Legacy 3DMark apps not using full GPU clock (Intel Xe)

[RomuloBrz]

I'm running some benchmark tools on my notebook.

When reviewing the results, i saw that the "legacy 3DMarks" (3DMark 05, 3DMark 06, 3DMark Vantage, 3DMark 11) the GPU stucks at 400MHz, but running the new 3DMark (any tests) the GPU runs at 1,3GHz clock.

Example:

3DMark11 Benchmark: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/15115689

"Clock frequency400 MHz (400 MHz)"

3DMark (Fire Strike) Benchmark: https://www.3dmark.com/fs/28124194

"Clock frequency1.300 MHz (400 MHz)"

Is there a way to "unlock" the full clock frequency?" How the driver knows when to unlock to 1,3GHz or lock at 400MHz?

[Jean_Intel]

Hello RomuloBrz,

Thank you for posting on the Intel️® communities.  

Regarding your issue, it is important to mention that we have no control or information about how the benchmark software works. Also, you must know that the Graphics Max Dynamic Frequency for the Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics is 1.30 GHz; however, if you notice that the frequency is locked on 400 MHz, it may indicate that the Original Equipment Manufacturer's customization may cause the issue.

Best regards, 

Jean O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[RomuloBrz]

Hi @Jean_Intel 

Thanks for the answer!

About that, i sent two different benchmarks that ran on same day, with the same hardware. Seems like the "legacy benchmark" ran with 400MHz locked, and the "actual benchmark" ran with 1.3GHz. So seems like the notebook itself (hardware/customization) has the clock "unlocked", but for some reason on some legacy benchmarks the clock lock on 400MHz.

I will do more tests with MSI Afterburner to see the clocks on some games and apps to see if i can provide more information.

One thing that i noted is that before the tests my notebook was in stand by mode with the cover closed. (The power cord on entire time). I open the notebook, unlocked Windows 11 and ran a first time. I saw that the score was less than i had run one week later. When i saw the benchmark details, i saw that the clock was locked at 600MHz (https://www.3dmark.com/sd/6339361). I rebooted the notebook, ran again the same benchmark and the clock was at 1.3GHz (https://www.3dmark.com/sd/6339365). After i put the second memory stick to activate the "hybrid dual channel",  ran again, with 1.3GHz too. (https://www.3dmark.com/sd/6339573).

(The links i sent was to the results itself. The VGA settings can be seen at "Graphics Card" -> "Clock frequency"

Just to clarify: i was doing some benchmarks to test the difference between single channel and dual channel on the Intel Xe for gaming.

[Jean_Intel]

Hello RomuloBrz,

I appreciate your response.

It is important to understand that we don't discourse about benchmark performance, as it may vary due to the hardware configuration; even the same hardware can report different numbers. Also, you are using third-party tools that we are not aware of how they work.

We can provide you with troubleshooting regarding any issue you encounter using any app or game.

Best regards, 

Jean O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[RomuloBrz]

No problem Jean!

I'm not questioning benchmark values, just trying to understand what exactly "trigger" the GPU or the system to boost the base clock 400MHz to 1.3GHz.

In this case, on the benchmark app "3DMark 05" the GPU is locked at 400MHz.

When i ran "3DMark" (the latest version), the GPU works unlocked at 400MHz - 1,3GHz range.

And for some reason, after an idle period (2 hours +/-), the GPU locked at 600MHz (on the latest version), then i rebooted the notebook and then unlocked to 1.3GHz.

I will use monitoring tools later today to see if i can have more information to help this.

Can you explain to me how the Intel drivers handles the Graphics Max Dynamic Frequency of the GPU? Or is just a thermal/energy saving feature?

Is there a way to manually force an app that Intel hardware/driver/app doesn't classify as a game (like a legacy game, or a benchmark app for example) to work as a game to unlock the GPU power? (Considering that seems like to have some trigger at hardware/driver/app level that unlock frequency levels)

I found something at the Intel driver app that i can mannualy add an app to set Anti Alias, V-Sync settings and other things, even tried add the 3DMark 05 app that, but not work as expected.

Once again, thanks for the attention.

[Jean_Intel]

Hello RomuloBrz,

Regarding your question, the Graphics Max Dynamic Frequency is managed by the system BIOS and depends on how much is detected as needed and depends on the power headroom left. The performance will vary between systems since computer manufacturers may prefer to save power.

To make the most out of this technology, make sure the Intel Graphics Command Center and Windows* Power Options are set to "High Performance". Other power options such as "Balanced" or "Maximum Battery" may disable this feature. Since this technology is dynamic, its performance also depends on the processor usage and the applications running, if the graphics processing unit (GPU) performance does not improve, we recommend contacting the system manufacturer to find out if this can be changed from BIOS.

However, you must understand that we don't know how the benchmark reports the clock speed, so for further information about the information reported on the benchmark tool, you must contact the software developer.

Best regards, 

Jean O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Jean_Intel]

Hello RomuloBrz,

I hope you are doing fine.

I have not heard back from you. So we will close this thread. If you need any additional information, submit a new question, as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Best regards.

Jean O. 

Intel Customer Support Technician.