intel core i9 14900 cpu speed issue while rendering

[NAJISKO]

I render using Vray for 3ds Max and my company got me a new PC which is ASUS ExpertCenter D9 Mini Tower D901MDR, with Intel Core i9-14900 Processor, the CPU is running at 5 ghz clock speed but when I start any render it clocks down to 2.7 ghz, I tried a lot of stuff in BIOS but nothing really helped, I even thought it might be something related to Vray so I ran Cinebench and got the same issue.. is this normal ?  

[Mike_Intel]

Hello NAJISKO,

Thank you for posting in Intel community Forum.

For me to further investigate this issue, please help provide the following details:

1. Did you overclock the processor and memory?
2. What is the temperature of the processor when the speed went down to 2.7 Ghz?
3. Are you having the same issue with other apps?
4. Is the BIOS of your board updated?

If you have questions, please let us know. Thank you.

Best regards,

Michael L.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[NAJISKO]

Hello Micheal, 

The temperature during rendering typically stays between 70–75°C. I haven’t encountered any issues with other applications, as I primarily use 3ds Max for modeling and V-Ray (CPU-based) for rendering.

All drivers, including Intel and BIOS, have been updated. However, the issue persists, and the updates did not result in any noticeable improvement.

[Mike_Intel]

Hello NAJISKO,

I hope this message finds you well. 

Were you able to check the previous post?

Please let us know if you still need assistance.

Best regards,

Michael L.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Mike_Intel]

Hello NAJISKO,

Thank you for the update.

The temperature that you mentioned are normal.

Did you load the default settings of the BIOS? I need to check if the processor is overclocked for me to further diagnose this issue.

By the way, here is the specification of your processor. The speed over 5 Ghz are all Turbo speed.

Intel® Core™ i9 processor 14900

If you have questions, please let us know. Thank you.

Best regards,

Michael L.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[NAJISKO]

Hello Michael L,

I've run a benchmark test using Intel Extreme Tuning Utility and found that my CPU is experiencing power limit throttling during the test.

Additionally, the benchmark score I received was 8880 marks, which seems lower than what this CPU should typically achieve. I also couldn't find any options in the BIOS to change or modify the power limit throttling.

Thank you,

[RandyT_Intel]

Hello NAJISKO,

I'm responding on behalf of my colleague, Mike. If your CPU is experiencing power limit throttling and benchmark scores are lower than expected, start by checking your cooling system to ensure it's functioning properly, as thermal issues can lead to throttling. Make sure your BIOS and chipset drivers are up to date, and that your system is set to a High Performance power plan. It's also helpful to close any unnecessary background applications during testing. If the issue continues, it may be due to default power limit settings in the BIOS. In that case, I recommend reaching out to your motherboard manufacturer for guidance on adjusting power-related configurations.

Best regards,

Randy T.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[RandyT_Intel]

Hello NAJISKO,

Just checking in on my previous message regarding your inquiry. Have you had a chance to review it? If you need more information or have any questions, feel free to reach out. I'm here to help!

Best regards,

Randy T.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[NAJISKO]

Hello Randy,

Thank you for your previous suggestions. I have checked everything you mentioned, and it all seems to be working correctly.

It appears the issue is with the motherboard's power limitation. I will need to contact Asus support, which I anticipate will be a lengthy process that will prevent me from using my device for some time.

Best regards 

[PTwr]

Sustained max boost requires sufficient power delivery, sufficient cooling, and no stupid bios/os power profile kneecapping CPU to keep thermals in check in case that should never be used for such beast of a chip.

One easy test is to boot some Linux from Live-USB, and run stress test from there. That would tell you if issue is in hardware/bios or in system/software.

While in XTU you can check Turbo Boost power max and its Time Window. Those values should be tweakable on every chip, and you can create custom power profiles for your usecases.

Of course have in mind that tweaking it up will strain probably inadequate cooling of your machine, assuming its motherboard power delivery wasn't built for much weaker CPU in the first place.

Additionally, you can switch task manager CPU graph to Logical Processors to spot Windows Power Plan limits which can affect Performance and Efficiency cores differently, such settings can be applied/supplied by OEM to hide insufficient cooling. And there are also hidden "overlays" and "events" which can apply even more annoying limits.

Here's how it looks with artificially limited wattage through XTU, hardware/bios wattage limits should look similarly - clocks stays low despite low temp

Here's how it looks like with no software limits applied, and hardware/bios limits matched well with cooling capacity - clocks stay high despite laptop turning into hand warmer

And here's how silly it looks when you you apply software limits:

(Frequency limit is simplest setting there, there are dozens other options there which affect CPU)

If during stress test XTU says 100%, but in task manager there are cores which are clearly well bellow 100%, you might be afflicted with stupid power plan.

For example, on this laptop Windows "Best Efficiency" Power Plan Overlay kneecaps Efficiency cores to 50%, but Performance cores stay at 100%...

[Mike_Intel]

Hello NAJISKO,

Thank you for the update.

Since you mentioned you are going to talk to Asus moving forward, I need to close this inquiry. 

If you need further assistance, please post a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored. 

Thank you and have a great day. 

@PTwr

Thank you for the assistance.

Best regards,

Michael L.

Intel Customer Support Technician