BIOS Flash question...do I need to?

[gillmanjr]

Hello guys, been a while since I've been on here, but I have a question. My current rig is below in my signature, been running this system for years now and its been great, no issues to speak of. However, recently I bought the new game "The Outer Worlds 2" on Steam and every time I start it I get the following warning message...

"TheOuterWorlds2-Win64-Shipping.exe has detected your computer is using an Intel 13th or 14th generation processor that does not have the proper updates installed to address potential processor instability issues. It is highly recommended to update the BIOS on your motherboard to the latest version with Intels microcode 0x12B or later."

Like I said, I have been running this system for several years now and have never had any problems. My i5-13600k is overclocked (slightly) and water cooled. This is the first time I have heard of any issues with the BIOS. Does anyone have any insight into this? Is it actually necessary for me to update? FYI the reason I hesitate to do it is because the last time I flashed a BIOS it killed my MOBO and I had to get a replacement. Luckily that was a brand new MOBO at the time so Newegg sent me a replacement straight away. That would not be the case now so it makes me nervous.

 

[beers]

At least that board has USB BIOS flashback, so even if it has an issue you can flash it from a USB stick.

There was a bug for 'vmin shift instability' documented here that kinda sums it up:

Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen Desktop Instability Root Cause Update

Following extensive investigation of the Intel® Core™ 13th and 14th Gen desktop processor Vmin Shift Instability issue, Intel can now confirm the root cause diagnosis for the issue. This post will cover Intel’s understanding of the root cause, as well as additional mitigations and next steps for...

community.intel.com

 

[gillmanjr]

I read that but I still didn't get an impression of whether or not this update is actually critically important or not. It does sound, however, like the CPU might run at higher temperatures than it should...? Is that correct?

At least that board has USB BIOS flashback, so even if it has an issue you can flash it from a USB stick.

I'm not familiar with this...does that mean even if the flash fails I can just do it again until it works?

 

[beers]

You could probably just click through the error, no crashies would mean it's just a nag screen if you didn't want to flash.

If your system randomly BSOD's while playing then it might be a viable solution to resolve that behavior.