Windows 10 EOS (22H2) Oct. 14, 2025

[AP514]

DirectX 12 works on both O/S versions WIN10 & WIN11, it has been around a long time, well prior to DirectX 12 Ultimate, but if DirectX 13 comes out and the latest games support it, hopefully WIN10 will support it. If so, since no more updates to WIN10 after Oct. 2025, you could always manually install it.

With Windows 12 on the horizon, who knows what Microsoft will do. Still rumored MS may go subscription base with their O/Ss like they did with Office.

Gaming: still playing...I have seen zero difference from playing on my WIN10 PC or WIN11 PC, other than the 10 has a slower video card. But in truth my FPS is high on both PCs. Plus, playing FPShooters, I keep my Res. for competition play instead of Max settings. Tips: FOV is very important and I cap my FPS at 120. (Opps, I lied, I guess I use to lower my settings, just checked my WIN11 PC and everything is set to High and Ultra) running a 3080 card. On my 1070 card on the WIN10 PC, I have my graphic setting lowered...not Maxed
Played the Beta of Battlefield 6, like that it is closer to BF3 & 4, still on the fence if I will get it though. I like faster games like COD:Black Ops...but as I age, may have to slow down Will definitely be getting BO7

Don't like these new Game prices either, I get that 100s of people develop them, just see the credit list at the end of completing the Campaigns, but to shell out $70-100 for a game? Really? I actually don't jump on when they release, I wait for the sale, which you can still get before the end of the year, you just have to watch for them. I still get to COD Prestige Master by mid-year so I am good. For Non-Gamers, Master opens up all unlocks...which I need all the help I can get at my age, lol But I still got it, not bragging but I am most always in the top 3 at games end.

I am more of a SQUAD player... that and Old School Games/Devs like Micropose, SSG, Second Front(ASL w/AI). Also do UBoat.

 

[David L]

Sharing what I found out:

I ran across an article from last year talking about 13/14 Gen Intel CPUs having degradation issues. Basically heat issues if overclocked or if voltage is set too high. Systems were slowing down and in some cases crashing.

Every new processor seems to always have heat issues, pairing the right cooler is essential. But this is the first time, that I know of, where Intel extended people's warranties from 3 years to 5 because of the issue. The fix, if you can call it that, is a BIOS motherboard update that caps the voltage and temp. settings. Guessing no more overclocking these, not sure.

So, since I just bought an i7 14700k (14th gen) I got concerned. Still reading about it, not sure if my CPU a year later is affected, in that did they fix the issue with newer CPUs, or not. I don't plan to overclock, nor use this PC for gaming so I am probably ok, But I was going to use the existing AIO Water Cooler (Corsair H100 240mm AIO) I have in the case that this is going in but it is over 10 years old, read that they don't last forever, liquid can dry up, pump can stop working, etc. So for $80 I am going to get a new AIO. I don't need LEDs on it, which is only $10 more. This way I know the CPU is protected...

Here is an older article explaining all of this:

https://www.cpu-monkey.com/en/article/how_to_check_if_your_intel_13_14_gen_cpu_is_affected_by_instability_problems

Intel has a Diagnostic tool to check your CPU. I ran it on my 12th Gen Gaming PC that has an i9 12900k CPU and all test Passed. When it was doing the load test all my fans went to max speed...

Intel® Processor Diagnostic Tool

This download record installs the Intel® Processor Diagnostic Tool release 4.1.9.41, which is compatible with multiprocessor systems.

www.intel.com

I jumped on a deal that Micro Center had, I normally buy their combo deals (CPU/Motherboard) but this deal included 32Gigs of DDR5 Memory too. The CPU is $300 alone so I definitely saved some money. Why I go this route is to be able to bench test within the 30 day return policy. Each component comes with a 3 year manufacturer warranty but it is much easier to just go down to Micro Center and exchange, which I actually had to do a few times over these last decades, once for me and once for a family build. Micro Center makes zero profit on these deals, or very, very little, I have been told over the years. They are In Store only deals which once you are in their store they will try and sell you the rest of the parts needed for a build. Also, they love to sell their extended warranties too, which I decline.
Anyway, with my Windows 11 upgrades I felt it was time to retire one of my older PCs. The upgraded PC will now be ready for Windows 12 too.

Here is the deal I bought:





Individual Component Pricing (Which is competitive with what Amazon/Newegg shows):

 

[David L]

Update on Intel 13/14 Gen Degradation issue.

It seems the Z series motherboards, being more overclock aggressive, is more of the focus here, from what I am reading...it is important to have the latest BIOS update on your motherboard for the 13/14 Gens.

Another concern is how long will these CPUs last under this extra stress/load?

I will share some of the articles later...

 

[bp2008]

Update on Intel 13/14 Gen Degradation issue.

It seems the Z series motherboards, being more overclock aggressive, is more of the focus here, from what I am reading...it is important to have the latest BIOS update on your motherboard for the 13/14 Gens.

Another concern is how long will these CPUs last under this extra stress/load?

I will share some of the articles later...

Yes, it is definitely advisable to use the latest BIOS in this case. My brother and I both had i9-13900K CPUs that died due to that issue, one at 2 years age, then the other a few months later. The computers simply got less stable over time, having more and more random reboots and/or blue screen of death. Both were running on Gigabyte Z790 Aero G motherboards with the BIOS updates meant to prevent the issue having been installed in a timely manner. My assumption is that the BIOS updates did what they were intended to do, but that the damaged bits were more likely to malfunction and cause a crash when running at lower voltage.

We never did any overclocking, just letting it do its normal boost behavior with default BIOS settings. Using high-end air coolers. Intel replaced both CPUs and the stability problems went away. It is interesting because it took such a long time for the issues to be noticed.

To be fair, my family members have the same failure rate with AMD Ryzen 9 5950x CPUs (2 out of 2 became unstable and needed to be RMA'd after several years of use), but to my knowledge AMD was never in the news for having a similar issue to what Intel had with these.

 

[David L]

Yes, it is definitely advisable to use the latest BIOS in this case. My brother and I both had i9-13900K CPUs that died due to that issue, one at 2 years age, then the other a few months later. The computers simply got less stable over time, having more and more random reboots and/or blue screen of death. Both were running on Gigabyte Z790 Aero G motherboards with the BIOS updates meant to prevent the issue having been installed in a timely manner. My assumption is that the BIOS updates did what they were intended to do, but that the damaged bits were more likely to malfunction and cause a crash when running at lower voltage.

We never did any overclocking, just letting it do its normal boost behavior with default BIOS settings. Using high-end air coolers. Intel replaced both CPUs and the stability problems went away. It is interesting because it took such a long time for the issues to be noticed.

To be fair, my family members have the same failure rate with AMD Ryzen 9 5950x CPUs (2 out of 2 became unstable and needed to be RMA'd after several years of use), but to my knowledge AMD was never in the news for having a similar issue to what Intel had with these.

Thank you for this info. I will be bench testing the CPU 14700k/Asus Z790 Mammaboard/G-Skill memory hopefully tomorrow. I just boot to BIOS then shut it down since no cooler will be installed. I even have a fan blowing on the CPU when I do this, it only takes a few seconds to BIOS. I will then check the BIOS version to see if I need to upgrade, probably will, saw the latest was posted 05/21/2025, it is a ME and microcode update which addresses the Degradation issue.
Wish the board had Asus BIOS Flashback button so I can update BIOS without a CPU. I won't update until I get a cooler on the CPU. This motherboard is middle of the road, but will work fine with what I plan to use the PC for.



Also I may have a fixed CPU since I just bought it. Not sure how to check, I do know it was made in the US based on the # on the chip. L is Malaysia and US from what I read.

 

[samplenhold]

Thanks for this info. I will be doing two builds this fall/winter and I was worried about the 13-14 gen issues.

 

[David L]

Here is one of the articles I bullied myself through. It is way, way over my head but I found it a very fun interesting read. It almost felt like when I read the book of Numbers in the Bible.

You know, we just buy processors and don't really know what all they do or how they work.

The story of 13th and 14th generation processors and my remaining questions

Hello to all Intel fans and enthusiasts , I have some questions about the 13th and 14th generation processors (600 and 700 series) regarding the problems and horror stories of the last few years or months and I will be happy to answer my questions and discuss the old hot discussions once...

community.intel.com

Here is another Reddit article and CPU recommended settings chart from Intel:

 

[David L]

Thanks for this info. I will be doing two builds this fall/winter and I was worried about the 13-14 gen issues.

I am doing my best to find out what we need to prevent this degradation issue for us.

So far I know the microcode in BIOS needs to be up to date.

PL1 and PL2 needs to be capped at a certain wattage

Voltage should also be capped

There is more and I am not sure what cap settings are best yet, which are different for the 13 and the 14 Procs.

This is my pride and joy, cleanest build I have ever done:
I have had my 12900k for 2 years pushing its default limits with gaming almost daily, but no overclocking, and Zero problems, not even a hiccup. I get good temps with the 360mm AIO and the 13 fans I have installed in the case, haha. I actually have a push/pull system on the 360mm AIO on top, so 6 fans there, 3 in front, 3 on the side and one in back. Case is the Corsair 5000x RGB, my best case ever...



Haha, this is when I first built her, haha 13 fans, talk about a wiring nightmare, lol




I used similar connectors like these for the video card power cables:


This helped me wire the fans (instead of the 3 on top there I have 6 fans), the 5000x allows for a push/pull AIO on top:

 

[David L]

So I fired up (bench tested) my bundle today, no not 9/12/2025
will fix date/time/time zone, etc. later...

Wanted to catch what BIOS version it had on it. 02/2025 version...

BIOS is older but looks like the microcode update has already been addressed, but I will still apply the latest BIOS once system is fully built.
I have to order an AIO and M.2, plus gut my old PC. Alot of work ahead of me.



I have this really Kewl Case I want to hold on to...hoping to get a 280mm AIO in it, I presently have a Corsair H100 240mm. I figure the 140 fans will help with the new i7 14700K I am pretty sure I can get away with using a 280 instead of a 360 AIO which if it were a i9 14900k then no way would I use anything under a 360mm AIO.
Clearance is my biggest concern with a bigger AIO close to the motherboard with the 140mm fans instead of the existing 120mm, also I see on some 280mm AIOs, the radiator is bigger (width) too. The case cannot fit a 360mm AIO.

Corsair Vengeance C70 (Love the carrying handles):

 

[David L]

I am doing my best to find out what we need to prevent this degradation issue for us.

So far I know the microcode in BIOS needs to be up to date.

PL1 and PL2 needs to be capped at a certain wattage

Voltage should also be capped

There is more and I am not sure what cap settings are best yet, which are different for the 13 and the 14 Procs.

This is my pride and joy, cleanest build I have ever done:
I have had my 12900k for 2 years pushing its default limits with gaming almost daily, but no overclocking, and Zero problems, not even a hiccup. I get good temps with the 360mm AIO and the 13 fans I have installed in the case, haha. I actually have a push/pull system on the 360mm AIO on top, so 6 fans there, 3 in front, 3 on the side and one in back. Case is the Corsair 5000x RGB, my best case ever...

View attachment 227825

Haha, this is when I first built her, haha 13 fans, talk about a wiring nightmare, lol
View attachment 227826View attachment 227827
View attachment 227830
View attachment 227829

I used similar connectors like these for the video card power cables:
View attachment 227831

This helped me wire the fans (instead of the 3 on top there I have 6 fans), the 5000x allows for a push/pull AIO on top:
View attachment 227833

Still researching but from what I know now, if you buy a 13 or 14 gen proc. in this list:

Intel still recommends latest motherboard BIOS and Intel default settings profile.
microcode 0x12F is the latest May 2025
This microcode update addresses reports regarding systems continuously running for multiple days with low-activity and lightly-threaded workloads.

I hope this solves that issue since I am one to keep my PCs On 24/7, Blue Iris for sure. I only shutdown/reboot for updates. I have personally found with many years of having many PCs, that my PSU's last much longer this way. Plus all my PCs ride on an UPS for low/high voltage spike protection which also helps everything, mammaboards, memory, HDD/SSDs, etc.

(Comment on leaving PCs On, your PSU will stay On even when your PC is shutdown now adays. Most PSUs have a switch. Even though the PSU does not have it's fan running it is still suppling power to your motherboard, think of it as standby, like most all our devices do today, TVs, etc. This keeps your CMOS battery charged, Capacitors, wake-on-LAN, RTC Alarm, etc. I assume this also helps limit the spikes caused from dead power ups/starts. Point is, my UPS's are really the main protection for my PSU's, IMO)

I have found Electronics seem to do better when left On instead of always repowering them all the time. Think of power bricks or wall chargers/wall power supplies, I try not to replug them in right away while still warm/hot. I have lost a few that way. Just my opinion/experience though...

Back to my build, unfortunately I will not be fully testing the 14700k, that is with gaming conditions or overclocking. This PC will be mainly for downloading and video encoding (which will give the CPU a work out) I do this to keep my main PC i9 12900k free so I can game

 

[David L]

Speaking of Encoding, if you have a Nvidia 2060 or higher you can use Nvidia NVEnc which will use video cards GPU. I use Handbrake. I just found this...

HandBrake Documentation — NVIDIA NVENC

The PC I am replacing the 6700k with the 14700k has a Nvidia 1070 Ti Video Card. It will be replaced with a 2070 Super which will be able to utilize GPU encoding...kewl

If your GPU allows this encoding it will show as an option under the Video Tab (this is from my 12900k PC 3080 card):




As you can see I do not have this option with my 1070 Ti:


Can't wait to try it, hopefully it will cut down encoding times...

 

[David L]

To check if you have a Retail or OEM version of Windows:

At a Command Prompt (CMD) type: slmgr /dli



Technically an OEM version is married to your motherboard, to my understanding, and cannot be transferred to another PC.

A Retail version can be transferred/moved to another PC.

slmgr /dlv also works...

 

[AP514]

No need to get a New AIO if the old one is still working
You know you can add water to your AIO.. not real hard to do just takes some time. A ton of UTube videos on it.