Microcode (0x129), a new update for 13th and 14th Gen Core desktop processors that Intel began rolling out to OEM/ODM partners last week as part of its solution for mitigating instability issues on Raptor Lake, has no notable impact on the performance of some of today’s most popular games, including Cyberpunk 2077, Metro Exodus, and Baldur’s Gate 3, according to new tests that have been shared online. The effect of Microcode 0x129 was tested against Microcode 0x125, an update that Intel delivered in June 2024 to fix the eTVB (Enhanced Thermal Velocity Boost) issue in Core i9 processors.
Hardware utilized:
- ASUS ROG Maximum Z790 Dark Hero
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 FE
- 32 GB DDR5-6200
From a report:
- “If you’re using an Intel 13/14th Gen processor, the latest BIOS update for your motherboard is a must-have update…but what, if any, impact does that have on performance?”
- “There’s no significant drop in gaming performance across our testing suite with the 0x129 microcode and Intel’s ‘Performance’ Default Power Profile.”
- “While I run each benchmark at least three times and take an average from them all, I’d chalk most changes between 0x125 and 0x129 to expected variance between runs.”
- “It’s a pretty similar story across the benchmarking software. Cinebench R24, Blender 4.2.0, 7Zip, Handbrake and Procyon all delivered results in line with the 0x125 results.”
The gaming benchmarks include:
PC Gamer also noted:
…if you’re not overclocking your chip, there’s really no benefit to selecting the ‘Performance’ or ‘Maximum’ Default Power Profiles. The latter gobbles up a lot more power with very little to show for it. Same goes for Multicore Enhancement. My results show it a little faster at times, even a little slower at others, yet gobbling up consistently higher V-core for a much higher power draw overall.