Intels recent Core i9 CPUs are facing some dire issues, at least according to a new report from ZDNet Korea. In speaking with the outlet, an anonymous source in Korea responsible for customer service on Intel CPUs says that customers are returning more than 10 of Intels 13th-gen and 14th-gen Core i9 CPUs daily, largely hailed as some of the best gaming processors you can buy.

The problem centers aroundTekken 8,at least in Korea. According to the report, gamers using a CPU like the Core i9-13900K or Core i9-14900K will face an error message saying not enough video memory when launching the game, forcing it to close. This is even when the PC has plenty of video memory to run the game.

This isnt a new problem. In February, hardware editor of Wccftech Hassan Mujtaba reported constant game crashes with the Core i9-13900K and RTX 4090. Recent customer reviews of the Core i9-14900K raise similar problems, with buyers citing crashes in games after a few months of owning the CPU.

Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming ReSpec Subscribe Check your inbox! Privacy Policy So I was randomly checking out customer reviews of Intel i9-14900K/KF CPUs and wow looks like a lot of people have either received faulty chips, or their chips are degrading at an alarming rate. This is really not good pic.twitter.com/RJ0hSu3nA9

Sebastian Castellanos (@Sebasti66855537) April 6, 2024

Although weve seen customer reports, Intel itself hasnt acknowledged the problem until now. Thats changing. In speaking with ZDNet Korea, an Intel representative said, Intel is aware of problems that occur when executing certain tasks on 13th and 14th generation Core processors for desktop PCs, and it is analyzing them with major affiliates.

The problems seem to focus on Unreal Engine games, with reports of issues in Hogwarts Legacy, Lies of P,andThe Callisto Protocol,to name a few. In most cases, the game will report an error that its out of video memory before crashing. In the worst cases, the crash will cause a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) on Windows, forcing your PC to restart.

For my part, Ive been running a Core i9-13900K in my main gaming PC for more than a year, and Ive experienced strange crashes and BSODs in games like Fortnite, Returnal,and Lies of P.Although I dont want to pin the blame on the CPU, in each case, nothing overt caused the crash it happens randomly, even with the latest graphics drivers.

Mujtaba recommends users explore downclocking or undervolting these CPUs if theyre running into issues. According to the editor, this will improve stability. Reports suggest the issues stem from pushed power limits with Intels most powerful CPUs, resulting in system instability even if you dont dabble in CPU overclocking.