Thorium AVX2 M130 fails to launch on i5-14400 (14th gen) - CPU degradation or software issue?

[sleveo]

Thorium AVX2 M130 fails to launch on i5-14400 (14th gen) - CPU degradation or software issue?

Has anyone successfully installed Thorium AVX2 M130 on Windows 11 with Intel 13th or 14th gen CPU? Mine fails.

Ver: M130.0.6723.174 - 43rd Release https://github.com/Alex313031/Thorium-Win/releases
thorium_AVX2_mini_installer.exe 180 MB Feb 13 2025

System Details
I have a new Acer Desktop Computer Aspire TC-1775-UR11 Intel Core i5-14400 8GB DDR5 512 GB PCIe SSD Intel UHD Graphics 730 Windows 11 Home 64-bit. I installed another SSD to test things on with a full copy of Windows 11. With FULL updates.

Problem
Thorium AVX2 mini installer for Windows failed. Repeatedly. Ver: M130.0.6723.174 Uninstalled, reinstalled with new download. I run the istaller and nothing seems to happen. It seems to install and shows up in Apps. But Thorium will not launch.

If others are also having a problem, it might be the Intel Degradation Issue with 13th and 14th gen cpus. If it works for others, then it suggests my CPU has the degradation issue.

The Problem: Thorium AVX2 won't launch; But SSE3 version works fine.

What Works: Mercury AVX2 browser works: using mercury_129.0.2_win64_AVX2.zip from Sept 17, 2024, PaleMoon (with AVX, but not AVX2) works.

Additional Notes
AI had this to say:
The problem with Intel's 13th and 14th generation processors (particularly i7 and i9 K/KF/KS desktop models) that causes failures with some Chromium browsers is rooted in CPU instability caused by a microcode flaw and excessive operating voltages. This core instability leads to application crashes during complex operations, such as the data decompression processes used during software installation and execution, which can affect Chromium-based browsers like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Root Cause of Instability • Elevated Operating Voltage.
Acer is offering a two-year extended warranty for affected 13th and 14th Generation Intel Core desktop processors, including the i5-14400, that are experiencing instability or degradation issues. Acer support 866-695-2237

Acer has agreed to send me shipping tag to have it repaired. This was after 20 minutes on the phone trying to diagnose and troubleshoot.

I cannot verify that the CPU is bad, other than Thorium failure to install properly.

Do I return it to Acer for the Intel Degradation issue? Or is it a problem with Thorium installer?

I tried all the following suggestions:

1. Update motherboard's BIOS to the latest version, which includes an updated microcode patch from Intel (e.g., 0x12F) that corrects the voltage request issue. DONE
2. Check the BIOS for any special instructions regarding AVX2. DONE, nothing there.
3. Run Intel® Processor Diagnostic Tool. DONE, pass
4. Install Thorium SSE3. DONE. Worked fine.
5. Installed Generic Intel Graphics drivers for Intel UHD Graphics 730 on the i5-14400 cpu. Still cannot launch Thorium. FAIL.
6. Run: OCCT. DONE. Passed after 1 hour.
7. Run: Prime95, the best test for CPU and memory stability there is. Run 2-12 hours. Not DONE. I did all of them except for the installer crash #7.

Other diagnostics and attempted installs:

8. Ran: SFC/DISM (Windows files) OK: The core Windows operating system files are sound. PASS
9. Ran: HWiNFO64 and it shows AVX and AVX2 are both green, meaning active. PASS
10. Coreinfo64.exe says: AVX * Supports AVX instruction extensions and AVX2 PASS
11. Installed: Thorium_AVX2_130.0.6723.174.zip 288 MB Feb 13 2025. FAIL
12. Installed: Thorium_AVX2_126.0.6478.231.zip 260 MB Aug 11, 2024 Just flashed at launch and closed window. FAIL.
13. Installed: older ver of Thorium: thorium_AVX2_mini_installer.exe 177 MB Oct 18, 2024. FAIL

Question: Can Thorium M130 be installed on a 13th and 14th generation CPU? It failed on my i5-14400.

[cra3yk]

Have You tried (for testing purposes) different flavor of chromium, that is AVX2 enabled?
For example: RobRich avx2 compilation from https://chromium.woolyss.com/

Direct link for installer for build 144.0.7510.0.
https://github.com/RobRich999/Chromium_Clang/releases/download/v144.0.7510.0-r1540236-win64-avx2/mini_installer.exe

[sleveo]

@cra3yk Thanks for this suggestion. I did try the chromium you suggested with AVX2 by RobRich. And it installed just fine. That result suggests that my Acer PC i5-14400 (14th gen) - CPU was not the problem, but rather the Thorium AVX2 M130 installer was. Even though it installs just fine on my old PC with i5-6600 on Windows 10.

QUESTION: I looked all over for chromium base browsers compiled with AVX2 and could find none. How did you find this one by RobRich? And how would I find any other chromium based browsers compiled with AVX2?

Even Vivaldi, Opera and Brave no longer use AVX2, if they ever used it. I did succeed with Mercury AVX2 browser, but that's a Firefox build.

Again: Has anyone successfully installed this Thorium AVX2 M130 on a 13th or 14th gen Intel CPU in Windows 11?

Thanks again.

[cra3yk]

It is marked on https://chromium.woolyss.com/ website. You can try chromium with avx512 too.

Here is the link
https://github.com/RobRich999/Chromium_Clang/releases/download/v144.0.7510.0-r1540236-win64-avx512/mini_installer.exe

[sleveo]

@cra3yk I did see the AVX2 browser on the page you listed. What I wanted to know was how you found it on the internet? I can't seem to find any chromium based browsers that use AVX2.

So who else makes a chromium based browser compiled with AVX2?

Oh, and AVX512 was turned OFF in Intel 12-14th generation in order to make room for Efficiency Cores, a hardware issue.

[cra3yk]

I bookmarked https://chromium.woolyss.com/ a long time ago.
I also searched for AVX2 builds a few years ago (performance tests of browsers with and without AVX2), and back then, Google easily pointed me to sites where I could find these builds.

[gz83]

please try https://github.com/Alex313031/Thorium-Win/releases/tag/138.0.7204.300

[sleveo]

@gz83 I did try the new builds. And both failed, the mini installer and the portable. Installs. Loads and immediately closes. Just like with the last build BUT your above link sent me to old builds from: 138.0.7204.300 Sep 4, 2024. I did NOT try that one. In part because they were just source code. And I don't compile. I used:
https://github.com/Alex313031/Thorium-Win/releases/tag/M138.0.7204.300
You guys sure have a lot of confusing URL's. The one I used had an M in the URL.

Q: Has anyone been successful in installing thorium AX2 on I-5-14400 or any 14th gen Intel chip? I need to know if I need to send my PC in for repair. Please read first post in this thread for details.

[gz83]

Oh, that's just because Alex added an "M" later. See #404 for details.

@Alex313031 Could you take a look at this issue?

[Alex313031]

@gz83 The AVX2 build works fine for me on machines with AVX2. IDK why it wouldn't be working on intel 14th gen. I don't have one to test on....

Lemme see if someone at my work can test.