The PC is an extremely complex piece of engineering, based not only on hardware, but on a close and integrated relationship between hardware and software. So much so that it sometimes happens that a simple system update can kill a hardware function or cause it to fail. This is what has happened to the MSI motherboards in Windows 11, which have lost the ability to manipulate the clock speed of the processor. That is, the so-called overclocking.
The maximum clock speed that a CPU, GPU, or any other chip, including memory chips, achieves is the voltage. When we raise or lower it, what we can achieve is to reduce the power consumed at certain speeds, but what is clear is that if we lower it more and more, the speed limit that we can reach is lower. It is the motherboard that gives the voltage to the processor and the figure is marked by its firmware. Well, it seems that MSI with Windows 11 and has taken the easy way: set the voltage.
Problems in Windows 11 with MSI boards for Intel
One of the latest Windows 11 updates has left users of MSI motherboards for Intel without the ability to perform CPU overclocking and voltage manipulation exercises through utilities like XTU. And specifically we do not know which of them, but if the cause in terms of software and has to do with the security system through virtualization in Windows 11. The rest of the manufacturers have not had this problem with the latest upgrade of the Microsoft operating system, so it really is a MSI exclusive problem.
Affected motherboards are those with the 400, 500 and 600 series chipsets, so those for 10th through 13th generation Intel Core processors are affected. Apparently, MSI would already have the patch for the newer models that would be the 600 series and without news of the solution on older motherboards. So if you have a Z490 or Z590 board for your Intel processor and you have overclocked your processor or plan to do so, you have to know that under Windows 11 MSI boards do not allow it.
The problem only occurs if you are using Windows 11 and not Windows 10. The only solution at the moment seems to be disable Core Isolation in BIOS settings. By doing so, we disable the ability for Windows 11 to enable the security virtualization that is causing the issue on MSI boards. After that we can adjust the voltage of the processor by software. In any case, we should not have to do it this way and this problem should already be solved. Not only for 600 series motherboards, but also for all other generations affected by this issue.
