Intel’s infamous “Raptor Lake” CPU bug might be resurfacing. A Mozilla engineer has linked Firefox browser crashes to the desktop processors malfunctioning under high heat.
The Mozilla engineer Gabriele Svelto brought up the problem last week as Europe experienced a heat wave that caused temperatures to rise over 100 degrees Fahrenheit across parts of the continent.
“If you have an Intel Raptor Lake system and you’re in the northern hemisphere, chances are that your machine is crashing more often because of the summer heat,” Svelto wrote on Mastodon. “I know because I can literally see which EU countries have been affected by heat waves by looking at the locales of Firefox crash reports coming from Raptor Lake systems.”
Svelto added: “Things are so bad at this time that we had to disable a bot that was filing crash reports automatically because it was almost only finding crashes from people with affected systems.”
Intel released several software patches to address the CPU bug, which affects 13th and 14th generation Core desktop chips and could cause them crash the entire PC. However, Svelto alleges that none of the patches thoroughly fixed the CPU bug, only reduced how often the errors occur. He adds that 13th generation Core processors, which launched in late 2022, appear to be prone to the problem.
In response, social media users have been pointing out European Intel users might have encountered the crashes more since air conditioning isn’t prevalent across the continent compared to the US.
Intel didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Raptor Lake CPU bug has been especially bad because it can permanently degrade the processor by running the chips at higher-than-expected voltage levels.
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Although Intel refrained from a formal recall, the chipmaker extended the warranty on the affected processors while promising replacement CPUs to customers. In addition, Intel says the voltage bug hasn’t affected its laptop processors or future desktop CPUs.
UPDATE: In a statement, Intel told PCMag: “Intel is looking into the claims made by Mr. Svelto. Intel recommends users reach out to Intel Customer Support (if box/tray processors purchased from a retailer) or their system vendor’s support team if they are experiencing issues with their Intel-powered systems.”
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About Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
