Highlights

  • Stability issues, video memory errors, and crashes reported with Intel Raptor Lake and Raptor Lake Refresh processors.
  • Nvidia advises owners of systems with unlocked Intel 13th and 14th gen CPUs to check Intel and RAD Game Tools for solutions.
  • Some crashes in games like Starfield on Intel GPUs resolved with driver updates, while rumors of faster Lunar Lake CPUs circulate.

Nvidia has officially acknowledged that systems using specific Intel Raptor Lake and Raptor Lake Refresh processors may run into issues when trying to play games. The chips from both generations are fabricated on a 10 nm process.

Released in late 2022, Intel's 13th generation Raptor Lake Core processors utilize the American tech giant's Raptor Cove and Gracemont microarchitectures. The succeeding 14th generation, an iterative series code named Raptor Lake Refresh that launched last October, uses the same technologies while offering slightly better performance. Recently, there have been reports of computers powered by chips from Intel's two latest CPU generations encountering problems while playing games, and even Nvidia has dropped a statement to address the situation.

A screenshot of Star Wars Outlaws' ND-5 with a blue Intel logo on his chest.
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In the patch notes for Nvidia's 552.12 GeForce Game Ready Driver that was released on April 4, the GPU maker advised owners of systems powered by unlocked Intel 13th and 14th generation desktop CPUs to consult two sources should they experience stability issues, video memory error messages, and crashes during the shader compilation phase of a game. Intel processors with K suffixes are popular among gamers and enthusiasts, as they can be tuned to achieve higher clock speeds than what they were originally shipped with.

nvidia-552.12-grd-drivers

The first source mentioned was an official Intel support thread over at the company's community forum that addressed the reported stability issues surrounding unlocked Raptor Lake and Raptor Lake Refresh chips. Meanwhile, the second source Nvidia mentioned was a statement provided by RAD Game Tools, a video game software company owned by Epic Games. According to the statement, some crashes and decompression failures experienced in titles built with Epic Games' Unreal Engine were likely caused by the Intel Core i9-13900K and Core i9-14900K, both of which are currently considered as some of the best Intel CPUs for gaming.

Unlocked Intel 13th/14th Gen CPU Known Issues According to Nvidia

  • Stability issues
  • Video memory errors
  • crashes

Owners of Intel GPUs have also encountered some problems while playing games in the past. For instance, Starfield was essentially unplayable on current-generation Intel Arc graphics cards around its launch last September. Later driver updates did address these issues and other bugs, with one promising Arc users up to a 149% performance uplift in Bethesda Game Studios' popular action RPG.

Rumors suggest that Intel's mobile-focused Lunar Lake CPUs will release by the end of 2024 alongside the company's 15th generation Arrow Lake processors. Established hardware industry leakers have also claimed that Intel Lunar Lake chips will be 50% faster than their Meteor Lake predecessors, all while just consuming slightly more power. These upcoming CPUs are expected to feature graphics solutions from Battlemage, which is the codename for Intel's second generation of Arc GPUs.