade DCI-P3 color gamut for beautifully saturated color reproduction. With its 4096-zone Mini LED backlight capable of 1200 nits peak brightness and industry-leading 1000 nits full-screen sustained brightness, the ProArt Display PA32KCX is an ideal candidate for HDR workflows. It supports multiple HDR metadata formats, including HLG and HDR10, allowing creators to check how content will appear for a wide range of target displays before it is sent off for final delivery.

V-COLOR Technology Inc. unveiled its latest breakthrough in memory technology, the Manta XFinity series, now boasting speeds of up to DDR5-8600 with XMP profile. This series is already gaining recognition in the overclocking community by securing the 3rd spot on the Memory Frequency ranking in HWBOT, and is ready to create even larger impacts with its enhanced overclocking capabilities. Tested on the new ASRock Phantom Gaming Z790I Lightning Wi-Fi, and PHANTOM GAMING B760I Lightning Wi-Fi with Intel Core 14th Gen CPUs, this advancement ensures unmatched performance and reliability for enthusiasts and professionals alike.

ASRock proudly announces its new Z790I Lightning WiFi and B760I Lightning WiFi Mini-ITX motherboards. Equipped with a robust 14+1+1 power phase design and an optimized memory layout, these motherboards fully unleash the powerful performance of Intel Core 14th Gen K-series processors. Offering top-tier memory overclocking capabilities for supporting DDR5 8600+ memory modules, they present an excellent choice for gamers and mini-PC enthusiasts seeking the ultimate overclocking performance. The Z790I Lightning WiFi has achieved four overclocking world records on HWBOT.org with the Intel Core i9-14900KS processor. Additionally, the B760I Lightning WiFi received the "Best Motherboard" award at CES 2024 from Tom's Hardware, emphasizing its exceptional design and overclocking capabilities.

ASRock Z790I Lightning WiFi and B760I Lightning WiFi motherboards feature a 14+1+1 Phase 110 A SPS Dr.MOS VRM, outperforming competing ITX offerings. ASRock has custom-designed a composite cooling solution for these boards, including enlarged aluminium heatsinks, heat-pipe, and a MOS fan, delivering robust cooling performance to enhance overclocking capabilities. This superior cooling ensures the processors perform at their peak.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, is pleased to release the new BETA BIOS for all Z790 and B760 motherboards with Intel 14th Gen Processors, which provides the option to disable CEP (Current Excursion Protection) and deliver exceptional CPU performance with lower temperature and stability.

For a long time, the CEP function on Intel B760 chipset was default enabled for 14th Gen CPUs and unable to be disabled. This always results in the requirement of higher power protection and voltage compensation settings to ensure performance with stability, or a sacrifice in performance instead. The new BETA BIOS supports disabling the CEP function by utilizing Intel's updated microcode. Additionally, GIGABYTE BIOS not only features optimized power settings that suit every different CPU but also offers exclusive easy settings, like PerfDrive, to enable a simple balance of performance, power consumption, and temperature with Intel Core processors. This ensures achieving the same performance at lower CPU operating temperatures as well as excellent stability and high efficiency, safeguarding the durability of CPU/VRM components.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced that an international group of elite overclockers has set four world records with an ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore motherboard featuring the new Intel Core i9-14900KS processor. Along with the ASUS overclocking team, overclocking expert Elmor pushed this processor to a dazzling 9117.75 MHz. Safedisk used the same setup to achieve three additional world records: PiFast completed in just 6.79 seconds, SuperPI 1M finished in 3.768 seconds, and PYPrime 32B finished in 97.596 seconds.

The ROG Maximus Z790 Apex motherboard family is the ultimate choice for enthusiasts and overclockers seeking style and power in their gaming setup. The motherboards are built to help the world's most talented overclockers shatter barriers on their way to new records. In the past few years, the ROG Maximus Z790 Apex motherboard was used to push a 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900K processor past the 9 GHz barrier for an impressive world record, and the ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore was used to push the 14th Gen Intel Core i9-14900KF to 9043.92 MHz.

Intel today launched the Core i9-14900KS Special Edition desktop processor, which forms the company's new flagship product in the desktop segment. The Core i9-14900KS is based on the same "Raptor Lake Refresh" silicon as the i9-14900K, and offers an 8P+16E core configuration. What's new is that Intel has increased clock speeds for both the P-cores and E-cores. The P-cores now boost up to 6.20 GHz, a 200 MHz increase over those of the i9-14900K; while the E-cores boost up to 4.50 GHz, a 100 MHz increase. But these tiny speed bumps aren't what make the i9-14900KS special. It's the 320 W Extreme Power Delivery Profile, something the regular i9-14900K lacks. On select Intel Z790 and Z690 motherboards with two 8-pin EPS power connectors, the processor is able to draw large amounts of power to hold onto its high boost frequencies. Intel also made the i9-14900KS from the highest bins of the "Raptor Lake Refresh" silicon.

The Core i9-14900KS comes with a 3.20 GHz base frequency for the P-cores. Each of the 8 "Raptor Cove" P-cores comes with 2 MB of dedicated L2 cache. The 16 "Gracemont" E-cores are arranged in four E-core clusters. Each cluster shares a 4 MB L2 cache among its four cores. The 8 P-cores and 4 E-core clusters share a 36 MB L3 cache. The processor comes with a base power value of 150 W—25 W higher than the 125 W of the i9-14900K. Its maximum turbo power is still 253 W, and is engaged on platforms capable of Intel Performance Power Delivery Profile. It's only with some of the more premium motherboards that the 320 W Extreme Power Delivery Profile is engaged. The Core i9-14900KS is a Special Edition SKU, meaning that it may not be available in all the markets where the i9-14900K sells. Intel is pricing this chip at $690, a $100 premium over the i9-14900K, though interestingly, $50 cheaper than what its predecessor, the i9-13900KS, launched at.

Be sure to check out the TechPowerUp Review of the Core i9-14900KS.The launch press-deck by Intel, along with its first-party performance claims, follows.

Unlocking high performance while maintaining low temperatures is the ultimate goal for gamers. MSI now introduces BIOS updates for Intel 700 and 600 series motherboards, supporting the ability to disable the CEP (Current Excursion Protection) function. This adjustment allows processors to operate at lower voltages and temperatures without compromising performance.

CEP, or Current Excursion Protection, is a function designed to prevent system instability caused by insufficient CPU voltage. However, the impact varies depending on the platform and combinations used, sometimes leading to a performance drop. Enthusiast gamers may choose to disable the CEP function to maximize performance. For more details on CEP functionality, please check our introduction article.

Users of Intel's 13th Gen unlocked K-series processors such as Core i9-13900K, i7-13700K, are reporting stability issues when gaming even at stock clock-speeds. Hassan Mujtaba of Wccftech and Tom's Hardware have isolated the issues to power limit unlocks. Most Z690 and Z790 chipset motherboards include BIOS-level unlocks for the power limits, particularly the Maximum Turbo Power (interchangeable with PL2). By default, the i9-13900K and i7-13700K come with a PL2 value of 253 W, but you can get the motherboard to unlock this to unlimited, which basically tells the processor that it has 4096 W of power on tap, so not technically a "stock" configuration anymore.

Of course, neither your PSU nor your CPU VRM are capable of delivering 4096 W, and so the processor tends to draw as much power as it needs, to maintain the best possible P-core boost frequencies, before running into thermal limits. At stock frequencies with stock boost bins, unlocked power limits can drive the power draw of i9-13900K as far high as 373 W under a multithreaded load, in our testing, when compared to 283 W with the power limits in place. It turns out, that unlocking the power limits can come with long-term costs, besides the literal cost of electricity—the processor's stability with gaming workloads can degrade with certain hardware combos and settings.

ASRock releases new BIOS for Intel 600/700 series motherboards, the updated BIOS is able to drastically improve CPU performance on 14th gen non-K series processors up to 10% with I7-14700 by Cinebench R23. The performance gain is benefit from Intel's latest microcode and ASRock is the first to implement this new update before Chinese New Year, the new BIOS for Z790 series motherboards are as below, 600 & B760 series will be updated shortly!

You can find the full list of motherboards and BIOS versions in the table below.

MSI, a leading gaming hardware brand, announces its latest collaboration with SEGA, one of the industry's most prominent game publishers. They join forces to bring the whole new and exciting experiences to gamers to enjoy a journey from Japan to Hawaii full with varieties of challenges and refreshing landscapes in the highly anticipated game - Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Enjoy Astonishing New Mode RPG Battle
Following the flow of the story, this series first moves to the overseas region, Hawaii, and the beautiful and vivid view offers gamers a deep and memorable immersion. Moreover, Infinite Wealth comes to astonish you with new, dynamic, fast-paced RPG battles allowing gamers to enjoy unparalleled freedom and thrill in every combat.