
According to European retailers, Intel’s 13th and 14th Gen Raptor Lake-S processors are 3 to 4x more likely to fail than the preceding 12th Gen Alder Lake family. This includes Raptor Lake CPUs that have been on sale since October 2022 (13th Gen) and December 2023 (14th Gen). The 13th Gen CPUs have failed more often than their 14th Gen counterparts with a 4x return rate. In comparison, the latter tend to fail 3x more than Alder Lake.

If Intel CPUs have a default RMA rate of 1-2%, this report suggests that the 13th Gen processors have a 4 to 7% failure rate, while the 14th Gen lineup has a 2 to 5.25% return rate. This excludes units returned directly to Intel. All the CPUs were fully functional at the time of purchase, gradually degrading over time. This coincides with what we and other outlets have reported in the last couple of weeks.
Will Intel issue a recall?
No.
Has Intel halted sales and / or performed any channel inventory recalls while it validates the update?
No.
Will Intel extend its warranty on these 13th Gen and 14th Gen parts, and for how long?
[No answer yet.]
Given how difficult this issue was for Intel to pin down, what proof will customers need to share to obtain an RMA? (How lenient will Intel be?)
[No answer yet.]
Intel has downplayed the possibility of a recall, nor has it halted the sales of either the 13th or the 14th Gen processors to the channel inventory. The chipmaker’s latest attempt at trying to fix this issue involves a microcode update (not the first) that lowers the voltage requests made to the processor.
However, as already reported, the patch will only address the “root cause of exposure to elevated voltages” which according to the chipmaker was the result of a buggy microcode algorithm. It does not tackle the root cause of the widespread instability (of varying kinds) faced by numerous gamers globally. It also doesn’t touch upon the gradual degradation of 13th and 14th Gen processors.

Intel Core 13th and 14th Generation desktop processors with 65W or higher base power – including K/KF/KS and 65W non-K variants – could be affected by the elevated voltages issue. However, this does not mean that all processors listed are (or will be) impacted by the elevated voltages issue.
It’s worth noting that the units currently in the channel inventory are also likely to be affected by this issue, and not all users are going to update the firmware as soon as they turn on their systems. Suffice it to say that the RMA count will only increase soon. If Intel or its partners are refusing to RMA your 13th/14th Gen CPU, you can reach out to us at areejs12@hardwaretimes.com. We’ll try our best to publicize it.

Matthew Cassells, the Founder of Alderon Games (developer of Path of Titans) shares that Intel 13th/14th Gen Raptor Lake laptop CPUs also suffer from instability and crashes, albeit less frequently than their K-series desktop counterparts. This can have severe ramifications for Intel as mobility processors have a much wider user base, with Raptor Lake spanning 2-3 generations from the 13th, 14th, and the Core Series family.
Intel has, of course, rejected the claim, stating that the mobile failures are due to a different set of issues. Considering that the 13th and 14th Gen HX series CPUs use the same silicon as the desktop chips, they may suffer from the instabilities as well. The H and U-series lineups may be safe as they employ different dies and lower voltages.
Source: Les Numeriques.