Intel kills overclocking of locked CPUs with microcode update

Intel has officially pulled the plug on third-party motherboard BIOS tweaks which, for a brief time, allowed people to circumvent the multiplier locks on its less expensive CPUs. Intel has reserved overclocking for its premium 6th-generation 'Skylake' Core i5 and i7 processors, but enterprising third parties found ways to push even locked models beyond their rated speeds.

Motherboard manufacturers including ASRock, MSI, Asus and Gigabyte began promoting these features very shortly after Intel launched its Skylake generation chips for desktops in late 2015. An upcoming microcode update for motherboard manufacturers will strengthen the BCLK (base clock) restrictions on CPUs whose model numbers do not have the K suffix.

These companies in turn will have to use the updated microcode in any EFI-BIOS updates that they issue in the future. The company released a statement to PCWorld, saying "Intel regularly issues updates for our processors which our partners voluntarily incorporate into their BIOS.

The latest update provided to partners includes, among other things, code that aligns with the position that we do not recommend overclocking processors that have not been designed to do so. Additionally, Intel does not warranty the operation of the processor beyond its specifications."