All Multipliers on 24x on 920XM?

I bought an OEM 920XM on ebay for $390 which I thought was a good deal. Installed it yesterday with some AS5 and set the 5% OC in the BIOS.

When I view the summary in HWinfo32 it shows all multipliers on 24x? Is this normal? Its seems to be real time clocks as its fluctuating but I thought only throttlestop has the ability to set all cores at max multiplier? Also isnt the cpu supposed to drop the Multipliers on idle? Its constantly on the 24x multiplier in HWinfo32.

I haven't played with Throttlestop yet so Im surprised to see this. Ive attached a screen print below with temps as well after a 3Dmark06 run. I think its safe except for one core which always seems to be running 2-4 degrees Celsius higher (Core2). I would really appreciate your feedback so I know everything is in order.

EDIT: Think I figured it out. Dell has some special BIOS that allows all the cores to ramp up to max multiplier but the multipliers will drop under load when on turbo boost and power consumption exceeds the TDP? So on idle like in the screenprint the cores arent loaded and no throttling is occuring... Hope Im not typing utter nonsense here

 

I'm not sure whether HWinfo32 shows the multiplier working dynamically. If not, x24 is correct for the max multiplier at default. What does CPU-Z show?

In any case Evga powertune always shows x24 for me when I open it.

 

CPU-Z also shows the multiplier at 24x. See screen print below.

I thought the cpu only runs at 24x when turbo boost is active and scales down when there is no demand on the cpu? I've just got this website open at the moment with nothing else running and it still shows 24x. Its also appears these are real time clocks as its fluctuating.

EDIT: Very informative threads Ive found here if anybody else is looking for the same info.
ES Processors (920 XM ES)
Multiplier Manipulation XM processors

 

CPU-Z is designed for consistent validation purposes. If you want a better idea of what your CPU is doing at idle, check out ThrottleStop. It follows the Intel recommended monitoring method as outlined in their November 2008 Turbo White Paper.

Try running the wPrime benchmark while playing around with the turbo TDP TDC settings and you will get a better understanding of how these CPUs work.

Nospheratu: Looks like I should have checked out your links. You seem to have found some good info.

 

Ive been doing just that

Thanks for this brilliant application Unclewebb! +Rep

Ive set the TDP/TDC to 90/75 with everything else set to default. Wprime 32M score on 8 threads is on average 10.XXXs with a best of 10.086s.

TSBench nets me 13.354 on 32M with 8 threads.

In simple terms from my understanding for those reading this thread looking to understand whats going on, all applications Ive used reports the multiplier/clockspeed incorrectly at idle.. except Throttlestop. It is not running consistently at 24x multiplier.

Now as to how Throttlestop helps matters....

Your CPU needs power to operate. It can only work the fastest with the amount of power given to it. Once it reaches this threshold it reduces its multiplier, slowing down the processor to comply with the power restriction set. By setting the power restriction higher with Throttlestop (the TDP/TDC setting) it is able to sustain the speed without "throttling" to stay within the power restriction set (as you're giving it more power to work with).

There is also thermal throttling which will slow down your processor. On the M17x, Dell has it set to 95C so you have to keep a balance between the temps, amount of power you give to your processor (TDP/TDC: more power = heat) and the CPU multiplier(FID).

Naturally its a risky business, you have to set your ideal turbo multipliers and gradually increase the TDP to a point where you see that the Multipliers stay at the levels you set when the cpu is loaded but you HAVE to monitor temps. I try to keep my temps below 90C.

 

Thank you for mentioning that. It is an uphill battle when you do things differently than everyone else. I asked the programmer of CPU-Z to explain what his program shows and here was his response.

CPU-Z may be the "industry standard" CPU MHz monitoring tool but I decided to follow the manufacturers recommended monitoring method instead.

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology in Intel® Core™ Microarchitecture (Nehalem) Based Processors
http://download.intel.com/design/processor/applnots/320354.pdf

This method works correctly on the previous Core 2 generation as well as the latest 2nd Generation Sandy Bridge CPUs. Using Intel's recommended method allows ThrottleStop to show you exactly what your CPU is doing internally on each thread so you can detect the slightest changes in turbo boost or turbo throttling.

Sounds like you have done your homework and are getting excellent results from your CPU with the help of ThrottleStop. Alienware should have included TDP/TDC adjustments in the bios but that's no problem because M17x-R2 owners have an app for that.