Hey everyone,
I recently upgraded from an i7-9700k to an i5-14600kf along with a new MSI b760m-p DDR4 motherboard. Since making these upgrades, I've been experiencing crashes while playing Deadlock, which is pretty much the only game I play these days. I've gone through a ton of troubleshooting steps—including updating the BIOS, performing a DDU on my graphics drivers, undervolting my CPU, verifying the game files, disabling XMP, and even turning off turbo boost in the BIOS—but nothing seems to fix the problem.
At this point, I'm starting to suspect that my new CPU might be faulty. I've contacted AWD-it for a full refund, but I want to know if you all think I'm correct in this assumption. I've seen quite a few people online reporting similar crashing issues with the 13th and 14th gen processors. What do you think?
3 Answers
Just make sure you have the latest BIOS update installed. Also, set your CPU lite load mode to 3 and the DigitalALL load line level to 3 for better stability. If it crashes, you can adjust the lite load one step at a time. Don't forget to set your IA VR voltage to 1.4V as well. Testing the memory and power stability using OCCT is a great idea too.
Did you try doing a fresh install of Windows? A complete wipe and reinstall might help resolve issues like this one.
I haven't done that yet since I don't want to lose my files and downloaded programs. My internet is super slow, so redownloading everything would be a hassle. I'm actually getting an i7-12700k soon, and I'll try that CPU first before resorting to a Windows reinstall.
Undervolting your CPU might actually hurt stability more than help it. It's usually the opposite of what you want.
But that's the recommendation due to the voltage issues with these newer CPUs. Before undervolting, my CPU would spike to 1.48v while gaming. It felt a bit risky!
Thanks for the tips! I've already updated to the latest BIOS and tried adjusting the CPU lite load modes, but no luck so far. I will give OCCT a shot later. Honestly, I'm kind of relieved I'm switching to a 12th gen CPU because I've read about issues with oxidation and voltage instability in the 13th and 14th gen.