Something's Underclocking my CPU!!

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mizteck

Junior Member
Mar 28, 2011
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Can someone please help me out here, I'm at my wits end! Noticed something weird about my NP5135 with i7 640m today and it's bugging the crap out of me.

The multiplier stays at x14 ~ 1.9ghz max when it should be x21 ~ 2.8ghz. I think it is software related but I have no idea what is actually causing the problem.

I have not done any over/under clocking on this laptop.

The reason I think it's software related is that the multiplier correctly goes up to x21 ~ 2.8ghz as soon as I enter desktop on boot up, but quickly gets limited to x14 ~1.9ghz when windows finishes loading everything. I have tried to terminate processes one by one while running prime95 to see which one is limiting it but had no success.

Here's some screenshots of processes running. If more info is needed please give me a shout.

Specs:

i7 640m
4gig Ram
Windows 7 Home SP1
Geforce GT 425m

processe.jpg
 
Elixer

Elixer

Lifer
May 7, 2002
10,376
762
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It only ramps back up when you have load.
It is a power saving feature.
 
T

Tuna-Fish

Golden Member
Mar 4, 2011
1,365
1,590
136
If the CPU is being limited, it is probably being done either in hardware, the CPU driver, or Windows. Killing processes doesn't help in any case. You should try to figure out why it's happening, as opposed to simply removing the limit. How are your temps under load? Does being on battery/on ac power change anything? What settings do you have on from windows power management? What kind of settings are on for the CPU in bios?
 
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dma0991

Platinum Member
Mar 17, 2011
2,723
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It's Intel SpeedStep. They manipulate the multiplier according to the load that your CPU is having to save power. To run at its rated multiplier will waste too much electricity.

Tuna-Fish said:
He said it stays low while running prime95 -- if that is true, there is a problem.
Click to expand...

There could be a problem but I have used an Intel C2E X9000 that will not run at its rated maximum multiplier when it senses it is overheating. To make matters worse the multiplier will be stuck and I have to bump up the multiplier manually via overclocking and reset the multiplier to get it back to its original.
 
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mizteck

Junior Member
Mar 28, 2011
8
0
0
CPU is not overheating, maxes out at 60C and the fan doesn't even need to kick into max speed because it's only running at 1.9ghz

I don't think this is a speedstepping or power profile issue because it's already on max performance profile with 100% cpu power
 
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betasub

Platinum Member
Mar 22, 2006
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1. If it hits the higher multiplier on launching Windows, then check StartUp programs, msconfig etc for vendor's battery extending app.

2. If Prime95 does not force the system into Performance mode, check the process has Priority set to Normal or higher. Low Priority processes do not normally trigger Performance mode.
 
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gdansk

Platinum Member
Feb 8, 2011
2,212
2,836
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Assuming this is a laptop (i7-640m is for notebooks afterall), what power profile are you using? Make sure it allows maximum CPU state to be 100%...
 
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dma0991

Platinum Member
Mar 17, 2011
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mizteck said:
CPU is not overheating, maxes out at 60C and the fan doesn't even need to kick into max speed because it's only running at 1.9ghz

I don't think this is a speedstepping or power profile issue because it's already on max performance profile with 100% cpu power
Click to expand...

This reminded me of when I was tinkering with the C2E X9000. You are actually using only 100% of 1.9Ghz and not 100% of 2.8Ghz. Does not make sense but from my experience with the X9000 it will run Prime95 as well at 100% but not at 2.8Ghz but at a throttled lower multiplier.

I was fixing it as it was overheating a lot so if I were to stress it at 100% @ 2.8Ghz using ThrottleStop to manually lock the multiplier the processor would overheat and it would shutdown. Without ThrottleStop it will run at 100% as well but at reduced multiplier and at a reasonable temperature so that it does not overheat and shutdown.

You could experiment this by using ThrottleStop to manually lock your multiplier at 21X and most probably your laptop would be a lot higher than 60C and might overheat.
 
M

mizteck

Junior Member
Mar 28, 2011
8
0
0
gdansk said:
Assuming this is a laptop (i7-640m is for notebooks afterall), what power profile are you using? Make sure it allows maximum CPU state to be 100%...
Click to expand...

yes it's already on a maximum performance profile with 100% power to CPU
 
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mizteck

Junior Member
Mar 28, 2011
8
0
0
dma0991 said:
This reminded me of when I was tinkering with the C2E X9000. You are actually using only 100% of 1.9Ghz and not 100% of 2.8Ghz. Does not make sense but from my experience with the X9000 it will run Prime95 as well at 100% but not at 2.8Ghz but at a throttled lower multiplier.

I was fixing it as it was overheating a lot so if I were to stress it at 100% @ 2.8Ghz using ThrottleStop to manually lock the multiplier the processor would overheat and it would shutdown. Without ThrottleStop it will run at 100% as well but at reduced multiplier and at a reasonable temperature so that it does not overheat and shutdown.

You could experiment this by using ThrottleStop to manually lock your multiplier at 21X and most probably your laptop would be a lot higher than 60C and might overheat.
Click to expand...

I tried to manually lock the multiplier at 21x with Throttlestop and it's till at 19x lol... something powerful is afoot here
 
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dma0991

Platinum Member
Mar 17, 2011
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mizteck said:
I tried to manually lock the multiplier at 21x with Throttlestop and it's till at 19x lol... something powerful is afoot here
Click to expand...

You sure you're using it correctly? If I recall TS will not downclock no matter what. I was even gaming with its locked multiplier running at 100C till it eventually overheats and shuts down. 100C is hot I know but that is a poorly maintained Dell XPS M1730 by my friend. Its running very cool now after some maintenance by me.

One thing to note is that you must run TS all the time to take effect. The minute you close the program the locking disappears as well. Set TS at the multiplier you want, double check with CPU-Z the processor speed, keep TS running while you run Prime95.
 
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mizteck

Junior Member
Mar 28, 2011
8
0
0
ah, I closed the program after the tweak. So i'm now running prime95 @ 2.8ghz and temps go up to 68C

don't think it's a heating issue
 
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dma0991

Platinum Member
Mar 17, 2011
2,723
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That 0.9Ghz increase will bring about 8C increase and now you're running at 100% 2.8GHz but this is a laptop and I suggest that you do not use TS like this because a laptop is portable and battery life is more important.

You may think that it is not a heating issue but your processor has Turbo Boost till 3.46 GHz so 2.8GHz @ 68C is pretty high already. Turbo Boost will make it go even higher maybe till 75C+

I don't see the need for you to use TS because if you run at 2.8Ghz constant it will kill your battery very fast and like I said TS will not downclock and you need to set profiles that you have to change manually instead of automatically done by Intel Speedstep. I don't think your laptop has any issues at all regarding the speed of the processor. It is running just fine at 1.9GHz as it is a laptop and not a desktop.
 
podspi

podspi

Golden Member
Jan 11, 2011
1,965
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Have you tried looking in the power options under Windows? I realize this sounds silly, but Windows Vista and Windows 7 allow you to set the maximum speed of the CPU.


I have an old C2D-based laptop that can throttle down to 1ghz. I have windows set up so that when it is unplugged, its stuck at 1ghz, even under full load. I haven't read the thread carefully, but skimming nobody mentioned this. You might want to check it out.

Edit:

Seems somebody has mentioned this. Other than double-checking -- you might also want to check out 3rd party power apps. I know some OEMs ship with them that could also be doing this.
 
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mizteck

Junior Member
Mar 28, 2011
8
0
0
dma0991 said:
That 0.9Ghz increase will bring about 8C increase and now you're running at 100% 2.8GHz but this is a laptop and I suggest that you do not use TS like this because a laptop is portable and battery life is more important.

You may think that it is not a heating issue but your processor has Turbo Boost till 3.46 GHz so 2.8GHz @ 68C is pretty high already. Turbo Boost will make it go even higher maybe till 75C+

I don't see the need for you to use TS because if you run at 2.8Ghz constant it will kill your battery very fast and like I said TS will not downclock and you need to set profiles that you have to change manually instead of automatically done by Intel Speedstep. I don't think your laptop has any issues at all regarding the speed of the processor. It is running just fine at 1.9GHz as it is a laptop and not a desktop.
Click to expand...

It is running fine at 1.9ghz. But the point is that it is capable of going up to 2.8 - 3.46ghz when needed (this is my main computer so I game on it also, and I never use the batt, 95% of the time it's plugged in), and it did so before but isn't doing it anymore. I don't intend on constantly using TS, did it only to see the max temp it reaches to see if it's a heating issue.

with that said, even 75C~ on turbo is within normal full load range but the issue here is that it is not going anywhere close to this level of performance.
 
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d4a2n0k

Senior member
May 6, 2002
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Does it have an ATI video card? My laptop has an ATI card and it has something called "Power Play" that is like the windows power settings. The problem is that it sometimes does its own thing and overrides the windows power settings so I have disabled mine.
 
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dma0991

Platinum Member
Mar 17, 2011
2,723
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mizteck said:
It is running fine at 1.9ghz. But the point is that it is capable of going up to 2.8 - 3.46ghz when needed (this is my main computer so I game on it also, and I never use the batt, 95% of the time it's plugged in), and it did so before but isn't doing it anymore. I don't intend on constantly using TS, did it only to see the max temp it reaches to see if it's a heating issue.

with that said, even 75C~ on turbo is within normal full load range but the issue here is that it is not going anywhere close to this level of performance.
Click to expand...

Well the real intention that I mentioned ThrottleStop here is not to test whether it would overheat or not. It is just a test to show that your CPU can reach that speeds manually.

Maybe your laptop is on thermal throttling and it wouldn't let you pass a certain speed as it may make it too uncomfortably hot to use. If all else fails to make it go to speeds that you want it to then just keep using ThrottleStop to manage your CPU. I even made low power and overclocked profiles with TS and manually adjust it according to my needs.
 
M

mizteck

Junior Member
Mar 28, 2011
8
0
0
d4a2n0k said:
Does it have an ATI video card? My laptop has an ATI card and it has something called "Power Play" that is like the windows power settings. The problem is that it sometimes does its own thing and overrides the windows power settings so I have disabled mine.
Click to expand...

nah its a nvidia geforce gt 425m
 
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