EasyCPU: how to improve the cpu performance

EasyCPU version 2.1

Free download: https://www.easy-cpu.com

EasyCPU is a free application useful for improving processor performance.
Undervolting and stop throttling. Overclocking. Especially useful for laptops and gaming.

EasyCPU works in Windows, only Intel Core processors (minimum fourth generation).

Features

• Complete real time monitoring of processor sensors: utilizations, frequencies, temperatures and powers (for each group the current values, the minimums, maximums and the average of each single core are displayed). Four charts can be displayed. Saving of monitoring data with report creation.
• Customizable stress test with choice of duration, number of threads and stress level. This will allow you to test the processor's performance while you are deciding on its settings.
• Five preset profiles are provided, but an unlimited number of profiles can be created. Any profile can be renamed or deleted and all its settings can be changed.
• Sensor monitoring, stress test and profile management are arranged in a single window: this allows you to work easily and have the whole situation under control.
• In each profile you can decide the processor performance by setting a lot of parameters: Windows power plan, speed shift, bidirectional prochot, frequency multipliers to limit or overclock the cpu, all turbo-boost settings (enablements, clamps, long and short power max, time), all voltage settings (adaptive/static, voltage, voltage offset, IccMax) to undervolting or overclocking the cpu.
• Automatic and customizable execution of any profiles at Windows startup.
• Automatic and customizable execution of any profiles at the change of laptop power supply (AC / battery).
• Automatic and customizable execution of any profiles when any application is launched (app-profile pairing).
• Manual execution of any profiles with custom hotkeys when EasyCPU is closed.
• Tray icon that displays essential CPU monitoring and the menu for quick execution of any profiles.
• Hardware information: CPU, Bios and Mainboard, RAM, Graphics, Storages.
• Online Help: all profile settings and procedures are explained.
• The settings are maintained without problems in every situation, even after standby or hibernation, restart, change of power supply and so on.

 

Thanks for sharing your product with us. I will download it and give it a go. I saw the warnings about XTU and ThrottleStop. I am a huge fan of ThrottleStop (and an XTU hater). After it has been installed and the initial setup complete is it still possible to use ThrottleStop in conjunction with your utility? Or, do they have conflicting resource utilization?

 

Hi, these applications modify the same values, so it is good to use only one of them. EasyCPU works with the same drivers as Throttlestop, but provides some different options.

Before trying EasyCPU I recommend disabling Throttlestop. Later you can choose which one to use

 

Thanks for sharing. I see it can gobble down up to 0.5% of processing cycles. And you have stated up to 20% more performance in etc Cinebench on your website. Can you explain? Let’s say we run stock as well oc’d. Thanks

 

Hi, EasyCPU works with a background service that performs various tasks: automatically running profiles, hotkeys, app-profile pairing, etc. This service, in the tests I conducted, has a very low impact on CPU usage.

The undervolting procedure significantly improves performance: on my laptop I could see a noticeable improvement in the Cinebench score. This obviously also happens when other applications (eg Throttlestop) set the same cpu management.

 

It definitely works and easily applied an undervolt. I had no problem using it. I was a bit too aggressive at first and had to boot into Safe Mode and change some things because it was applying settings I created that were too much of an undervolt.

Suggestion 1: make the Hardware Info window resizeable so scrolling is not necessary.
Suggestion 2: show the various core, cache, system agent voltage value in left side window pane above or below the power values.

Before:

After:
I like that it can create a new Windows Power Profile. Cool feature.

I edited the EasyCPU.ini file to unlock the multipliers (by default they were not changeable).

 

Thanks for your suggestions: I saved them in my to-do file.

 

Hi, currently EasyCPU allows to increase the multipliers (overclock) only for processors with suffix K or X. Is your i7-4800MQ really a processor with multipliers unlocked? In other words, when you do the stress test, does your processor reach 3.7Ghz on all cores?

 

The haswell gen is known for having CPU turbo bins, IE i7 46xx/47xx can do 2 multipliers, 48xx can do 4, and the 4900/4910MQ can do 6.

 

About the i7-4800MQ processor, in a review, I found this: "Each core offers a base speed of 2.7 GHz but can dynamically increase clock rates with Turbo Boost up to 3.5 GHz (for 4 active cores), 3.6 GHz (for 2 active cores) and 3.7 GHz (for 1 active core)."

EasyCPU (see screenshot above) allows as maximum values of the multipliers for this CPU: 37 for one active core (= 3.7 GHz), 36 for two cores (= 3.6 GHz), and only 35 (= 3.5 GHz) for 3 or 4 active cores.

Now, Mr. Fox has unlocked the multipliers in the .ini file (EasyCPU does not allow you to unlock them for this processor, because it is not K or X). But I have serious doubts that its processor can work at 3.7 GHz with all 4 active cores.

 

Haswell was last generation Mobile processors you could increase Clockspeed for low entry models.

Some info https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/246907-how-mobile-i7-cpus-work-information-guide/

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/hpet-questions.807174/page-4#post-10570310

 

When you are done with the XTU interface tuning the settings, and have saved a profile, you don't need to keep running XTU - unless you like the monitoring / graphics - I use hwinfo64 and don't need XTU any longer after the settings have been established.

So at boot, after XTU runs and sets the profile settings, I exit the XTU systray app and XTU closes along with the background service, altogether stopping extra CPU usage.

Can you do that with EasyCPU? Exit after settings at boot time? Maybe have an option (I haven't tried it yet) that actually does that automatically?

Thank you for developing and sharing your new tuning tool EasyCPU.

 

Hi, it is currently not possible to do so. But it is necessary to specify 2 things: 1) When EasyCPU is closed and also the systray window is closed, the EasyCPU service does not monitor the values of the sensors, therefore the CPU consumption is extremely reduced. 2) The EasyCPU service serves to perform the app-profile pairing, to run profiles through hotkeys and to check that the values set are not modified by the system after a standby or after a hibernation. These are very useful functions and as I said the CPU consumption is really negligible. Also XTU must have an active service to make the app-profile pairing, otherwise it would not be possible.

 

Cool, figures that's why I don't use app-profile pairing

I either have it set to highest performance benchmarking mode - Winter and Air-conditioned environments, daily driver mode, power saving mode, and I don't switch between throughout my session - I manually switch the profile at the beginning of a new session if the last profile doesn't fit my current usage.

Can you disable app-profile pairing in EasyCPU and run that way - manual pick a single profile and run that throughout? Like XTU? Maybe you can add that feature - or simply disable app-profile pairing?

Since I haven't used it in XTU maybe it's never been enabled? - gee I hope that if I did try it I could stop it after starting it... yipe, better not try it.

 

Hi, I don't really like XTU because it often doesn't apply values (I gave up on understanding what it does and when it does).

For your request I will try to study something for the next version (Edit: however, even now, if you don't set app-profile pairing in EasyCPU, it won't use resources.).

What processor do you have and what resource consumption of EasyCPU did you find?

 

Sorry, running AMD now, maybe later (weeks).

Thanks for considering the switch idea, I'll check XTU later to see if applying an App-Profile keeps XTU engaged with the background service running.

Always nice to see a new OC tool. A nice light-weight tool would be awesome for helping out newbies that come here looking for help.

Also, I don't usually run Windows 10 and on Windows 7 / 8.1 I don't see XTU issues reported by some, it's been stable for me for as long as it has been released - with a couple of version issues along the way - and it's all I need.

Basically if a tool can simply undervolt by -100mV and as long as the CPU is stable, that's the simple tool I'd like to use to help people that come in from the outside looking for a quick fix for their thermal throttling.

Usually an undervolt of -100mV takes the 100% load temps down by 10c and shifts the temps down from the 90's to the 80's and stops all / most of the temperature issues without requiring the owner to foot the bill for re-pasting, RMA, or messing with it themselves.

Most people just want a fix so they can get back to gaming or work or whatever they got the laptop for in the first place.

I'm a hardware / software engineer of 40 years, started "OC'ing" when I was in Jr. HS - swapping xtals in/out of WWII gear, same for IBM PC's, Apple II's, Mac's, etc etc, so for me I have what I need most of the time with me, but for newbies - people that just want it to work, a simple tool - glory free - is all they need.

Thanks again.

 

Some users have reported a download problem.
The problem has been solved and now the download button works.

 

Hello to all. Today I would like to talk to you about how EasyCPU behaves when another program or Windows modifies the values you have set in the active profile. In fact, while writing EasyCPU, I realized that there are several situations in which a profile is activated, but in some situations, the REAL values set for the CPU change. These situations are mainly:
1) Restart the PC (without turning off);
2) Standby and hibernation;
3) Laptop management software that acts on the fans, keyboard lights, etc.
4) Any other program that could modify the values of the active profile.

In all these cases EasyCPU notices the changes and restores the profile values. I advise you to pay attention because not all CPU management software have this function. XTU for example does not have it. Also be careful to run the checks with a program other than the one running the settings (eg HWMonitor), because XTU does not always show the REAL values set in the CPU, but those that XTU believes it has set for eternity. EasyCPU instead performs a true reading of the MSR register and shows both the data of the profile and those actually active in your laptop.

One warning: this EasyCPU function is active only when the program is closed. If this is not the case, the correction of the values could disturb the work (setting) you are doing via EasyCPU. If you want to get feedback on this, you can open the LOG file (Info menu) and, if a data correction has been performed by EasyCPU, you will find this annotation: "Correction of mismatched data: successfully".

 

38XXQM and 48XXMQ/49XXMQ series were able to increase their turbo multiplier in BIOS by +4 so if it had a 3.6Ghz all-core turbo, we were able to do 4.0Ghz all-core turbo.

I think 28XXQM also did this. I don't remember if throttlestop can increase them, I think it could.

 

@EasyCPU developer

very nice work! looks interesting and i'll play around with it too.

this is for intel cpu i'd assume? any plans for support AMD's cpu?

 

Thanks! Yes, EasyCPU is only for Intel Core. I'd like to do something for AMD too but I have to get a laptop with that CPU first. I also did this program for fun ... Until a few years ago I was a professional programmer, but now I dedicate myself to teaching. So let's see if EasyCPU will have some success I could also continue ... Otherwise I will only modify it for my personal use.

 

Hi Davide, the program works great on my xps 13 9360. Undervolted and able to change speed shift values. Before activating my first profile i saw that the default speed shift value was 128 for my dell. After restarting this default value is 0 now before setting any profile to active. After logging in my cpu runs full speed and the temps go high. I quickly open EasyCPU and activate my profile where the value is 128.

Is it possible that EasyCPU changed the default speed shift value of my laptop to 0 in the system? If yes, is there a way to turn it back to 128 without the use of EasyCPU?

 

Hi, No EasyCPU sets only the value written in the profile.

I advise you to check if you have activated a Windows Power Plan "High Performance" and this remains active in the system even if you do not run profiles automatically when Windows starts. After restarting, Windows loads the last power plan automatically.

 

I changed the power plan back to the old 'Dell Balanced' like before. Switched the battery slider back to 'Better Battery' and restarted. When opening EasyCPU (no profile active) i see that the undervolt has been reset to 0 which is good. But the Speed Shift value has not been reset to 128, still 0. I'm quite sure when opening EasyCPU for the first time the default value has always been 128.

Should i try uninstalling EasyCPU to see if the value goes back to 128 without the program on my system? But without monitoring on EasyCPU i'm not quite sure how to check the value.

 

EasyCPU reads the default value (for Intel CPUs is always 128) when Windows starts, before other programs are started. Obviously you have a program (not EasyCPU) that sets Speed Shift: it could be the laptop program that controls the fans, performances, etc.

Try this test: in the tools / option menu activate the automatic execution of a profile when Windows starts and set the delay to 10 seconds. Then set the speed shift of the startup profile to 64 (or any other value other than 0 and also different from 128). After rebooting, wait a minute after all programs have loaded, then open EasyCPU and check the Log file (Info menu). If you find a line that says "correction of mismatched data" this means that another program has moved the speed shift to 0 after EasyCPU had set it to 64: subsequently EasyCPU has noticed that the value has been modified and resets it to again at 64.

 

No, just the 3 standard lines that say it's executed succesfully. When reverting back to manual, i do see that before activating a profile and opening EasyCPU, SST is red in HWinfo and no SST with green letters at all in ThrottleStop. Maybe Speed Shift is just off before opening EasyCPU? But still strange, when opening EasyCPU it shows 0 as default value. It shouldn't say nothing at all if it's off right?

 

I did several tests on my Clevo with i7-9750H CPU and if I start without active profile it gives me speed shift 45 (default 128). So something similar happens to me too. In my case it is definitely the laptop's Control Center that does this. I have verified that it is not EasyCPU that sets Speed Shift.

EDIT: When speed shift is disabled in the options, both cells of the grid must be empty, not 0

You can try uninstalling EasyCPU and see what happens with Throttlestop.

Alternatively, why don't you set a startup profile with all standard values (including speed shift to 128)? In all cases, this would solve your problem. If you create a new profile, it will initially have all the default values.

 

PS. Please also check in the BIOS: sometimes speed shift can be set there

 

@Ainu I think I found the bug: when speed shift is disabled in the CPU (not in the EasyCPU options), in the Actual CPU Values column the value of 0 is shown instead of no value (empty cell). So, when you start EasyCPU without any startup profile, Speed Shift is disabled and the value 0 is incorrectly shown, whereas Speed Shift is not 0, but is disabled.

I fixed this bug, I will publish an update soon.

 

Ahh great, thx! Going to test it out while gaming this weekend and will donate for a great program!

 

I might jump on this compared to throttle stop but im a noob when it comes to undervolting. I have a gigabyte aero oled laptop.

 

EasyCPU Upgrade 2.1

1) EasyCPU is now enabled to use the tenth generation Intel Core CPUs (Ice Lake). Warning: the operation of these CPUs has not yet been tested due to lack of hardware; the possibility of using EasyCPU with these CPUs has only been introduced. Users will be able to test tenth-generation CPUs and report any malfunctions.

2) The CPU code name has been corrected for some CPUs.

3) EasyCPU now allows you to overclock the fourth-generation CPUs (Haswell).

4) When Windows is started without a startup profile or in all cases where Speed Shift is disabled in the CPU, in the "Actual CPU Values" column of the "Profile Settings" grid, the empty "Speed Shift" cell is now correctly displayed and not the value 0 (only possible with Speed Shift enabled).

5) The "Hardware Info" window can now be resized.

How to install the Upgrade 2.1
1) Download the new EasyCPU Setup.
2) Enter in the control panel and uninstall EasyCPU.
3) Leave the check "Keep the EasyCPU custom files" selected.
4) Install the new version of EasyCPU, then restart the PC.

 

Hi everyone, today I would like to show you some tests on my notebook settings (Clevo NH50RA - Intel Core i7-9750H CPU). According to my tests this CPU supports values of under volt different for Core / Cache. In my case I set both to Voltage Offset = -130 mV and on Cinebench 20 I got the score of 3077. Then I gradually changed only the Core value, bringing it up to -250 mV: in this case I got the score of 3193. I must also point out that without undevoltage (ie with the default values of the notebook: Core / Cache = 0 mV, TDP = 45-60 W, Power Plan = Balanced, Speed Shift = 128) the score obtained on Cinebench 20 was just 2407. So the total improvement achieved was 3193-2407 = 786 points! A performance improvement under stress by using EasyCPU of 33%!



My final settings:

 

usually too much voltage result in too much power and it easily hit that tdp mark and throttles thats why these types of software is awesome (yours and throttlestop). of course until a point where if reducing too much voltage start to result in performance decrease then bsod.

hope this will work until golden cove after tigerlake, rumor says pretty decent performance compare to CFL ~22-25% IPC uplift and would love to have this software OCing the heck out of it.

 

Not exactly apples vs. apples But a nice improvement anyway.

 

Of course, in fact I wrote " total improvement". "The default values of the notebook" VS "my final setting".
This is also a fact worth mentioning: how much can a notebook improve by managing the CPU well.

 

Indeed. The clowns that manufacture most of the notebook rubbish on the market could easily distinguish their brands by caring enough to make them suck a little less, with hardly any effort. It's easier to let the end user sort their messes, but most end users are lacking the know how to correct their demonstrations of incompetence and lack of regard for proper functionality.

 

Can anybody give a quick TLDR for what this offers vs throttlestop and XTU?

 

For me the window is broken, resizing it doesnt help, most of the buttons arent visible:

 

They all do the same basically but with different interfaces. (tldr complete )

 

Oh...

Cool, I guess!

 

This tool is a bit easier to use since the UI is overall easier to understand but I prefer throttlestop myself

 

@Temp1234453 you have a problem of resolution and screen proportions.

 

Ok, only the main differences ...
EasyCPU does not handle older CPUs than the fourth generation, Throttlestop also handles old ones.
EasyCPU manages different turbo boosts for each profile (I don't know if throttlestop does it, I ask for confirmation).
EasyCPU also manages the power plan, Throttlestop and XTU do not (can be very useful, not only for the power, as the Windows power plans manage many things, such as standbay and more).
If I'm not mistaken XTU doesn't handle speed shift, EasyCPU and Throttlestop do it.
EasyCPU and XTU can automatically run a profile when you launch an app, Throttlestop doesn't think so.
EasyCPU has an installation setup and therefore you don't have to manually create the procedure to run at startup and you don't have to manually install the mfc libraries (after downloading them to another site).

 

Its 1080p , with Windows scale set to 125% afaik

 

I can only reproduce a similar error by mistaking the proportions: For example by setting 4: 3 on a 16: 9 screen. Try setting Windows recommended settings ...

 

Have you by change got the intel Power balance as an option in this program?

 

No at the moment EasyCPU does not have this setting. Is useful? I could add it in the next version ...

 

In an older laptop with optimus, it actually boost cpu performance power usage over intergrated graphics power and vis versa, which may be ideal for certain situations. There isnt much documentation of it however. What would be gold though is if you can decode intels microcode btw

 

Why spend the time to try and re-create ThrottleStop? I just don't get it... This doesn't make any sense to me.