XTU intermittently loads incorrect settings and limits CPU performance?

[Astrochores]

Hi all,

I recently tried using XTU to undervolt my Intel 10700K. I wanted to keep things super simple, so the only things I adjusted were Core Voltage Offset (-0.130V after much testing) and Turbo Boost Power Time Window (up to 128 seconds). Everything else I kept as default, and then saved that as my profile.

Generally this has worked great, but I get an intermittent problem where my computer is extremely sluggish to do basic tasks, and running Cinebench R23 isn't fully utilising my CPU - TDP stays at around 20W, test performance is really slow, CPU temp stays super cool. When normally it would max out utilisation and fans would rev up, etc.

What fixes the problem is opening XTU and forcing it to re-load my saved profile. Then my performance goes straight back to normal - much faster performance, full CPU utilisation in Cinebench.

So it seems like something is causing XTU to load incorrect settings sometimes, that completely hamstrings my computer.

Not sure if this is a known issue? Any thoughts or potential solutions welcome. At this point I'm considering just bailing on XTU and making the voltage offset in the BIOS instead.

TIA.

[RamyerM_Intel]

Hello Astrochores, 

Thank you for posting here in the community. I want to further identify what is causing the incorrect values. 

Just to confirm are you running any applications in the background when running Intel XTI? Is the value also still incorrect after hitting the refresh button?  Please also send us a screenshot of the incorrect values so we can check and look into them as well. 

Ramyer M. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[Astrochores]

Hi Ramyer,

Thanks for getting back to me.

I actually haven't seen any numerical changes to the XTU settings from what I can see in the app - even when the problem occurs, the settings in XTU appear the same. But from the computer's behaviour, it seems like those settings haven't been correctly loaded, or something has been corrupted. And the fix is to simply reload the settings within XTU, which seems to clear up the problem.

That said, I'm not too familiar with all of the settings within XTU, so maybe there is a setting that changes that I haven't spotted. Next time the issue occurs I can try and export the settings if that's possible?

[RamyerM_Intel]

Hello Astrochores, 

I want to make sure we are on the same page. Can you send us a screenshot of the XTU settings that you are mentioning so we can check if it is possible to extract this information.

Also, please tell us more about the computer's behavior when you have not reloaded the XTU settings that you have mentioned, this way we will be able to identify the issue based on the symptoms.

Ramyer M. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[RamyerM_Intel]

Hello Astrochores,  

I am just checking in about the screenshots of the XTU so we can further help you. Feel free to reply to this post so I can check it for you.

Ramyer M. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[RamyerM_Intel]

Hello Astrochores, 

I hope you are doing well. I have not heard from you in the past days. We will no longer be monitoring this thread, but please feel free to post new one if you have additional question. 

Ramyer M. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[Astrochores]

Hi Ramyer,

Thanks for following up. I have just been busy with work, and have also been waiting for the issue to occur in order to give you the information you're asking for.

Today the issue has come up again. The computer is very sluggish, and when running demanding CPU benchmarks (eg Cinebench R23), the CPU is not being fully utilised. In HWMonitor, I can see that each core is only running at 800MHz. But when I re-load the XTU settings from my saved profile, the problem immediately goes away.

I can't see anything abnormal within the XTU settings while the problem is occurring, but I've attached some screenshots in case you can spot anything.

Let me know your thoughts, thanks for your time.