Nvidia blames Intel for GPU VRAM errors, tells GeForce gamers experiencing 13th or 14th Gen CPU instability to contact Intel support

Nvidia’s latest 552.12 driver patch notes reveal that the GPU manufacturer is aware of stability issues plaguing many Raptor Lake and Raptor Lake Refresh gamers. Nvidia specifies that users experiencing crashes with a 13th or 14th Gen CPU should consult Intel for their troubles.

Specifically, Nvidia’s patch notes state that if 13th/14th Gen CPU owners are experiencing “…stability issues/out of video memory error messages/crash to desktop while the game is compiling shaders…” to consult two sites consisting of an Intel community page and a tutorial from Rad Game Tools on how to reduce CPU power limits to Intel’s default specifications.

The community page Nvidia sites is a support page by Intel employee Thomas Hannaford. His post affirms that Intel is aware of reports that 13th and 14th Gen chips are experiencing instability in certain workloads. He requests users reach out to Intel customer support for assistance if needed.

The tutorial from Rad Game tools also confirms the issues Nvidia has depicted. The site is aware of potential instability issues during shader decompression in Unreal Engine when using a Raptor Lake/Raptor Lake Refresh chip. These stability issues can be so horrendous that Unreal Engine spits out an “out of video memory” error even though the problem is CPU-related.

Two months ago, we first reported on this issue when initial reports of 13th Gen instability rapidly increased. We discovered that Intel’s motherboard partners were the culprit. Virtually all of Intel’s board partners automatically set CPU power limits to 4096W (or infinity) out of the box. This behavior has been constant for several generations, but it is only now causing widespread problems with Intel’s fast but hot and power-hungry Raptor Lake CPU architecture.

The problem with the 4096W power limit configuration is that it is not Intel’s defined default specification for any of its CPUs. The actual Intel limit for most of its CPUs is well below 200W, usually at or around the CPU’s specified TDP rating. Intel does not test its CPUs utilizing an “uncapped” power limit, and thus, any uncapped power limits should be treated like overclocking.