Odd performance issues with i9-13980HX

[Sparky86]

Hi everyone.

A few months back I bought a new Asus laptop with an i9-13980HX (ProArt Studiobook Pro 16 H7604). I was expecting this system to be significantly more powerful than the old desktop I sold to contribute towards the cost, which had a 5820k and was struggling with tasks like video editing.

Unfortunately I've noticed the performance of this new Asus laptop to be disappointing and inconsistent. It feels laggy even in Chrome, for example just scrolling Facebook & YouTube. I noticed after a couple of weeks of using it that something wasn't right so I ran Cinebench to check the performance. I got a result around 35% of that expected for this laptop model, and noticed that CPU power draw would not go above 35W. Naturally every core is loaded in this benchmark and they all went to 1.6Ghz - like it was hitting some hard power limit. The laptop was plugged in, in the Asus 'Performance' mode and in 'High performance' power plan in Windows.

As I'm a student here in the UK I got the laptop through a student programme so there is support included from the retailer. They did a remote connection, checked the settings above that I mentioned, then ran some checks on Windows in the command prompt which came up with some errors. The support agent ran the repair command and then advised me to check how the system was doing going forward before going to the next stage i.e. getting the laptop sent in for assessment.

I tried running Cinebench again and this time it was working as expected - a result similar to those from reviews of the same laptop model, and a CPU power draw around 150-170W. 

However, since that support session around a month ago, performance has still felt laggy in general use. I've run some audio editing software (one of my main uses) that my previous desktop would handle but this laptop seems to struggle, causing audio dropouts & artefacts. I've been monitoring CPU power draw using HWiNFO and it generally stays around 10-15W in normal use which sounds very low to me.

The thing is, I just don't know what power draw the CPU is meant to have. I can see the official CPU base power is 55W but as I was used to a desktop before, I was thinking maybe laptops are highly focussed towards efficiency so will downclock and try to limit CPU power unless something very intensive is being run.

Well after months of this disappointing performance, just now the laptop's fans started going from the normal very quiet to a moderate level. I wondered if that corresponded to an increase in CPU power and funnily enough...checking it now I can see around 60W CPU power draw. So I'm guessing this is what it was meant to be performing like all along as that corresponds with Intel's spec. And no longer feels laggy in general use. No idea what caused it to suddenly change!

Thought I'd still post just to see if anyone experienced with these CPUs knows what the expected performance is meant to be and what may have caused the limitation. I imagine I will have to get the laptop assessed further as if it has been running poorly for 5 months or so, there is the risk it will happen again...and I wouldn't want that to happen out of warranty!

Thanks!

[Bachdev]

There is a serious problem, intel should seriously consider our article  https://community.intel.com/t5/Processors/I9-13980HX-frozen-crashing-error/m-p/1640007#M78525

[pressed_for_time]

There was a BIOS update for your laptop dated October 17 2024. BIOS updates for laptops are normally delivered through Windows Update. So the unexpected sudden change you started seeing recently may be because of that.

[Danrdz10103]

@pressed_for_time I dont see this update. Asus page for this laptop shows the latest Bios as version 303 dated late 2023. can you point me on the direction of the BIOS update you see dated for October 2024?

@Sparky86 any chance you downloaded this bios from Oct 2024? I dont see it.

[Danrdz10103]

I have exactly the same laptop and I am facing the same issue. I rather not reset (Asus cloud recovery) as it will take me days to set it up again as I need it. anyone has any updates/suggestions?

[Danrdz10103]

if anyone is still reading this, just to share a temporary "solution" I ran into.

I first thought that maybe the laptop was getting confused that it was on battery power as I had the laptop connected to a docking station since I power it on (alongside the original AC charger). So I removed the docking USB-4 cable and rebooted with only the AC 240 watt charger. I did not achieve anything, still running at 1.7Ghz under full load.

So powered it down and unplugged it. I powered it on while unplugged and ran CPU Z stress test. it was running faster than 1.7ghz but still slow as it was on battery. I then plugged it on (while still on), the screen refreshed as it switches to 120hz, and NOW I GET full performance.

So my "Trick" is not power it on and start working while unplugged and only then plugged it in.

For Intel staff, the fact that plugging it in after being on unplugged leaves to a different outcome than if power it on while plugged, what does suggest is the source of the problem?

daniel

[Danrdz10103]

typo, I meant the trick is to power it on and start working while unplugged and only then plugged it in.