Dell XPS 14 i7 no turbo at 100% CPU Load?

Hey guys, I've recently received my XPS 14. I liked everything about the laptop, except one thing, the turbo boost. My question is that, when all 4 cores are stressed, then the turbo should be working @ 1.86GHz (740QM cpu) but it remains at 1.73GHz. Although temps remain at 65-71C. And Cinebench R11.5 rendering points are just 2.93.

So guys, please tell me how can I tune up my XPS to utilize turbo boost when all cores are loaded, as I've seen notebooks actually turbo'ing to 1.86ghz.

 

c'mon people, reply

 

Also, the turbo rarely goes to 2.93ghz when 1core is loaded. Remains at 2.80ghz.

 

omg i'm still waiting for a reply...

 

when 4threads are loaded only then the turbo is 1.86ghz, otherwise if 8threads are utilized then the turbo is off.

 

"Max Turbo Frequency refers to the maximum single-core frequency that can be achieved with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology"

Turbo mode is only enables when a single or dual core is requested by Windows. Since Windows rarely requests a single core, you will hardly ever see a full 2.93GHz. When all four cores are loaded, Windows will take a single thread and run 25% of it on each of 4 cores instead of putting it all on one core.

 

To be honest, I've read the explanation, and forgot the answer. It has something to do with the Intel Specification or Dell Motherboard. You're computer is working as intended.

Perhaps it was a faster processor, or a non-Dell laptop.

 

no, same processor

my cinebench r11.5 scores are just 2.94points, compared to an average of 740qm notebooks getting 3.18points (as on notebookcheck 740qm review)

 

dumb question, but do you have the intel turbo monitor service enabled?

 

yes, i do have intel turbo monitor

 

still its not a dumb question since turbo to 1.86ghz can make the xps atleast comparable to others when 4 cores are loaded

 

Download Hot CPU and run one thread CPU burn in, and see if you get full turbo speed. I get 2.93 on my i740QM

 

i did try it but was only able to manage till 2.80ghz, it never went to 2.93ghz. I also tried super-pi benchmark which also gave me the same result.

 

It's very rare to see full turbo as there are nearly always other background tasks/threads running.

You could try opening up task manager and ending as many processes as you think safe and try re-running a bench.

download throttlestop and see what frequencies it says you are running at rather than the intel monitor

 

but in my old studio 1458 which was i5 540m, i could see 3.06ghz (full) for 70% time running super-pi 32M.

 

well, i just want the cpu to turbo to 1.86ghz when all cores are loaded (8threads @ 100%) at that time no turbo is there, and my machine's rendering scores are the lowest when compared to other i7 notebooks in the race.

 

and the stress test are just 70C with 1 going as high as 74C, (with the 6cell battery) so these temps don't seem too critical to run turbo, do they?

 

Guys, he just wants that the turbo should work when all 8 threads are fully loaded with prime95.

I fully agree with you, this is a well-found performance issue with the XPS laptops. They don't run as fast as other notebooks do.

I also did a test with my XPS 14, (i7 740QM) and got just 10,167 points on running Cinebench R10.

This doesn't satisfy anyone as all other notebooks get an average of above 11,000 points.

So, this machine runs on stock clocks for me, under prime95. So what's the situation for you guys, we're waiting for a good reply from NBR experts. Thanks.

 

Thanks. I'm also desperately waiting for a good answer too.

 

anybody???

 

That is a good question lakshya, I have the exact same config as you and never see above 2.8 on turbo monitor,I am in the process of getting an xps 15 as a replacement because I had dell try to fix my xps 14 6 times in 3 weeks,I hope you get an answer,I cant even start mine anymore sorry.But I had same problem,good luck.

 

@joegreen, thanks for replying.

Seems to be a thermal issue with the turbo.

Well, joegreen, does your right portion of palmrest gets hot? Mine is very hot even when idle. The fan runs constantly, despite this the notebook remains red hot.

 

Well, I'm expecting a good reply atleast from the XPS 14 owners. Thanks.

 

Oh, and a well-said issue though.

I get roughly same results (10,200 points) on Cinebench R10.

On notebookcheck.com, you can CLEARLY see how an MSI notebook (maybe GX660R) with a lower version of i7 740QM even outperforms an XPS 15/17 with i7 840QM http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Dell-XPS-15-FHD-Notebook.41509.0.html

You can see it here also:

 

So by all this you can CLEARLY say that this one is also a critical issue for all XPS laptops.

 

Still looking for help....

 

Anybody???

 

Still relevant a few months later.

 

Are you kidding me? The 5870 is one of the fastest mobile cards in the world, and the 435m is just a mid range card. The CPU is just one component, take a look at the whole computer's specs as a whole, and then compare. It's shocking the 740QM/435m did as well as it did.

 

@gpig: omg, cinebench is a CPU-only benchmark. They've SPECIFICALLY included the word 'cpu' which means that the benchmark doesn't involve GPU at all.

If you're not satisfied, then you may look in the illustration that even the HP Envy 15, which has ATI 4830, which is slower than the XPS 17's 445M, and you can see how the Envy beats the XPS 17 (445M).

So, it's just a CPU benchmark, and if it involved GPU, then the image would be rendered in just a fraction of second.

And, by the way, its i7 840QM, not 740QM. Thats why I'm complaining.

 

How can that be? They list the GPU of the computer, have some openGL tests, and this:

They SPECIFICALLY include the words 'graphics card' which means that the benchmark involves the graphics card.

I figure since NBR only shows 1 comparison (rend multi 32bit) between systems for Cinebench it better well be the overall (CPU+GPU) comparison. Perhaps multi means CPU+GPU? I can't find out much information about that particular aspect of the test since many links on CINEBENCH's website are currently down. Haha, impressive software!

And I don't see what you're talking about when you say "specifically says CPU."

 

Oh dude, you've no idea what you're talking about, go through the illustration carefully.

In cinebench software, there are separate benchmarks for CPU and the GPU.

For GPU testing, they use OpenGL. And for CPU, they use the image-rendering process.

Perhaps, (in terms of cinebench) Multi never means CPU+GPU. You have no idea what you're talking about.

Mate, it means using multiple cores for rendering. Cinebench has 2 benchmarks for CPU, one utilises only one core, and the other is multi core.

Satisfied now? Duuuuude, if you're not, you may try rendering with the cpu, and then check the load on the GPU. If the benchmark EVER involved CPU+GPU, then the scores would have been colossally bigger than the current scores, and image-rendering would have been a child's play. Misunderstandings do happen, and that's no problem if they happen. Haha.

 

Well, I'm looking at these cooling pads:

Cooler Master Notepal E1
NotePal E1 - Cooler Master - Leading Provider of Computer Case | Cooler | Power Supply

Cooler Master Notepal X2
NotePal X2 - Cooler Master - Leading Provider of Computer Case | Cooler | Power Supply

Cooler Master Notepal Infinite

Belkin Laptop Cooling Pad
Belkin Cooling Pad F5L055

Can anyone tell me which one is the best for me? I don't care much about the fan noise, but just wanted to make sure if the fan noise stays at about 40-45dB, not more than that.

What I want is the biggest possible decrease in internal temps (like CPU and GPU).

Also, one more question, my XPS has the vents located on the left side. So does any of the cooling pad(s) affect the cooling operation, when the fan is situated on the left side? Thanks.

 

btw waiting for a good reply for the question asked on the reply above on cooling pad. Hope, I get a good answer.

 

anybody......

 

Is there anybody who can help me in the above post?

 

I know this is really late, but was just browsing about, might like to point out, I think the reason why your XPS is so hot is because you overclocked the graphics card. I'm shocked that your laptop hasn't overheated, since the last time I tried to overclock a mobile graphics card, it overheated and crashed with only 15 minutes of Black Ops. I'll take a look at your links when I have time. Even though by now you've probably gotten a different laptop.