Confusing CPU "Coretemp" Numbers

[staiger]

I need help!!!

I have an Asus Maximus IV Extreme motherboard with an i7 2600K CPU and getting some strange readings when using coretemp.
The frequency keeps bouncing around between 1605 MHz and 3800 MHz
The VID figure jumps from 0.9907v up to 1.12v
The power figure goes from 6.4 watts up to 38 watts
I know the PC has “housekeeping” work to do and has a turbo mode for when things get busy but it’s constantly changing and never rests.

The bios is set to default settings, NO overclock.
Is there any settings I can change or set to default that will settle things down it can’t be doing the CPU any good, or is this normal?
I am not sure what info you may need so please ask and I will try to find out for you.

Many thanks

Iain

 

[erunion]

or is this normal?

Its normal.

 

[TheReaWarmonger]

Go to "power options" in your Windows control panel. Change it from balanced to performance mode, and then look at CoreTemp. The machine will down clock, and undervolt to save power and prolong lifespan of the chip (typical feature standard on just about all machines). The OS has its own code for controlling its on/off state (e.g. power options). It's normal for it to fluctuate like that, I would recommend keeping it on balanced to cut down on your electric bill and heat in your rig.

 

[Ketchup]

Your CPU is throttling to conserve energy and cut down on heat. They all do this. It will ramp up to its higher speed under load, and ramp back down when idle.

 

[staiger]

Thanks for replying to my request for help. I have changed the setting to balanced that Warmonger suggested and I can't see a big difference in the readings. It just seemed strange that sitting at idle and not even touching the keyboard or mouse it kept wanting to raise the frequency so much and so often. Still if this is normal I shall try not to be concerned. Once again thank you for you help...

 

[Ed1]

Thanks for replying to my request for help. I have changed the setting to balanced that Warmonger suggested and I can't see a big difference in the readings. It just seemed strange that sitting at idle and not even touching the keyboard or mouse it kept wanting to raise the frequency so much and so often. Still if this is normal I shall try not to be concerned. Once again thank you for you help...

It can jump around with slight load . If you have web-browser running the flash can use up cpu and get jumps up from 1600 ,then spike up for split second .

It is totally normal , if you close every app it should settle to 1600 steady but even here depends on whats installed on your system (background processes ) .

 

[Ketchup]

Thanks for replying to my request for help. I have changed the setting to balanced that Warmonger suggested and I can't see a big difference in the readings. It just seemed strange that sitting at idle and not even touching the keyboard or mouse it kept wanting to raise the frequency so much and so often. Still if this is normal I shall try not to be concerned. Once again thank you for you help...

If you are truly doing nothing on the computer (no web browsers open, etc) and you are still seeing CPU "spikes," you might want to take a look at what is running in the background. Sometimes CPU's running high usage for no apparent reason can indicate some sort of malware scanning. Or it could just mean that your antivirus is updating/scanning.

 

[TheReaWarmonger]

Thanks for replying to my request for help. I have changed the setting to balanced that Warmonger suggested and I can't see a big difference in the readings. It just seemed strange that sitting at idle and not even touching the keyboard or mouse it kept wanting to raise the frequency so much and so often. Still if this is normal I shall try not to be concerned. Once again thank you for you help...

If you put it on "performance mode" it will clock your processor up to its default and stay there. That's only to show you that there is nothing wrong, its just the machine underclocking and lowering volts to save energy and lower heat.