MSI Rolls Out Z790 Max Motherboard Feature That Lets Intel CPUs Sizzle
It's clear that Intel's upcoming 14th Gen Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs aren't far away (especially if recent retail listings are any indicator). Presumably that also means Intel's motherboard partners are readying their boards for the impending launch. This definitely seems to be the case for MSI, which recently released a BIOS update with a new feature seemingly intended for 14th Gen chips, dubbed CPU Fast Throttle Threshold. This entry simply lifts the throttling temperature, and that may give us a hint as to what we can expect with the Raptor Lake Refresh.
It's all but confirmed thanks to leaked benchmarks and retail listings that 14th Gen CPUs will feature higher clock speeds than their 13th Gen predecessors, and the Core i9-14900K will apparently clock in at 6GHz like the Core i9-13900KS. But more importantly, we can probably expect higher frequencies in multicore workloads, which requires both high-quality Raptor Lake dies as well as higher voltage, and more voltage means more power consumption. All that power eventually becomes heat, and this is where MSI's CPU Fast Throttle Threshold probably comes in.
According to leaker Kurobero, CPU Fast Throttle Threshold increases the temperature at which an Intel CPU will throttle its frequency in order to keep itself cool and undamaged. Most current gen Intel chips throttle at 100°C by default. The setting lifts that up to 115°C, which means you won't see clock speeds drop due to heat until that point. This is an improvement over the existing CPU Over Temp Protection option in MSI boards which doesn't directly raise the throttling temperature, but can push it up to 107°C.
So, if 14th Gen CPUs (particularly the 14900K) consume more power, then users would need even better cooling than they did for the 13900K. However, setting the thermal throttling point at 115°C instead of 100°C would also certainly allow for clock speeds to remain higher, for longer periods before throttling. Thermal damage could be a risk, however.
We're not sure if MSI is the only company offering this feature or if the leaker (who seemingly has a 14th Gen chip) is correct that it is limited to 14th Gen CPUs. Additionally, WCCFTech reports that MSI's Z690 motherboards are also getting this CPU Fast Throttle Threshold feature.
It's all but confirmed thanks to leaked benchmarks and retail listings that 14th Gen CPUs will feature higher clock speeds than their 13th Gen predecessors, and the Core i9-14900K will apparently clock in at 6GHz like the Core i9-13900KS. But more importantly, we can probably expect higher frequencies in multicore workloads, which requires both high-quality Raptor Lake dies as well as higher voltage, and more voltage means more power consumption. All that power eventually becomes heat, and this is where MSI's CPU Fast Throttle Threshold probably comes in.
According to leaker Kurobero, CPU Fast Throttle Threshold increases the temperature at which an Intel CPU will throttle its frequency in order to keep itself cool and undamaged. Most current gen Intel chips throttle at 100°C by default. The setting lifts that up to 115°C, which means you won't see clock speeds drop due to heat until that point. This is an improvement over the existing CPU Over Temp Protection option in MSI boards which doesn't directly raise the throttling temperature, but can push it up to 107°C.
So, if 14th Gen CPUs (particularly the 14900K) consume more power, then users would need even better cooling than they did for the 13900K. However, setting the thermal throttling point at 115°C instead of 100°C would also certainly allow for clock speeds to remain higher, for longer periods before throttling. Thermal damage could be a risk, however.
We're not sure if MSI is the only company offering this feature or if the leaker (who seemingly has a 14th Gen chip) is correct that it is limited to 14th Gen CPUs. Additionally, WCCFTech reports that MSI's Z690 motherboards are also getting this CPU Fast Throttle Threshold feature.
