New Core i5-4310U (2.0GHz, up to 3.0GHz Turbo) won't exceed 1.56GHz- throttling?

This question is more educational than anything at this point because I've decided to return the system in question. But I still would like to know the reason to appease my curiosity and frustration and for future reference.

I recently ran across a deal I couldn't pass up on a Dell Latitude E7440 from the Dell Outlet. I have been wanting one of these to replace my Latitude 6430u, which is just over two years old. The biggest attraction was the E7440's optional 14" FHD (1920x1080) display, which was an upgrade from the 14" HD+ (1600x900) display on my 6430u. The particular unit that I ordered had the "touchscreen" version of the FHD display and it hasn't impressed me. If you order the regular, non-touch FHD display, it is brighter at 300nits and has the anti-glare finish. The touchscreen display is glossy and not as bright at 270nits. The display that I got also isn't evenly backlit, which is especially noticeable in the corners when displaying darker colors.

But CPU performance and the impact it had on overall system performance were what really bothered me. My 6430u has the Core i5-3427U (1.8GHz, Turbo up to 2.8GHz) and the E7440 came with the newer and faster Core i5-4310U (2.0GHz, Turbo up to 3.0GHz). The E7440 also has the faster Intel HD 4400 graphics compared to the HD 4000 in my 6430u.

After using the E7440 for a few days, I couldn't shake the feeling that it was SLOWER than my 6430u. I decided to run some benchmarks and my suspicion was confirmed. Here's a look at the two systems performed on the following tests-

(First number is the 6430u (i5-3427U) and the second is the E7440 (i5-4310U))

wPrime (sec)
32M- 20.59/32.41
1024M- 656.31/1031.67
(the E7440 is 57% slower)

SuperPI (sec)
1M- 13.65/23.23
2M- 31.06/52.43
32M- 715.7/1158.6
(the E7440 is 61-70% slower)
The clock speed was also shown at 2591.7 MHz (i5-3427U) and 1596.4 MHz (i5-4310U) on this test.

Passmark- 2023.90/801.00
CPU Mark- 3886/2518
2D Graphics- 603/396.8
3D Graphics- 483.8/126.9

The Passmark tests also showed a 'measured speed' for the CPU. The i5-3427U in my old 6430u clocked at 1794.7 MHz and Turbo up to 2791.7 MHz. But the i5-4310U 'measured speed' was only 1596.5 MHz (and the same for Turbo).

So the i5-4310U rated at 2.0GHz and up to 3.0GHz Turbo will only run at 1.6GHz period. I made sure that the 'Ultra Performance' power plan was selected and that fans were set on High in Dell's mobility settings. So why the heck was it running so slowly???

 

You should take that up with dell. That machine is obviously not working correctly.

 

No, it seems like that is how it is designed.

See:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2156...0-review-hefty-to-carry-but-a-joy-to-use.html

Yeah, it's a lot slower than the review indicates it should be, but the Dells I've used myself run like that, ime; mostly because they run hot and throttle.

I would return it and look to another notebook maker for optimum performance (perhaps Lenovo).

Btw, 300 nits vs. 270 nits is not noticeable unless you're always working outdoors or in direct sunlight. The evenness is an issue always though.

 

Not even joking, if a machine is designed to work below its specs I consider it broken and would get a refund asap. I don't care what the reason is. If you are going to put <hardware X> inside a machine, the machine should be capable of handling <hardware X>.

Good luck with getting a new machine! I don't know what your size/weight reqs are, but the XPS 13 and the AW13 are pretty decent for that kind of laptop (though the latter has a stronger GPU than you'd think I guess XD)

 

I agree 100% with the refund.

Good luck to OP on getting one.

 

Would be interesting to know what temps are going on - Do you reckon you could post them up for curiosity's sake?

Might have been worth trying ThrottleStop just for 'teh lulz' and seeing if that sorted out the CPU frequency problem.

 

The temp during the Passmark test were only 114.8 degrees Fahrenheit and never reached 120 on any other test. In contrast, my old system (with the i5-3427U) reached 142.4 in the Passmark tests.

 

I have had Dell also with Haswell i5-4210U and Throttlestop helped to stabilize frequency at 2.4GHz. Need some undervolting and TDP limit set to 2. But better switch to Broadwell U, it is working good like the Ivy Bridge U series.

 

My E7440 has performed as I would expect. Did someone mess up either one on the innumerable settings in the BIOS or set a low Maximum Processor State in power management? The former is something that is unlikely to have been checked by Dell on a machine which was returned.

John

 

The Maximum Processor State in the power settings was set at 100% and System Cooling Policy was set to Active. I also had the Thermal Mode in the Dell Enhanced Settings set to "Ultra Performance (Max Fan Levels)" as well. So I'm pretty sure it wasn't related to the power settings.

I hadn't even considered something in the BIOS settings might be the culprit. Good info for future reference!

In any case, I returned the system to Dell and the full credit (no restocking fee) posted to my credit card today. If another great deal comes along on the the E7440 from the Outlet (I only paid $630 including tax for the one I just sent back), I might give it another shot. I won't get the Touchscreen again, just the regular FHD 1920x1080 display. Or I may wait until I can get a deal on the E7450 later on.

In the meantime, I'm back to using my 6430u. It has another full year of warranty and I just installed a new keyboard and new hinges, so it should be good to go. I just installed a new display in my trusty old E6410 also, so my backup system is in good running shape also. I really don't need a new one at this point....but I still want one! =)