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Kabylake i5-7300 HQ severely throttling under normal conditions

BillPickle
Beginner
3,482 Views

Hi, 

I'm having the exact problem described by this past forum post, but there is no solution given in the thread, just a request for more information. 

here is a reddit post I made describing the steps I've taken to try and resolve this issue, but it still persists. Do I just have a dead CPU? My laptop is out of warranty so I can't send it off to Dell for repair, either. 

 

The report from SSU is attached to my post, which I ran about 5 minutes before posting. 

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15 Replies
Maria_R_Intel
Moderator
3,457 Views

Hello BillPickle,


Thank you for posting on the Intel* Community.


Laptops are highly-customized systems, we can provide you with recommendations, but only the equipment manufacturer is able to confirm if a component is defective or not. Intel just provides the CPU in stock settings, and we do not have control over any customization that the equipment manufacturer has performed.


Also, Intel XTU is not validated for your processor and will not work properly on your system, so we do not recommend you to use it to perform changes on it, in this case, to monitor or perform changes on your laptop, the best is to use a tool approved and tested by Dell*.


As per your comments on the Reddit thread, it seems like the processor is not reaching high temperatures, since the max temp allowed for the processor in stock settings is 100°C. Also, based on the screenshots, the XTU does not show power or thermal throttling, and it is normal to see spikes in the frequency under stress tests or regular tasks.


Follow these recommendations:


Operating System:

  • Keep your Operating System up to date. Verify that you do not have pending Windows updates.


BIOS

  • Update the BIOS to the latest version. Your current BIOS is version 1.10.0, and the latest available on the DELL* website is the 1.12.1 version.
  • Use the default settings on BIOS, undo any change you performed.


Intel Diagnostic Tool

  • You can test your Intel unit using our Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool (IPDT) which checks brand identification, verifies the processor operating frequency, tests processor-specific features and performs a stress test on the processor.



You can attach the results of the IPDT so we can check how the processor is working. As I mentioned before, it is normal to see spikes and differences in frequency and temperature, as long as this does not affect the PC performance, causing freezes or BSOD for example.


Keep in mind that, as the community member mentioned in the thread you sent: "For power throttling, this is almost-exclusively based upon the configuration of the BIOS, so you may need to contact your board/system vendor for more assistance."


Best regards, 

Maria R.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 


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BillPickle
Beginner
3,435 Views

Hi Maria,

Thanks for your response. I've updated the BIOS to the current version and restored the factory settings. I have not yet noticed any issue with the CPU throttling, but as it's an intermittent issue, it may occur some time in the future. I ran the diagnostic tool before and after the BIOS update, and have attached both logs. Please let me know if there is anything that stands out as an issue, and I will continue to monitor my performance under normal use conditions. 

 

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BillPickle
Beginner
3,427 Views

My problem seems to be persisting still, the CPU performance is taking a severe hit for several minutes at a time even when under very light load 

BillPickle_0-1605393342581.png

 

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BillPickle
Beginner
3,425 Views

BillPickle_0-1605393650780.png

 

This is a perfect example of how CPU Performance will briefly return to normal and then crash again. Mouse clicks are taking upwards of a second to register, multiple seconds to open the start menu, audio stuttering artefacts, etc. My computer is nearly unusable in this state and I would strongly prefer not to have to completely wipe my system to (maybe) fix the problem.. 

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n_scott_pearson
Super User
3,414 Views

I don't care if you have discussed this elsewhere. If you want help here, explain your issue fully here.

You need to figure out why the processor is being throttled. This can occur based upon high temperature, power usage, etc. Remember that the processor can also be throttled as a result of external factors. For example, the power (voltage) generation circuitry on the motherboard can throttle the processor (VRM component asserting PROCHOT signal) if overheating or excessive power usage is detected.

...S

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BillPickle
Beginner
3,409 Views

While I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my post, your crass attitude is not helpful, particularly in comparison to the response I've already received which was helpful and informative, despite not solving the issue in the end.

 

I clearly do not know how to figure out why my processor is being throttled, hence the exhaustive list of solutions I have already attempted. How would I check if the power circuitry is throttling the processor? Is there a new diagnostic utility I've not yet been told to run? Do I need to take my computer apart and grab my multimeter? Some explanation on how to go about doing what you're suggesting would be significantly more helpful rather than restating what has already been established - I know there are many reasons a processor could be throttled, and none of the solutions I've found from others having similar problems have given a clear answer as to the cause of the problem on this system. 

I ran the SSU and the intel diagnostic tool, logs of which I've already shared in above posts. I've been trying to find out why the processor is being throttled for weeks now, and found a post on this forum describing my exact issue (which I linked in my first post), and figured I'd reach out with a post of my own since that thread died long ago. If you have a helpful suggestion I would greatly appreciate it, but if your contribution consists solely of aggressively berating newbies for linking off to a reddit thread, you can save yourself the time of typing a response. 

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n_scott_pearson
Super User
3,396 Views

Look, it's simple; you want help, you provide the information here. The first thing you said was "here is a reddit post I made describing the steps I've taken to try and resolve this issue". I don't care what you did or what you said elsewhere; I am not chasing information across the internet. For all I know, that link - which you obfused - could have been a phishing or malware link.

As for your problem, download yourself a copy of the ThrottleStop tool. It is from the TechPowerUp folks; a simple google will get you there. This tool will (hopefully) allow you to determine why/where the throttling is occurring and whether it is internal (i.e. within the processor) or external (i.e. signalled from the motherboard).

...S

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BillPickle
Beginner
3,392 Views

Are you serious right now, dude? You spent 35 years as a software engineer and you can't hover over a URL to see that it redirects to http://www.reddit.com? Sorry for trying to make my post more readable instead of dropping 80 character URL's all over the place. 

Fine, I'll humor you and save you one singular click so you don't have to "chase" this info anywhere.. I'm beyond frustrated with this processor not behaving as it should and you're giving me snide remarks and telling me to do things I've already done. Here's the verbatim text of my reddit post: 

---

Well, I'm finally at the point where I don't know what else to do but make a reddit post, so here we go.

For the last few days, my CPU has been throttling down to 0.5-0.7 GHz even when under very little load (idling on desktop with no programs open.) I've tried several remedies found through various googling and asking friends experienced with computer building etc:

  • ThrottleStop Utility - disabling/enabling Turbo, disabling the BD PROCHOT option which supposedly stops thermal throttling (but doesn't)
  • Updated all drivers including graphics and the intel thermal management drivers
  • Editing the Registry key located at Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\intelppm\Start to 4, which supposedly prevents the CPU from throttling as well (it doesn't) - currently set back to its default value of 3.
  • Renaming/Removing the file located at C:\Windows\System32\Intel\DPTF\DptfPolicyConfigTdp.dll which supposedly controls an Intel firmware that handles thermal throttling or something along those lines - have also tried restoring the file and using various combinations of ThrottleStop settings with and without the file present.
  • Installing Intel XTU and setting the power consumption settings to Unlimited as per this reddit post. I have nearly the exact same setup as OP of this post - Inspiron 7000 gaming series, except I have 16 GB of RAM. I'm using the factory provided power adapter plugged directly into the wall. I can provide specific other hardware components if necessary.

Edit: Since making the original post I have:

  • Booted into safe mode and put some stress on the CPU - clock speed did not drop below the base of 2.5 GHz
  • Disabled Intel SpeedStep in the BIOS (problem persisted)
  • Factory reset BIOS settings (problem persisted)
  • Ran another benchmark and got the same drops in clock speed
  • Am now doing a windows refresh, will update after.

I ran a benchmark test using XTU and the processor was running strong at ~3.2 GHz, reasonably above its base clock of 2.5 GHz. About halfway through it throttled significantly, with task manager reporting ~0.6 GHz, and XTU reporting ~1.2. Here's some screenshots of the XTU settings as well as the benchmark results, where you can see the performance dip in the grey line.

What intrigues me here is that there is a brief temperature spike and then rapid cooling after throttling, but by all accounts that behavior should be disabled and the CPU should be allowed to pull as much power as it needs to maintain that speed. Is there an explanation for this that I'm missing? The max temp is only 89C, which wasn't maintained for very long. I feel like I've done everything I can short of taking the CPU off and replacing the thermal paste, which I don't know is even the problem or if it would help, since the thermals aren't getting unreasonably hot.

TL;DR - CPU is going back and forth between running at a quarter of its base speed and running above its base speed, no matter what I do that claims to override thermal throttling.

Edit II: Windows Boogaloo - Things seem to be better now after the refresh but this is an unsatisfying result, I never found the root cause of the problems and now need to reinstall programs and change all my settings again, which I was really hoping to avoid.

Benchmark results after windows refresh (CPU Stress test is left side of the plot)

If anyone has any suggestions or anything I can check to help narrow down the original cause of the problem I'm happy to do what I can to help. Sorry to anyone googling this similar problem, hopefully one of my attempted solutions works better for you.

---

 

 

Is there specific information I should provide from ThrottleStop? Where do I find it? Given that it modifies low-level system behaviors, this is not a utility I'd like to go clicking about aimlessly in. How do I use the information it provides to discern what is causing the throttling?

 

After two failed attempts to reset windows (system did not give me any information as to why the resets failed), the CPU is currently running above its base clock speed, which I've noticed it do before after a restart until I start putting any sort of load on it. Task manager & throttlestop readout below: 

ThrottleStop_2020-11-14_21-14-22.png

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AlHill
Super User
3,386 Views

One of my pet peeves is people who insist on using XTU and other utiliities on LOCKED PROCESSORS.

As far as Windows Reset not working, do a DISM restorehealth, reboot, then do the reset.  Microsoft has acknowledged this error.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/-there-was-a-problem-when-resetting-your-pc-no-changes-were-made-error-after-attempting-to-reset-this-pc-365f1c42-6928-63ed-dd84-bb264cdad5a8

 

Doc (not an Intel employee or contractor)

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n_scott_pearson
Super User
3,379 Views

Let's be clear: *I* can certainly tell where a link is going, but not every visitor here knows how to do this and it is them that I am trying to protect. I have already requested that no aliasing of URLs be allowed on the site *at all*.

...S

P.S. Check out this conversation and ask Igor to explain how he got there: https://community.intel.com/t5/Processors/Help-i5-6600K-with-3-50-GHz-base-drops-down-to-0-77-GHz-randomly/m-p/1228430#M47608.

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BillPickle
Beginner
3,375 Views

@n_scott_pearson wrote:

 

P.S. Check out this conversation and ask Igor to explain how he got there: https://community.intel.com/t5/Processors/Help-i5-6600K-with-3-50-GHz-base-drops-down-to-0-77-GHz-randomly/m-p/1228430#M47608.


For someone who doesn't want to go chasing information around, you sure are sending me off chasing a lot of information. 

TH-Co, the main poster of the thread you linked, is having the same issue as I am, but he is using an MSI motherboard on a desktop pc, and I'm using a Dell mobo on a laptop. The common factor here is the i5 CPU and the primary symptom of unreasonable throttling. Igor's comment links to a youtube video that instructs the user to disable BD PROCHOT option in Throttlestop. As is clearly mentioned in the text of my reddit post, disabling this option does not alleviate the issue. 


As I mentioned before, I am incredibly frustrated with this situation. Your posts have not been helpful and more than once you have suggested I try a solution that I have clearly stated was tried and does not work. This indicates to me that you are not reading the information I am providing in my posts. Please stop responding to this thread if you do not have anything new to contribute that takes into account the whole situation. 

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BillPickle
Beginner
3,374 Views

@AlHill wrote:

One of my pet peeves is people who insist on using XTU and other utiliities on LOCKED PROCESSORS.

As far as Windows Reset not working, do a DISM restorehealth, reboot, then do the reset.  Microsoft has acknowledged this error.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/-there-was-a-problem-when-resetting-your-pc-no-changes-were-made-error-after-attempting-to-reset-this-pc-365f1c42-6928-63ed-dd84-bb264cdad5a8

 

Doc (not an Intel employee or contractor)


Thanks Doc - Maria mentioned that XTU was not compatible with my processor, so I made sure to revert anything I changed in it and have only been using it for the graphs of resource utilization. 

I ran DISM and I'll give the reset another try, but my gut feeling is telling me it won't help. 

Based on what I can see from other users having the exact same problem as me, the common factor between all of them is the processor itself rather than the mobo or BIOS etc, so I worry that taking the high-impact step of a full windows reset will not alleviate my problem. I'm at the point where everything I've tried has failed though, so I don't have many other options left. 

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BillPickle
Beginner
3,361 Views

@AlHill wrote:

As far as Windows Reset not working, do a DISM restorehealth, reboot, then do the reset.  Microsoft has acknowledged this error.


I did the DISM restorehealth function, but I got the same issue. Reset process hangs at 67% for several minutes then the process fails. I'm installing the 20H2 update from October, which doesn't have the same problem according to this page: https://www.windowscentral.com/how-fix-failure-reset-pc-windows-10

"Although the May 2020 Update and October 2020 Update share the same core and file system, it appears that problem is only affecting computers running version 2004."

I'll run this OS version for a bit and see if it somehow fixes the throttling issue. If not I'll try resetting it again, I guess. 

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BillPickle
Beginner
3,352 Views

Well, the October update bricked my OS and stuck me in a boot loop. The Reset functionality was still producing an error if I tried to use it, and the system would not boot past windows recovery, despite indicating that a usable version of windows was installed. I ended up having to create a bootable USB and completely formatting the SSD that contained the OS previously, and I am now using a completely fresh install of windows, the only thing that was untouched in this mayhem was my HDD, fortunately. 

So far, so good. If my problem persists at this point, I'm pretty sure I've got a faulty CPU. 

I'll consider this issue resolved for now (though unsatisfactorily again, my only option was to completely nuke my computer..) 

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Maria_R_Intel
Moderator
3,304 Views

Hello BillPickle,


Thank you very much for all the information you shared with us. We understand that you consider the thread solved for now and I want to apologize for any inconvenience you may have with all this.


If you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored, we also have our direct support team, where you can receive internal assistance by phone or chat in case you need.


Best regards,

Maria R.

Intel Customer Support Technician


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