CPU cores keep changing even with throttlestop!

After adding new graphics cards, having a tech mess up the paste job on the cup and repasting it, I'm not seeing that my cores keep going from 9x to 24x and back again, every second it switches a few times on each core. Even in a game, they're dropping down to 9x which occasionally causes a millisecond hicup. I've turned throttlestop on and they should never drop below 15x with it on, but they keep going to 9x. My temps are fine, so I'm not sure why its doing this.

Any ideas?

EDIT: I don't notice that hiccuping and while in a game the cores stay up @ 24 mostly but still go down to 9 sometimes. Not sure why throttlestop doesn't work at all. It works if I limit is to not go past 9, but I can't make it so it won't go below 15. It just keeps going to 9. Any ideas?

 

Why not show me a picture of how you have ThrottleStop set up and upload a ThrottleStopLog.txt file to MediaFire while you are gaming.

When a CPU is lightly loaded it is normal for the MHz to drop down but when there is a load on the CPU like when you are gaming, the ThrottleStop log should show a continuous column of high multis unless you are being throttled.

You need to post some more info like what TDP/TDC settings you are using.

Also make sure you are not over monitoring your CPU. The ThrottleStop log is extremely accurate when you are running TS by itself but there are some other rogue apps and side bar gadgets that don't treat the system monitoring timers as a shared resource which can create havoc for other monitoring apps.

 

It seems there are some discrepancies between hwinfo32 and throttlestop. According to the top number in throttlestop, my CPU never gets below about 1700 mhz. Stays around a 13x multiplier. I honestly have no clue what all of it means and with the exception of reading the temperatures, I have no clue how to work throttlestop. I just know that when I check "Set Multiplier" as Turbo and turn it on, it doesn't actually seem to do anything.

TDP / TDC are both set @ 62. None of that matters unless I hit "turn on" correct? I've attached a log of the past few minutes. I'm surfing the web and listening to music.

 

You need to actively engage your CPU to see throttling, surfing the web and listening to music is not enough. Play the most intensive game you have while running the log.

 

Take a look. Everythign seems fine to me. I only suspected something being off because when I ran HWinfo32 my cores jumped from 9x to 24 x constantly. Throttlestop sings a different tune.

As far as I can tell, it looks great. Can you tell?

That log is me playing skyrim. Not the whole log, because I had to enable it, but the middle area is.

 

Yah, I see no issues at all with it either. All is working fine. I will let Mumak know about the inconsistency with the Multi reading in HWINFO.

 

So everythings perfect? After 2 straight days of repasting and tearing apart and putting back together, I now have two perfectly working 6990's with a perfectly working cpu?! I'm distraught! What Will I do now that everything is fixed!?

 

Lol....Play SKYRIM!!!!!

 

That's what I've been doing

Playing on ULTRA

 

I think CPU-Z originally started the notion that an idle processor must be using the lowest multiplier which isn't necessarily true. ThrottleStop follows the Intel recommended monitoring method and tells it like it is but when one program goes it alone, users don't know what to believe.

Here is the argument that I had with the programmer of CPU-Z / T-Monitor using a Core 2 Duo for an example but it didn't solve anything.

Real Temp - New temp program for Intel Core processors - Page 170

Anyway, when your CPU is loaded, it is not showing any signs of unusual throttling. Your gaming log file looks like it should. If you increase the TDP/TDC limits you might be able to get the multiplier to go a little higher but that will also create more heat.

I think the ThrottleStop TDP/TDC settings work whether ThrottleStop is turned on or not. I have never owned an XM CPU so to be honest, some of how TS works is a bit of a mystery.

Happy gaming.

 

Based on my experience, it is absolutely true that, once enabled, both multipliers and TDP/TDC settings in ThrottleStop are active and remain in effect until reset or reboot, regardless of whether T-Stop is On or Off.

 

Thanks The Revelator for confirming that. I don't know how to read the default TDP/TDC settings from the processor so I decided to leave these values at whatever a user has them set to. The "Do Not Reset FID/VID" setting in the ThrottleStop Options window controls whether the multiplier gets reset to its default settings or if it gets left as is when you exit or Turn Off ThrottleStop. It's always hard to read a users mind to try and determine what he really wants when he is running or exiting ThrottleStop. A reboot should always return the CPU to its default settings but on some Core 2 Extreme CPUs, the bios doesn't necessarily reset the unlocked multiplier like it is supposed to do so you might have to power down to reset the CPU. One user uses this bug / feature to unlock his CPU using ThrottleStop in Windows and then reboots into Linux with an unlocked multiplier.

 

Yea, agreed with the Rev. I use it for benching and TS settings remain regardless of the program status, once the changes have been made.

One of these days, I will set TS to start out minimized (Task Scheduler), for everyday settings with Multi and TDP. Just been to lazy to do it yet.

Unclewebb, is there a newer Real Temp? I know I have an older version, and I use that more than throttlestop. Especially since it has the TDP and multi options in it. Don't remember what version I have though. Just know I don't think I've updated it in forever lol.

 

Wait, so every time I start Throttlestop it changes my settings to whatever throttlestop sets it to, regardless of me hitting the "Turn On" button? I don't like that at all. I just want to be able to use it for monitoring. I don't know what my settings SHOULD be so I don't know what to set them to in throttlestop so I won't have to worry about them changing.

 

How do you do that, DR650SE? I'm using v3.69.1 of Real Temp, which is pretty new, but I can't find any option to adjust multis or TDP. Can do a lot of other stuff, but would love to be able to add those capabilities.

 

A 920xm's Intel default multipliers are 24-23-17-17. The default TDP is 55; TDC is 47 or 48, doesn't matter.

http://ark.intel.com/products/43126/Intel-Core-i7-920XM-Processor-Extreme-Edition-(8M-Cache-2_00-GHz)

 

So throtltestop has them set too high right now? What exactly does that affect? Does it actually account for it unless I turn it on?

EDIT: Throttlestop had them both @ 62

 

Why are you using ThrottleStop if you don't know what it does or how it works? This is a very useful resource -- http://forum.techinferno.com/throttlestop-discussion/23-throttlestop-guide.html.

62W/62A are the default settings for the 940xm.

 

All I want to use it for is to monitor temps and multipliers! I'm not trying to fiddle with settings! I was just worried that, by using it just for monitoring, having the program launched was messing things up (ie it had TDP/TDC set to 62). I've never actually used the "Turn On" function except to try and force multipliers when AARPCARD told me 9x was bad (hwinfo was missreading and we figured out it was normal anyway).

 

Right click the icon in the bottom right icon in the taskbar, select TDP or something like that. Turbo boost limits or something to that effect.

@IntenseIGFX, If you change the default profile options ans hit save, the next time you start it, It will reset TDP/Multiplier to those values. I believe whatever profile throttlestop has loaded when you close it, thats the profile it will load when it starts. If you want to reset everything, and don't know what the options where, you can uninstall/reinstall throttlestop.

 

If you want Unclewebb wrote Real Temp which is a good CPU monitoring tool. It also has built in Throttlestop, but it was made harder to find so people don't kill there cpu's

 

I don't know why 62 was in those fields to begin with. I never changed them and I just got a new version of throttlestop the other day!

 

Thats what unclewebb had as default for the program. If you didn't hit the save or turn on button, it shouldn't be changed to that, but if it did change the values to that, if you reboot and don't start TS, your idle temps may be lower.

From my testing, the CPU will pull a few more watts then what it's set at. If you look at the R2 Vantage bench in my sig you'll see I had the CPU set at 102 watts, and HWInfo states the CPU pulled a max of 112 watts. So even with the TDP being 55w, the system will probably pull 62-65 watts under max load, which rarely ever happens.

 

DR650, I don't have this option. Is this something that is only enabled for XM and K processors?

 

Okay, I changed the values to what they should be and hit save. They won't change again unless I change them in throttlestop and save it myself, right?

 

Right. You can effectively turn your 920xm into a 940xm by changing the multis to 25-24-18-18 with TDP/TDC at 62W/62A. Free performance boost and perfectly safe.

 

@IntenseIGFX Correct.

@Slick The option should be there I would think. But you won't be able to change it unless you have an XM CPU. Maybe you have an older version of Real Temp, or maybe Unclewebb removed it in newer versions. May have only been in a few versions.

I'll post my version and a screenshot when I get home this evening.

I run my 940XM at 25, 25, 25, 25 with TDP at 90w/75A. This is for everyday use and things like my virus scan really benefit from it. Although I run stock when I'm gaming since the 6990s draw more power, and the CPU never bottlenecks gaming.

Sometime soon I want to get into Folding@home, and I think that will really benefit from a higher TDP/Multi. I want to run it on my GPUs, and CPUs. If possible, it would be nice to run an instance of F@H on each GPU and one on the CPU for a total of 3 running F@H apps. But I havn't tried it or looked into it at all. I'm a F@H n00b so I have no clue.

 

Thanks Bro...that was version Real Temp 3.6

 

That will increase the temps though, wont it? I'm already running 6990's, which run hotter than my 5870s (not by much to be fair) so I'm not sure how much I need / want to increase temps.

 

Any temperature increase would be nominal, at worst. It's a very modest overclock, but one that can boost performance in CPU heavy situations. It's completely optional, but a stock 920xm is so underutilized it's hard for the performance oriented to leave it completely alone.

 

Should I do the 5% OC in bios? Also, what's an acceptable max temp for the CPU? What's your run at? For every day / gaming. Not benching. I don't want to have to fiddle with settings every time I want to game. Also you never explained what TDP / TDC are

EDIT: Unless your benching, do you even notice ANY difference with a 5% OC? Doesn't seem like much. How much does that raise heat / power draw?

 

At the most simple level, TDP (Thermal Design Power) and TDC (Thermal Design Current) are design parameters that define and control (i.e., limit) the amount of power available to the CPU and therefore its performance. They function as a practical governor or rev/speed limiter. There is abundant literature on the subject available through Google. The effects of overclocking vary between CPU's based on a host of factors and circumstances. The best way to explore the effects in your situation is to try it and measure the effects, adjusting as you go. There are several threads in this forum exploring every aspect of o/c'ing the 920/940xm in the M17x-R2 which can answer any questions you may have.

 

If I'm going to OC the only one I'd do is the 5% in the BIOS. If I didn't have more power being drawn from the system from the 6990's, I'd consider it but honestly for gaming I just don't need much added power. I can see how 5% may help, I just need to determine how much extra heat is added vs how much of a performance gain (if any) I'll see.

I'm assuming that I can do the 5% OC with TDP / TDC @ 55/48 with no issues right? Again, I'm just trying to keep my temps down as much as possible.

EDIT: Having an odd issue. I did the 5% oc in the bios and ran 3dmark. My temps were fine according to the log, but for whatever reason, my 3dmark score was like 3400 or something. I took the OC off and same thing! My in game performance seems fine, though. Any idea?

EDIT: After rebooting a few times, I was able to reenable xfire but without the 5% OC. Anyone have a clue what is going on? My cards are undervolted so I should have plenty of power, shouldn't I?
EDIT 2: For whatever reason, when I OC the CPU 5% in the bios, it disables my secondary graphics card. Does anyone have a clue how to fix this? I disabled the 5% OC and I STILL can't see my second video card! Any clue? I just want my video card back and I'll leave the OC alone!

 

I don't think the 5% overclock has anything to do with Crossfire. My guess is what is happen is that when there are changes in the bios, it is disabling crossfire. You should be able to go into CCC and just reenable crossfire. Once the 5% is set, and you reenable crossfire it should remain enabled even after you reboot.

Occasionally mine with disable crossfire sometimes. I just reneable it in CCC.

Since the 5% isn't increasing voltage, or TDP it won't increase temps much. best way is to just try it out and see where your temps are.

Also keep in mind that while 5% isn't much, its 5% on the FSB so it raises the FSB from 133MHz to 140MHz.

Stock / 5% OC
133MHz * 17x Multiplier = 2.261 GHz
140MHz * 17x Multiplier = 2.380 GHz

Stock Turbo / 5% OC Turbo
133MHz * 24x Multiplier = 3.192GHz
140MHz * 24X Multiplier = 3.360GHz

And to explain TDP, in simple terms is the amount of power a CPU has to turbo boost.

If you load the CPU 100% on all cores/threads the CPU at stock will run all cores at 17x 0r maybe 18x at stock 55W TDP.

If you increase the TDP (increase CPU power) to around 90W it will maintain that turbo at around 24x multiplier on all four cores until heat causes it to throttle.

So if wPrime is run on all 8 threads (100% load) at stock you'll get something like 420sec till completion. Don't know exact figures, these are just guesses on times, but you get the point

With increased TDP you can cut that time down due to the CPU running at a higher multiplier on all cores, so the entire CPU is running faster. So at like 80w TDP it may be down to around 280sec-300sec.

Now if you could increase the multiplier and control heat, you can cut the time way down. By increasing the multiplier and TDP, I managed to run wPrime 1024 8 threads at 192sec. But that was extreme.

So effectively TDP = Turbo boost power / ability to sustain a higher turbo limit.

 

With the 5% OC it doesn't even recognize the card in hardware manager. It wouldn't allow me to reenable xfire. I had to disable it and reboot 4 times just for the machine to recognize the card again.

 

Thats odd. I've never seen that happen on my system or heard of it either.

 

Just turned my computer on for the first time today and there's no second card recognized. I'm uninstalling the drivers now to see if that helps. Should I take the card out and put it back in?

 

I reseeded the cards. First time I turned it on, it recognized the second card. I uninstalled it in device manageer (since I wanted to get clean install of the drivers and the other card read Standard VGA Adapter) and rebooted only to find it gone again.

I booted from my bootable USB and atiflash only recognizes the master.

If the crossfire cable weren't connected properly, would the other card not be recognized? Maybe I should take the crossfire cable out and put it back in? Or would the cable only allow them to work as crossfire and have nothing to do with it not being recognized?