Current Limit Throttling in XTU

[IHsia]

What is the definition of Current Limit Throttling in XTU?

Does the core current really reach 120A?

[AKars]

Does Uninstalling Intel Dynamic Thermal Drivers work ?

[JFree5]

It did not for me. Neither did uninstalling Intel + Nvidia GPU drivers in safemode using DDU then reinstalling latest drivers.

A whole system format followed by OS install, OS updates and HP specific updates didn't do anything. But they will make you do it before you send it in to be serviced.

[HMora4]

so check this : https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/Current-limit-throttle/m-p/6828216/Pop_SU# M475844 Current limit throttle - HP Support Forum - 6828216

and also tell em in their forum so the do sth about it !

[JFree5]

EDIT: Current limit throttle issue still present after service.

[JFree5]

EDIT: Current limit throttle issue still present after service.

[MaryT_Intel]

Hello all,

I've got some additional information that may be useful:

1. What factors make the system to exceed the current limit? Periodic system throttling occurs naturally due to processor turbo behavior. The current limit exceeds because of the system throttling. Overclocking will compound system throttling.
2. How can customers avoid it? Customers can avoid this by using better cooling, using boards with enhanced voltage regulators, increasing Icc Max in BIOS or XTU, increasing Power Limits, etc.
3. Does the core current really reach 120A? Yes, it is possible.
4. Can the customer enable or disable Current Limit Throttling through BIOS? No, Current Limit Throttling cannot be disabled through BIOS. It is important for the safety and reliability of the system. However, in XTU one can increase the Current limit (Icc).

It is a good idea to check with your motherboard vendors on this topic.

I hope that helps. Thanks,

Mary T.

Community Manager

[JFree5]

Thanks for the reply, Marty, but I believe some of that information (if it was a reply to me) doesn't reflect what is actually happening in regards to the HP Pavilion Power and should be rechecked if it was.

I'm still going through warranty claim on my laptop after having it repaired twice and replaced recently once. All have the same current limit throttle problem as seen in the video below (which I took for warranty purposes).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0YidAeaTo0& HP Pavilion Power 15 - i7 7700HQ CPU Current Limit Throttling - YouTube

1) The only factor with my notebook that causes current limit throttling is the GPU being used. As the video shows, the CPU will enter a throttle state when it is around 20% usage and in the 70's temperature wise (although as the video shows, temperature is not a trigger for throttling, the GPU power draw looks to be the indicator).

2) As it is a laptop with a locked down BIOS (and IccMAX also locked in XTU), the only option I had was to use a cooling pad which didn't do anything to mitigate current limit throttling as temperatures were not high. The only option which has any effect in XTU is undervolting with this notebook, and undervolting has no effect on current limit throttling.

It's been over 2 months now since I let HP know of the problem and still haven't had a resolution I would like. On the 2nd service the technician even put in their notes that the CPU was throttling to 2.4ghz under load (not thermal throttling, not power throttling, but current limit throttling) after the new motherboard + CPU was put in. After receiving the 2nd repaired unit I was offered a new replacement model to which I was told would not have the problem. Of course as they sent the exact same model, it had the exact same problem.

I'm now patiently waiting on HP to release a new firmware/BIOS that will fix the issue or have requested that they send the successor (Pavilion Gaming) which reviews so far are not showing any throttling.

I don't understand why this is allowed to happen in the first place though. Surely there must be some form of standards that Intel provides to their partners (HP) that state the conditions to which current limit throttling occurs (not thermal/power throttling as those make sense when the laptop is hot) so that they don't end up selling laptops which the Intel CPU doesn't operate as advertised. I'm not asking for a miracle, but looking at the video above it would seem very reasonable that HP could provide ~30w to the 7700HQ to achieve the base clock of 2.8ghz when it's under load and the GPU is under load. There's a lot of thermal headroom and it came with a 150w power adapter which when current limit throttling is barely pulling 70w from the wall when running GPU+CPU benchmarks and hovering around 70* celsius.