More info needed:
High performance simply prevents your CPU from downclocking, which typically generates more heat and uses more power, but does little else useful. Do you have a verified and valid reason to not be using Balanced on your system, as opposed to “this article said…”?
Just to clear up any confusion, the 12700 is a higher model than the 12700F. Only by about $30, but the 12700 has a built-in iGPU and on the 12700F it’s disabled (likely because it was defective). Otherwise the CPUs are identical.
Try shutting down and physically unplugging power from your PC for a minute, then trying again. Works when my i225-V throws a Code 10 error (next time check the error code for the device in Device Manager).
Also make sure you have the latest BIOS.
Yeah, Windows is a stubborn SOB about doing this, even after disabling automatic driver updates.
The Management Engine is literally a little embedded computer system with its own OS that manages the operation of your main computer system, completely separate from the BIOS. It needs to be updated for security purposes and general compatibility: for example, without up-to-date ME firmware, your Z690 motherboard could not run a 13th or 14th gen CPU.
Most motherboard makers update the BIOS and ME at the same time, the notable exception Being Asus which requires them to be done separate. However that doesn’t mean a newer ME firmware update might not come out after a BIOS is released.
While I feel it’s moderately important to update the ME for compatibility and major security reasons, I wouldn’t worry much about minor updates. Most people NEVER update their ME, even if they should.
That’s a really huge undervolt. If you remove it and the problem goes away, then clearly the under volt is at fault.
If you want to test just how stable you are, I would suggest Prime95 Small FFTs w/AVX.
An improperly tensioned contact frame can also cause instability.
All the 600 series motherboards should have compatible BIOSes available. Just put the latest on.
Note that the Gigabyte boards you’ve selected DO have BIOS Flashback, which means you can update the BIOS without owning a previously compatible CPU (which could be 12th gen for a 600 board). Not all boards have this feature, and most B660 do not.
Try to go for a Z series board if you can.
Disabling hyperthreading basically limits heavy multithreaded performance by about 20%, thus reducing power consumption and heat production.
What are these “other tweaks” you’re talking about? Whenever I see someone disable Hyperthreading as a cure for a crashing problem, I wonder where they’re getting that particular idea from.
I know there are things that can help latency etc for audio, but many of those guides / practices / tweaks are based on old technology and old conventional wisdom that may not apply to modern CPUs. If you see a clear and noticeable difference between having these tweaks and NOT having them on your current specific hardware, then by all means stick with them, but if it’s just placebo or “this is what I’ve always done” then I would first see what it’s like without them… and then take the time to see which tweaks are actually doing something useful.