Hey everyone,
I've got an i5-13600K running on an ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi (DDR5) and just updated my BIOS from an old AMI build (dated July 3, 2022) to ASUS BIOS 4505 (from November 28, 2025). Before the update, everything was running smoothly, and I was scoring over 23k in Cinebench R23 multi. I decided to update after hearing concerns about potential stability issues, though I never experienced any myself.
After the BIOS update, I've noticed a significant drop in performance during all-core tasks. My Cinebench R23 multi score plummeted to about 10,800, and I can't seem to push my CPU past 100-105W under load. The effective clock speeds for my P-cores hover around 5.0 to 5.1 GHz, whereas my E-cores are stuck at 1.9 to 2.0 GHz and don't seem fully utilized. I'm also seeing an increase in voltage from a previous max of 1.17 to around 1.24 now. Despite improved temperatures (mid 60s°C), this performance hit is troubling.
I've reset everything using defaults, enabled XMP, set performance settings, and even disabled the MultiCore Enhancement feature, but the issues persist. I'm considering rolling back to the old BIOS since I don't think the stability problems were affecting me. Has anyone else experienced something similar?
1 Answer
Sounds like a BIOS issue for sure. As long as you're not overclocking, the i5-13600K should be fine. The problems mostly hit the i7s and i9s in the 13th and 14th gen, so it’s rare to hear about i5s frying. Just get your old BIOS back if you’re having these issues—save yourself the hassle!
Thanks! I think I’ll just revert and avoid the stress. Appreciate the advice!