MSI Releases BIOS Update For Disabling CEP Function on Intel Processors

MSI have released a new BIOS update which will allow for higher performance whilst maintaining lower temperatures on Intel’s latest chips using 600 and 700 series motherboards, this has been achieved by allowing users to disable the CEP function on the motherboard.

MSI BIOS Update CEP Functions

CEP or Current Excursion Protection, is a function which is designed to prevent system instability caused by insufficient CPU voltage. The effectiveness of this is varied between hardware and can sometimes lead to a performance drop which is why MSI have opted to allow users to disable this on their 600 and 700 series motherboards. This option is available for 14th Gen both K and non-K chips, 13th gen K chips and 12th gen K chips. The 14th gen K series chips already support this but a BIOS update will be needed for the other chips, The table below shows what is supported.

What Performance Gains Could Be Expected?

MSI detailed their testing in a blog post which showcased the potential improvements when disabling CEP. They showed three tests using the i9-14900K, i9-14900, and i7-14700 running Cinebench 2024 with CEP enabled, and with CEP Disabled. With each chip we can see the temperatures dropped by 11 degrees on the 14900K, 16 degrees on the 14900 and 14700 which led to a slightly improved Cinebench score on each.

List of Supported Motherboards

Below is a list of all motherboards and their respective BIOS updates which receive support for disabling CEP, to update your BIOS find your motherboard at MSI.com and follow these instructions.