Benchmarks say i3-7100U is performing very poorly, but Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool says "good"

[emcee510]

Like the title says, the Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool says that everything is fine with the i3-7100U in my HP laptop. But system performance is sometimes excruciatingly slow, so I've run some benchmark programs. NovaBench and UserBenchmarks both say that the CPU and GPU are performing very poorly, like worse than 91% of comparable systems. I've watched CPU-Z during the tests, and the CPU does appear to be operating at full frequency and multiplier under load. I'm confused about how the Intel tool can say that everything is fine, while the other programs say that everything is terrible. Does the Intel tool actually confirm how well the CPU is running, or does it just confirm that its features are operational?

[n_scott_pearson]

It just confirms that the features are operational.

Were these 'comparable systems' laptops or desktops? Desktops will typically outperform laptops.

Regardless, I wouldn't call 91% 'very poor' - and this wouldn't result in 'excruciatingly slow' operation. You have to have something else wrong.

Are you seeing throttling? This would typically be an indication of something wrong with the cooling solution, either physical or (BIOS) configuration. It could also be dust buildup in the cooling subsystem; have you tried using a can of compressed air to clear out any buildup? Hint: do it outside.

Hope this helps,

...S

[emcee510]

Yeah, I don't know if they were totally comparable systems, but the i3-7100U is mobile processor, so I'd expect that virtually all of the "comparable" systems were laptops. To be precise, the benchmark said that my CPU is performing better than 9% of comparable systems (which I translated into "worse than 91%") ... I'd say that's pretty bad! I cleaned the fan and heatsink when I bought the unit, so I don't think that's the problem. I'm not sure how to tell if it's "throttling," but I do know (from CPU-Z) that it operates at full frequency and multiplier during the benchmark.

[Esteban_D_Intel]

Hello emcee510,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.  

I was wondering if you could provide the results of the Intel® Processor Diagnostic Tool so we can review it.

Additionally, as this is a laptop there are several factors that we need to take in consideration.

As n_scott_pearson states we need to consider the cooling solution, BIOS, even the design of the device.

Have you checked with your laptop manufacturer to make sure that the unit is up to date?

I would recommend checking with them for recommended configuration and making sure that all components are working as expected.

Esteban D.

Intel Technical Support Technician

[emcee510]

Here is the testresults.txt file from the Processor Diagnostic Tool.

It's an HP laptop, and I have run the HP hardware diagnostic tool, which says that all hardware is fine. I also updated to the latest BIOS provided by HP, and have updated all of the drivers.

I cleaned the fan and heatsink after I bought it, a couple of weeks ago (anyways, if cooling were a problem, it wouldn't run at full 2.4GHz, right? But it does run at 2.4GHz while testing, according to CPU-Z)

[Esteban_D_Intel]

Hello emcee510,

Thank you for your response and the information attached.

After checking the report, we can see that the processor is working as expected according to the IPDT.

When we run the IPDT the tool will performed several tests to determine fully fuctionality of the processor, the tool is even showing the processor working at its base frequency.

Is there a way that you could provide a screenshot of the processor results with the other benchmark tools that you have tried?

However, all indicates that the unit is working as expected.

For how long you’ve been experiencing this behavior with your laptop?

Esteban D.

Intel Technical Support Technician

[Esteban_D_Intel]

Hello emcee510,

I was checking your case and would like to know if you need further assistance?  

Please do not hesitate in replying to this email with your preferred contact method and time to reach you.

Esteban D.

Intel Technical Support Technician  

[emcee510]

Thanks for checking in. Yes, I do still need assistance ... sorry about the delay; my kid has been using this laptop for remote school. I will run a benchmark asap and post the results.

[Esteban_D_Intel]

Hello emcee510,

Thank you so much for your response.

Sure! As previously stated based on the IPDT report we can see that the processor is working as expected.

However, I would appreciate if you could provide a picture/screenshot of your processor performance in the third-party benchmark that you use.

We will wait for your response.

Esteban D.

Intel Technical Support Technician

[emcee510]

Okay, this morning the laptop was very very slow, right away. CPU-Z showed that it was throttled to 1x (400 mhz) but the CPU at only 30C temperature. So there is definitely some problem with excessive throttling. Using ThrottleStop I disabled BD PROCHOT and the CPU immediately went to full frequency. Apparently BD PROCHOT is allowing an erroneous message to throttle the CPU down to minimum frequncy. 

[Esteban_D_Intel]

Hello emcee510,

Thank you so much for your response.

I understand that your computer is working as expected now.

As the “BD PROCHOT” was disabled using a third-party tool, I would strongly recommend checking with your computer manufacturer to ensure that there won’t be an impact in the perfomance or stability of the system.

This is because we need to consider the laptop design, cooling solution and ability to support different workloads under certain circumstances.

Sometimes this can be also disabled from BIOS, you might want to check with them that too.

However, I’m glad to know that you were able to find the root cause of this behavior on your side.

Esteban D.

Intel Technical Support Technician 

[Esteban_D_Intel]

Hello emcee510,

We have not heard back from you. 

If you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer being monitored 

Esteban D.  

Intel Technical Support Technician