XPS 15 9560 - CPU stuck at 1.9 Ghz

Me again with problems with my XPS.

It seems my CPU frequency is stuck at 1.8 Ghz. I try the Throttlestop TS Bench and it will not go over 1.9 Ghz.

Under power settings Maximum frequency is set to 100%. Latest BIOS, all the latest drivers. The only thing which drives it up to 3.4 Ghz is clicking the Set Multiplier in Throttlestop and setting it to 38 T. I know I can run Throttlestop all the time and set it to run at boot but I'd rather FIX this properly.

I saw the supposed fix was to disconnect the battery for 15 seconds but I don't have such small torx screws and I'd rather not pry open such an expensive and brand new notebook. Any other ideas?

Thanks!

 

It's called VRM throttling - it's cause the cooling system in the XPS series is horse shiet.
https://www.ultrabookreview.com/14875-fix-throttling-xps-15/

 

Here is the in-depth version of the link posted above. They go together nicely for you and your XPS:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ures-benchmarks-xps-15-9560-kaby-lake.802345/

 

Whaaaaat? There is no way I'm doing all that on this 2 weeks old and super expensive laptop...at least while it's still in warranty. I'd rather return it. :-/

But I really don't think temperatures are the issue. I'm at 40C and doing light browsing, nothing major so I don't think the CPU is being throttled....or? I mean I can't believe 1 chrome tab can cause throttling, no matter how incompetent Dell Squad is. The problem is like the CPU frequency multiplier is wrong. If I set it manually in Throttlestop at 38T, the CPU works normally.

It's like this thread but not stuck at 0.8 Ghz but 1.9 Ghz;

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/5uh6wo/fixing_your_dell_xps_cpu_stuck_at_minimum/

 

Have you checked Dell's website for a BIOS update? Are all you main drivers fully up to date? How are your Windows 10 power profiles and power slider set? What are your CPU min/max thresholds set to under Windows power profile configs that you are actively using? Tbh, Windows 10 is **** right now. You might have a better experience on Windows 7 in terms of performance and control.

 

Not normal thermal throttling - VRM throttling. The CPU is at 70*C while the VRMs are at 120*C and they limit the power delivered to the CPU and thus clockspeed falls.

 

Yeah, 1.5.0 is the latest version. I did a clean install of Windows 10 like 2,3 days ago. All newest drivers from Dell, some even directly from Intel as suggested here.

I only have 1 power profile in control panel(Balanced) and min is set to 5% and max is set to 100%.

 

What is your system cooling method set to? Active or Passive?

TBH all of this is moot really due to the VRM baking. Look at post #3 above I linked you to for your machine. Then scroll down to the first screenshot with HWiNFO and see that @iunlock 's CPU was in the low 70's and his VRM was hitting 105C which is much too much. Hence why your graphs seem a bit strange. It is ultimately something flying under the radar due to traditional graphs and monitoring systems not really analyzing the VRM temps too closely since they are focused on the CPU/GPU primarily.

@don_svetlio is not wrong here. It is not an explicit throttle happening on your system but a lack of voltage being able to be supplied from a minor component to a primary component which ultimately equates to power loss and clock speed loss even if the laptop and monitoring software isn't reporting any explicit throttling in the traditional sense that they know how to look out for.

EDIT:

That being said, it is incredibly ****ty of Dell to charge a premium for a premium product packed with high performance hardware that can't actually fully utilize said hardware due to thermal constraints and market it as a superior machine, to say: my 7577. Luckily for you, a thorough analysis and guide has already been laid out with outstanding results so it is really down to your skill and confidence as to whether you want to go that route.
I believe @custom90gt is looking to sell his XPS 15 that is already modded I believe. Maybe that deal could work out for you two since you are still within your full refund return period?

 

Cramming "high performance" components into a crippled laptop is an industry problem.

 

I've never been much of a weight weenie myself... I don't care so much about how thin a laptop is. I would rather have unrestrained performance.

 

So instead of ASSuming it's VRM throttling 100% of the time let's see if we can actually help the OP out?

Do you have dell power manager installed? What is it set to? Does it ever go above 1.9ghz without throttle stop intervention (like when you first turn it on)? Has it ever worked properly? Do you have a weird TS setting enabled (start your laptop without TS and look in task manager to see if the CPU gets higher than 1.9).

I realize VRM throttling is a real thing with these laptops, but most users won't run into it unless they are doing demanding things.

 

I just now realized I had this thread mixed up with this thread in my head! : http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...5-9560-kaby-lake.802345/page-35#post-10642349

Oops, my bad. @Vlatko what is your system cooling policy set to right now? Also, what is your power *slider* set to?

 

The fact that the OP can increase the frequency with TS means it's likely a CPU power profile (dell or windows) or something screwy with TS. VRM throttling, power limit throttling, or thermal throttling would not increase at all.

 

Yes, thank you so much! I was close to doing a complete reinstall of Windows and/or prying open the device which I'm really not comfortable doing right now.

It was the freaking Dell Power Manager. The only reason I installed it was so I can more easily set charging rules(I set mine to charge up to 70% max to preserve battery life span). Either it comes default or I unknowingly set it to the quiet profile under thermal management, which obviously underclocks CPU by 50% LOL. As soon as I set it to balanced, high performance, clocks came back to normal.

I feel kinda stupid now but oh well, you learn either way. I'll be smarter when I experience REAL throttling issues and how to better manage thermals with this device. I really like it and I'd hate to return it.

 

Good ****! Glad to see it was such a straight forward and simple fix. Your Dell Power Manager must be different than mine. Care to share any screenshots of the options it gives you? I'm pretty sure mine only offers charging profiles, but not any actual performance profile modifications. I kind of hate proprietary control systems like that, but they have kind of become the status quo these days unfortunately.

 

Sure, you can find a few here.
https://imgur.com/a/gJLhb

It's not actually performance related profiles, but under thermal management tab, the settings are performance related to better manage thermals. Like the quiet profile cripples the CPU for better thermals, as I've learned now. I wouldn't bother with this app at all but I really like the advanced charging options it gives you so that's why I have it installed.

 

Thank you! That's interesting, my 7577 Power Manager doesn't have the Thermal Management tab with profiles at all last I checked. I can't decide if I'm sad about that or not though, lol. It only has the Battery Info and Advanced Charge tabs. I wonder if this was done on purpose by Dell or if they are just lacking on fully supporting the 7577 because it's not a premium-tier machine from their POV.

 

Who knows but in my case it'd be a blessing to have power manager like yours, hahaha, would have saved me hours and hours of troubleshooting stuck CPU frequency.

 

Glad that's all it was. I think at one time or another a few of us have done the same thing with dell power manager.