Borderlands 4 hasn’t had the smoothest of launches, but then again, it seems not many AAA games have recently. This is centered around the issue of performance. Right now, Borderlands 4 has Mixed reviews on Steam, and there has been plenty of back and forth between gamers and Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford – who recently called it “a premium game made for premium gamers” to pardon the demanding requirements.

In any case, another thing that can be blamed for some users’ poor performance Intel 13th and 14th gen CPU degradation. If you didn’t already know, these Intel chips (codenamed Raptor Lake) ran into instability issues last year, stemming from ‘Vmin Shift Instability’. To put it simply, a bug which delivered too much voltage and damaged the chips.

Intel Raptor Lake processors and Borderlands 4

Crashing with a 13th or 14th Gen Processor from Intel:

Intel has recently shared information to customers that its 13th/14th Generation CPUs may experience instability under load due to technical errors. This instability might show up on your PC as slowdowns, crashes, overheating, or large spikes of CPU usage while gaming or installing a game.

You can read more on the official post regarding Intel’s 13th and 14th Gen Processors here.

Source: Borderlands Support (Gearbox Software / 2K)

Intel released multiple microcodes in an attempt to fix it and at one point claimed it has been definitively fixed (be sure to update your BIOS using Intel’s instructions if you haven’t done so already). Sadly, many 13th and 14th gen chips suffered permanant damage, and there’s no reversing that.

If you’re experiencing crashes or overheating while playing Borderlands 4 on an Intel 13th/14th gen, just be aware that this may be the reason why. Speaking of overheating, a Firefox dev pointed out a connection between heatwaves in Europe and reports of Raptor Lake processors crashing.

Following the issues, it was no surprise to see Intel rebrand. Now we have Core Ultra processors; the current flagship model for desktop is the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K. The newest series, however, has failed to capture much of an audience.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.