720QM on Envy 15 with Turbo Boost gets 2.66 ghz not advertised 2.8 ghz?

I have two Envy 15 laptops with 720QM processors and both of them max out at 2.66 ghz when running processor benchmarks. The 720QM processor is advertised as being able to turbo boost to 2.8 ghz so I don't understand why it won't go to 2.8? I'm using Intel's Turbo Boost Monitor 2.0.

I even went as far as spraying down the heat pipe for both CPU's with canned air so the heat sink was below room temperature and there was a mountain of thermal room for the CPU, yet it wouldn't hit 2.8 ghz.

I have a feeling Turbo Boost reads the maximum TDP from the motherboard and artificially caps itself to a maximum boost level. Does anyone have a good and factual explanation as to why I'm not getting the extra 140 mhz?

I plan to upgrade my main Envy 15 to the i7 2920XM processor, which I've confirmed that the cooling system can take, but I'm worried that I'll be wasting $1000 because I'll be blocked from taking advantage of the processor despite being capable.

Some insight would be appreciated.

 

I really don't have an answer for you other than to relay my own personal experience, i have the 740QM (1.73-2.93) using Intels TB monitor i have on the very rare occasion observed it spike to its 2.93 max, but more often than not it seems to max out at 2.80

 

yeah I also had a 740qm and 90% of the time it maxed out at 2.8ghz, only once in a while did it go to 2.93 when things got really intense

 

Don't worry about the clock speeds, its not of any real consequence

The real problem here is that you will NEVER be able to swap a 720QM for a 2920XM (the 720QM is a socket PGA988 while the 2920XM is a socket FCPGA988; it simply will never fit). Unless you plan to get a new motherboard that will have support for the new processor; but you would probably run into issues of fitting a different motherboard in a case that isn't meant to fit it.

 

The reason it can't hit 2.8 is that the 2.8 can only be achieved if ONE core of the 4 cores is running on maximum. The 2.66 is the HIGHEST for TWO of the four running on maximum. The HIGHEST for the 720QM running on ALL FOUR cores is 2.0 I think. This is not a fluke. Intel made it that way. The thing is the Turbo will never activate 2.8 for all four cores, only for one when necessary.

Also as what Agent9 said, the 2920XM won't work with an Envy 15 due to different chipsets and BIOS limitations.

 

where do you find to info for max turbo boost with 1 core/2 core etc.? The intel website only says the turbo boost for 1 core for every processor listed

 

Remember also that turbo mode is throttled by the internal temps of the cpu as well as the workloads being run.

And in the case of an i5, this could also mean that if the integrated gpu is running hot, the cpu might not throttle up. It's all one big package.

 

Actually it appears that FCPGA988 and PGA988 are the same physical socket, which is why I beleived they would fit. It also appears, at least according to wikipedia all of the core i chipsets including the PM55 used in the Envy 15 support the 32nm architechture.

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/List_of_Intel_chipsets#Core_i_Series_Mobile_chipsets

Now, this still isn't a guarantee that the new Sandy Bridge processors will work in the Envy 15, but it does seem to indicate that it's possible.

 

Sandy Bridge is not compatible with 5-series chipsets, period. It's really as simple as that. The "32nm architecture" it supports is Arrendale. And either way, the E15 was not designed for a 55W CPU.

 

I see what you're saying, wikipedia doesn't seem to link to Arrendale which is what causes the confusion. However you're making a very uninformed statement when you say that the E15 wasn't designed for a 55W CPU. HP offered the 920XM a 55W CPU on the Envy 15 as a hidden option from the factory that dealers could select, and I confirmed with an HP dealer that they had sold several fully warrantied Envy 15's with 920XM processors without a problem.

 

While I believe HP sells with 920 remember HP has a long proud history of selling units with thermal issues. MoBo prematurely fail just out of warranty in many cases.

 

Getting in on this a bit late, but looking at this page on Wikpedia is a better description of the sockets involved. Note that the Envy actually has a socket G1 (which is what they renamed the old rPGA988A sockets to), while Sandy Bridge requires a Socket G2 (or rPGA988B). While the socket itself will probably physically allow a Sandy Bridge processor to fit, the lines and pins probably won't match, which, on top of chipset and microcode support, is what will likely doom your attempt at an upgrade from 1st generation core i to 2nd generation.

You can also check out this Wikipedia link for direct socket G1 information... they don't seem to have any info on socket G2 up yet.

 

I didn't know that. lol

 

you could probably check the max turbo boost on one core when running the Super_PI benchmark, which is single threated application.