CPU Throttling on AMD

[Nerva]

hey guys, i have a serious problem with my laptop's cpu throttling. i have a AMD Turion processor in a Fujitsu laptop that is suppose to run at 1.8ghz, but it constantly runs at 795mhz, even when i am running a lot of programs simultaneously (excel, bloomberg, word, installing things on the side). is there anyway to fix this?

 

[Rhoxed]

try entering your BIOS and look for cool n quiet, disable it also go into windows power management settings, set everything to desktop and always on, and see if that solves the problem, then create your own profile on what you want to happen.

 

[BLaber]

Is cool and quiet ( CnQ) enabled in bios , check it , may be U may need to install the latest CnQ from AMD's website.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Are you running on battery or AC? On AC, it should speed up to full speed. If you are on battery, I don't know. Check your Windows Power settings.

 

[Nerva]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
Are you running on battery or AC? On AC, it should speed up to full speed. If you are on battery, I don't know. Check your Windows Power settings.

i have already set the power management profile to always on and since i no longer have a battery, i am on AC all the time. will check the cool and quiet thing though.

 

[Nerva]

Originally posted by: BLaber
Is cool and quiet ( CnQ) enabled in bios , check it , may be U may need to install the latest CnQ from AMD's website.

CnQ is definitely not in my bios, how do I install CnQ? the website seems to indicate that it's for other types of AMD processors.

 

[o1die]

You may not have any options in the bios. Mobile cpus work a little differently. Try using cpuid and see if the cpu fsb changes while running. On some boards, you can see the change as you run programs in the background.

 

[Concillian]

Generally this means there isn't demand for the CPU. Open task manager (<CTRL> + <SHIFT> + <ESC> ) and look at CPU graphs. If the CPU isn't pegged, it will use a lower multi.

As soon as you do something that taxes the CPU, like Prime95 or whatever, the CPU usage should jump to max out one core and your speed should be whatever your normal speed.

I don't think there's anything to be alarmed about here, this is just your power savings features doing their job. The applications you listed have the capability of taxing your CPU, but they tend to do so in spurts between long idle periods. I suspect you are monitoring speed during a CPU idle period. Use a CPU program to diagnose more fully.

 

[Nerva]

Originally posted by: Concillian
Generally this means there isn't demand for the CPU. Open task manager (<CTRL> + <SHIFT> + <ESC> ) and look at CPU graphs. If the CPU isn't pegged, it will use a lower multi.

As soon as you do something that taxes the CPU, like Prime95 or whatever, the CPU usage should jump to max out one core and your speed should be whatever your normal speed.

I don't think there's anything to be alarmed about here, this is just your power savings features doing their job. The applications you listed have the capability of taxing your CPU, but they tend to do so in spurts between long idle periods. I suspect you are monitoring speed during a CPU idle period. Use a CPU program to diagnose more fully.

thanks for all the inputs guys. i actually had cpu-z to monitor the usage, but the speed never ticks up/above 795mhz, even when i am trying to start all these programs. there would be instances where my programs are using close to 100% of cpu with the speed still at 795mhz. granted i am no genius when it comes to computer hardware, but am i missing something?

 

[Fox5]

Is there a C1E state in the bios? Turn it off if so.
Alternatively, maybe your power profile on your pc is set to throttle the cpu?

 

[BadTrip]

I dont know about a fujitsu, but my acer has proprietary software that throttles mine. I would check that.

 

[CTho9305]

The programs you listed just aren't that CPU-intensive. They may be hard-disk intensive, but that isn't going to cause a lot of CPU load. Try something that's really CPU-intensive like visiting this page.

 

[Nerva]

Originally posted by: CTho9305
The programs you listed just aren't that CPU-intensive. They may be hard-disk intensive, but that isn't going to cause a lot of CPU load. Try something that's really CPU-intensive like visiting this page.

cool, thanks, i will try when i get home. i would imagine bloomberg to be really cpu intensive, the launchpad is constantly updating value for a lot of equity/commodity prices, so i would imagine that to be cpu intensive?

 

[Nerva]

Originally posted by: CTho9305
The programs you listed just aren't that CPU-intensive. They may be hard-disk intensive, but that isn't going to cause a lot of CPU load. Try something that's really CPU-intensive like visiting this page.

i tried going to the site you suggested to test for CPU throttling. all it did was eat up all my processing power, the speed didnt necessarily bump up. i ran cpu-z, core speed always read 1790.8 mhz, but HT Link (no idea what that is) is running at 796mhz, any ideas?

 

[Fox5]

Originally posted by: 3cho

Originally posted by: CTho9305
The programs you listed just aren't that CPU-intensive. They may be hard-disk intensive, but that isn't going to cause a lot of CPU load. Try something that's really CPU-intensive like visiting this page.

i tried going to the site you suggested to test for CPU throttling. all it did was eat up all my processing power, the speed didnt necessarily bump up. i ran cpu-z, core speed always read 1790.8 mhz, but HT Link (no idea what that is) is running at 796mhz, any ideas?

Core speed is the speed your cpu is running at.
HT Link is the speed the connection between memory and everything else is running at. It's fine if it's at 800mhz.

 

[CTho9305]

That sounds correct. HyperTransport (HT) is usually 800MHz or 1GHz depending on the chip (the speed doesn't really seem to affect performance), and that core speed is right. The throttling appears to be working correctly - when you did something that used a lot of CPU power, it speeds up.

It's normal for speeds to vary by a percent or so (i.e. 800MHz would show up as ~790 to ~810 MHz).