MSI recommends disabling CEP on Intel motherboards

MSI is rolling out a BIOS update for its Intel 600 and 700 based motherboards with an option to disable CEP (Current Excursion Protection).

MSI has found that disabling CEP, a feature that is supposed to protect the CPU from insufficient voltage, can actually lead to lower performance. According to the company, it is recommended for enthusiasts to disable this function to gain performance and lower the temperatures in some cases.

MSI has found that when users reduce CPU AC Load Line (to reduce CPU voltage) the CEP function can lead to 40% lower performance on Core i9-14900 or i7-14700 processors. Once the CEP feature was disabled, the temperature dropped by 16°C, it is said. With significantly lower thermal output, performance was not affected.

Here, MSI notes that lowering CPU voltage was only to show the difference, and it can lead to system instability otherwise. Nonetheless, it is an easy method to demonstrate how the CEP function works:

MSI with and without CEP on Core i9-14900 CPUs, Source: MSI

The new option to disable CEP is being added to new BIOSes for Intel 600 and 700 motherboards, however not all processors will support this option. All 14th Gen Core K-series and non-K CPUs support disabling CEP, but on 13th Gen Core and 12th Gen Core, only the K-series do, with non-K (65W SKUs) not supporting this feature.

Supported CPUs, Source: MSI

MSI is in a process of updating firmware for its motherboards, with more B760 and 600-series motherboards expected to be updated by the end of this month. You can find the full list of motherboards with feature to CEP function by following the link below.

Source: MSI