Raptor Lake instability hits streamer Asmongold — Black Myth: Wukong shader compilation fails on stream

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"Out of memory"

Asmongold reacts to shader compilation error in Wukong
(Image credit: X (Twitter - OTK)

Raptor Lake instability issues have hit Twitch streamer Asmongold: A clip from Asmongold's Twitch stream (shared by OTKnetwork on X) shows Asmongold running the shader compilation process in Black Myth: Wukong, only for the process to spit out the infamous Unreal Engine 5 "out of memory" error.

In the clip, Asmongold is waiting to see if the game's shader compilation process will fail or not. At 24.59% the game shows the aforementioned "out of memory" error. Afterward, Asmongold restarts the game and runs the compilation process again to see if it will pass. According to OTKnetwork, "Asmongold and his chat are doing predictions together on what % Wukong game shaders will get to before it crashes". Each time Asmongold restarts the shader compilation process, the process crashes at a higher percentage.

The devs behind Black Myth: Wukong know about this issue and have already put out a tutorial on the game's Steam forum on how to fix the problem. The error is primarily caused by the instability issues plaguing Intel 13th and 14th Gen processors.

The comments section in OTKnetwork's X post reveals that Asmongold's system has a Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refresh CPU. Black Myth: Wukong uses Unreal Engine 5, which is known to be sensitive to Raptor Lake instability during the shader compilation process.

Intel has already patched Raptor Lake's instability issues through a new microcode update, which not only rectifies CPU instability but also addresses CPU degradation issues caused by excessively high voltages.

Sadly, however, Intel's microcode update is unable to fix Raptor Lake CPUs that have already degraded. These chips will still see instability issues even with the new microcode installed. It's possible that Asmongold's i9-14900K has already degraded to the point where it is no longer stable in stock form, or perhaps he hasn't installed the latest BIOS update with the patched microcode.

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Aaron Klotz
Aaron Klotz
Contributing Writer

Aaron Klotz is a contributing writer for Tom’s Hardware, covering news related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.

36 Comments Comment from the forums
  • usertests
    https://www.google.com/search?q=Asmongold+roach
    Reply
  • -Fran-
    One thing is reading reports pointing at there being a problem (I've read two already, plus the Steam forums message from the Monkey Game Devs), but another is watching this on one of the streamers with the most amount of viewers across all platforms. Oof Intel, oof.

    Keep in mind he uses one of this own company's PCs. Starforge PCs. So he is using a pre-built, technically speaking. No idea if he mentioned he's using latest BIOS and all that.

    Regards.
    Reply
  • Mattzun
    Curious about the claim that in the article that the new Intel microcode has patched the instability issues.

    I thought that Intel is just claiming that the new microcode prevents further damage and that the extended warranty is available to help people RMA CPUs that have already suffered enough damage to cause crashes.

    The workarounds for a PC with the stability issue seem to be the ones documented by the gaming companies - downclock memory and CPU etc.

    We are likely to run into another batch of weird failures every time a new game comes out and does shader compilation. Its too bad that this may cause companies to ignore actual bugs until someone on AMD or 12th gen reports the same issue.
    Reply
  • bill001g
    I suspect he partially did this for his viewers. He owns a large part of starforge so there many senior techs that would likely run over to his house to help him. Would turn out to be good advertising if he got it fixed under the starforge warranty.
    Reply
  • -Fran-
    Mattzun said:
    Curious about the claim that in the article that the new Intel microcode has patched the instability issues.

    I thought that Intel is just claiming that the new microcode prevents further damage and that the extended warranty is available to help people RMA CPUs that have already suffered enough damage to cause crashes.

    The workarounds for a PC with the stability issue seem to be the ones documented by the gaming companies - downclock memory and CPU etc.

    We are likely to run into another batch of weird failures every time a new game comes out and does shader compilation. Its too bad that this may cause companies to ignore actual bugs until someone on AMD or 12th gen reports the same issue.
    According to this: https://community.intel.com/t5/Processors/July-2024-Update-on-Instability-Reports-on-Intel-Core-13th-and/m-p/1617113#M74792
    It very explicitly says: "we found the root cause and we're patching it". Is there a second reading I'm missing?

    Regards.
    Reply
  • Mattzun
    -Fran- said:
    According to this: https://community.intel.com/t5/Proc...rts-on-Intel-Core-13th-and/m-p/1617113#M74792
    It very explicitly says: "we found the root cause and we're patching it". Is there a second reading I'm missing?
    That would prevent further damage, but doesn't help with CPUs that are already experiencing instability or are close to failure. People buying a new 13th/14th gen or getting an RMA replacement and updating their BIOS now are likely to be OK.

    The next line and the warranty extension is the fix for people who already have stability issues or where they show up in the next two years (i.e. RMA the CPU)

    Intel is committed to making sure all customers who have or are currently experiencing instability symptoms on their 13th and/or 14th Gen desktop processors are supported in the exchange process.

    To help streamline the support process, Intel's guidance is as follows:

    For users who purchased 13th/14th Gen-powered desktop systems from OEM/System Integrator - please reach out to your system vendor's customer support team for further assistance.
    For users who purchased boxed/tray 13th/14th Gen desktop processors - please reach out to Intel Customer Support for further assistance
    Reply
  • Eximo
    -Fran- said:
    According to this: https://community.intel.com/t5/Processors/July-2024-Update-on-Instability-Reports-on-Intel-Core-13th-and/m-p/1617113#M74792
    It very explicitly says: "we found the root cause and we're patching it". Is there a second reading I'm missing?

    Regards.

    He has it correct. Unless that is a brand new CPU and had the microcode applied to it before much use, it may already have damage that this game exacerbates.

    The fix also has to be applied, and there will be people out there who miss it. And they will likely need a CPU replacement, but may not know they can get one.

    Already seen a few posts where people have this problem, already took the computer to a shop and were told they had bad memory and other things without having knowledge of the ongoing issue.
    Reply
  • -Fran-
    Mattzun said:
    That would prevent further damage, but doesn't help with CPUs that are already experiencing instability or are close to failure. People buying a new 13th/14th gen or getting an RMA replacement and updating their BIOS now are likely to be OK.

    The next line and the warranty extension is the fix for people who already have stability issues or where they show up in the next two years (i.e. RMA the CPU)

    Intel is committed to making sure all customers who have or are currently experiencing instability symptoms on their 13th and/or 14th Gen desktop processors are supported in the exchange process.

    To help streamline the support process, Intel's guidance is as follows:

    For users who purchased 13th/14th Gen-powered desktop systems from OEM/System Integrator - please reach out to your system vendor's customer support team for further assistance.
    For users who purchased boxed/tray 13th/14th Gen desktop processors - please reach out to Intel Customer Support for further assistance
    So it's a matter of interpretation.

    If your car brakes fail and you bump into things or have tire issues due to it, you still need to fix the brakes, but the other damage will still be there.

    Call it whatever you want and I agree with the "if it's already borked, you better replace it" for the record, but Intel's wording makes it so that anyone who has a "problem free" RaptorLake after this patch (0x129), it should be ok going forward, which is what the article is refering to. At least that is how I interpert the wording.

    Thing is, it seems like it is not.

    Regards.
    Reply
  • rluker5
    I can replicate that problem on UE5 games. I just decrease voltage to an unstable one under load. To fix it I increase my voltage under load. The First Descendant took 5 More mv than SOTTR for stability.

    There is really a lot of vdroop in most stock motherboard settings with i9s. Trying to fix it by increasing the voltage leads to too high of idle voltage, but fixing it by reducing vdroop via LLC settings and undervolting back to a bit higher full load voltage results in lower low use/single core voltages and more stability in high use scenarios.
    Reply
  • UnforcedERROR
    I'd have rather a truck had hit him, but this is a tech site so the article tracks I suppose.
    Reply