The ThrottleStop Guide

Throttlestop totally busted on the newest Windows Insider Fast ring build - 8.70 shows all processors at 0x (lol) greyed out and locked.

EDIT: Sometimes reports the processors Disable Turbo'd speed even with the option unticked.

 

ThrottleStop has not worked correctly on many of the Windows 10 Insider Preview builds. When you see a bunch of zeros for monitoring data, that is a sign that Windows is not allowing ThrottleStop to read data from the CPU's registers. If ThrottleStop cannot accurately read data, it will not be able to reliably write to these registers either so ThrottleStop will not be able to control your CPU.

The next version of Windows might be the one that finally blocks the WinRing0 driver and puts a dagger into ThrottleStop. We should all know pretty soon. Contact Microsoft and complain is all you can do. I cannot fix something that Microsoft has broken.

 

Slow ring builds worked just fine, but it's only a matter of time before they up the Slow ring on to the build I'm on now on Fast.

I doubt I'm going to get thru to any airheads over at Microsoft - can we kiss goodbye to compatibility with programs like Throttlestop?

EDIT: Update, clicking "Disable Turbo" on RealTemp works just fine with Throttlestop completley turned off, once TS is reopened my CPU is locked at 26x (non turbo) and responds to nothing.

Now this - W T F? No there isn't?



Mods on the /r/Windows10 subreddit are saying post on Feedback Hub and upvote it to get noticed - so here you go Window users, upvote please!

https://aka.ms/AA8dla8

 

Latest 19041.208 build, clean installed a few days ago and up to date with all Windows updates:

TS still working fine for me. Apparantly 19041 is the final build...

 

19041.208 is Slow Ring

As stated above I'm on Fast which is even more experimental I understand, but it seems we have lost WinRing0 functionality erroneously - important to bring this to the attention of the right people!

 

and after using this reg??

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard\Scenarios\HypervisorEnforcedCodeIntegrity]
"Enabled"=dword:00000000

and if voltage control is disabled remove ucode file from system32.

 

I've added this reg and no change - throttlestop shows this and locks my processor in non turbo state:


As you can see voltage control is not working either - all value on the right are 0 but I don't see this "ucode" file you speak of?

 

Navigate to windows/system32 and delete mcupdate dlls

 

It's working fine on my "fast" ring build, 19624.

But, there is a but. I have it autostart and minimize to tray. It does autostart, and I see it in task manager but it's NOT in the tray.

FYI the TS version is beta4.

 

Now I have a whole host of new options that were previously greyed out.

Undervolts still don't apply but processor speed is no longer locked.

I'm on the same build and have it autostarting minimized also - the profile switches are not affecting the processor speed, it is locked in non turbo state and no undervolts are applied. Whats different?

 

Laptop models, BIOS versions, micro-code versions?

 

Razer Blade 17 Pro, latest BIOS (1.04), no idea.

 

Check wit HWinfo what is your current micro-code version.

 

Opening TS locks the CPU at 26x and cannot be undone until a clean reboot.

 

Use unlocker or some other method, and rename the microcode_update file to microcode_update_backup or something, reboot and try again.

 

What is "unlocker or some other method" ?

My TS worked just fine on every other version of Windows except these Fast Ring Insider builds.

 

Did you follow the Task Scheduler Guide exactly?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/the-throttlestop-guide.531329/#post-6865107

Many Windows 10 Preview versions have been released over the years without ThrottleStop or WinRing0 functionality. I think Microsoft does this on purpose just to see if anyone still needs this program or not. They count up the complaints, flip a coin, and they have continued to include ThrottleStop support with each OS, final version, release.

19041.208 is about as close as one can get to the next official 20H1 version. @Che0063 has confirmed that ThrottleStop and WinRing0 continue to work just fine so no worries. All ThrottleStop users should be good for another 6 months. Thanks for confirming that.

If ThrottleStop is important to you, stick to using the official versions of Windows 10. It is a really bad idea to be using any software that has access to your CPU's voltage control registers if that software is not working properly.

@amihail91 - It looks like WinRing0 is working OK or else ThrottleStop would not start at all. Are you trying to use TS in a VM or perhaps the Windows 10 version you are using has a new VM feature or the antivirus program you are using has this feature.

 

I have Surface Book 2. Intel 8650u. Using HWinfo/CPUz, my undervolts and everything sure seems to be working fine (except for the minimimize)

I've been running it that way for years now and has always minimized to tray. Nothing has changed there. The app is still running, I show it in task manager, it is just that seems with this build, the icon just refuses to show.

If it were closing completely, I'd be a bit more "worried" about it, but it's still there and running. Just odd

 

No, I'm booted into Windows 10 Insider build 19624.1000 (latest Fast ring build) and I don't run an antivirus or with any sort of memory integrity/core isolation options on. NOTHING has changed except updating from Slow ring to Fast ring.

Yes TS will open but everything reports 0. When opening TS fresh with no config file, my CPU is locked in non-turbo ratio and can only be undone with a fresh reboot.

 

Is your task setup exactly the same as the Task Scheduler Guide recommends? Lots of users create their own methods. If the Task Scheduler Guide method no longer works then 6 months from now, I might have to come up with a new method to keep Microsoft happy.

When you start ThrottleStop, if it does not find a ThrottleStop.INI config file, it will read the turbo ratio values directly from your CPU. If it reads 0 then either your BIOS or Windows has set this important register to all zeros or ThrottleStop is being blocked from reading this register correctly. I see a few things in your screenshots that show that ThrottleStop is not being allowed to read your CPU's registers correctly. No idea why.

MSR 0x1AD contains all of the turbo ratios. After you boot up, you can try running RWEverything if you want to have a look at that register. If that program is not working, try running the Dump program that Dufus wrote. It will dump all of the CPU register values into a file. You can attach the Dump.txt file to your next post.

Dump
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0dpSo9k93jDX1Fpa1FpTmo1Qk0

 

RWEverything works but I've honestly no idea what I'm looking at.

Here's what Dump spat out: https://www.mediafire.com/file/6lu3a5moozw65mt/Dump.txt/file

 

Could you use Upload a file instead of using a 3rd party host?

 

No, none of my 3 browsers will let it through - seems to be forum related.

https://pastebin.com/q2zy5zFj

 

What exactly did you do to finally see the turbo ratios correctly?

Code:

0x1AD 00002829:2A2B2C2D

MSR 0x1AD contains the turbo ratios. These numbers are in hex and organized in groups of two. 28 hex is 40 decimal, 29 hex is 41, etc., etc.

Turbo ratios are - 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45

If you got this working after deleting the mcupdate file then that file might be corrupted.

 

That Dump.txt file is with the stock mcupdate file

When I deleted the mcupdate file lots of options on TS became ungreyed out that I've never seen before - yet none of the undervolt options stuck but the CPU multiplier was unlocked. Can't quite get my head around this one?

To clarify:
With Fast ring mcupdate file: everything is broken, cpu locked in non turbo state, FIVR multipliers report 0 and undervolt settings do nothing.

With mcupdate file deleted: all options un-grey in TS, CPU unlocks itself from non turbo state BUT undervolt settings do nothing.

Anyone got the mcupdate file from Slow ring build 19041.208?

EDIT: What's totally baffling to me is that the only other option, Intel XTU, is also totally broken.

 

Could you disable SGX in bios and check if you can UV.

 

SGX is already off bro - I think this is a Windows Insider specific build bug.

 

@amihail91 - Intel CPUs use a single register called the overclocking mailbox. All voltage information goes through that one register. That red box in the picture above should show the default maximum turbo multipliers. You should see 45, 44, 43, 42 in that box. These numbers are also stored in the overclocking mailbox. It seems like this one register has been blocked. If ThrottleStop cannot read or write information to this register correctly, it is not surprising that Intel XTU has the same problem.

Some motherboards have a BIOS option that enables Intel XTU Support. Anything like that on your computer? It would not be too hard for your Windows Insider version to block this one register which would cause all sorts of problems for XTU and ThrottleStop.

As soon as you see ThrottleStop reporting odd looking numbers in that red box, I am 99% sure that voltage control is not going to work.

 

I actually can't reproduce what TS reported in that screenshot - not even deleting mcupdate and rebooting does anything now.

I have an option in Overclocking Menu that mentions XTU, enabling/disabling seems to do absolutely nothing.

UPDATE: Disabling "Virtual Machine Platform" (required for running WSL 2) brings back expected functionality. Perhaps we can dig deeper here?

 

I thought the problem might be VM related. I posted about this on the previous page.

You have dug as deep as one can dig. TS is not compatible with WSL 2 or anything VM related.

 

But I'm not running inside a VM, it's a feature to allow Windows Susystem for Linux to work. It worked together with it in previous builds.

 

Contact Microsoft and complain. They need to know that this new VM feature they are working on is breaking other software. The Windows 10 Insider Preview version you are using is a work in progress. Bugs are inevitable.

 

It's not inside a vm, but windows must work like a hypervisor for the Linux that is inside a vm, shadowing msrs is kinda expected so the vm can't break the hypervisor. Post a comment with the msr dump on the feedback hub.

 

Even Core isolation mode in WD blocks TS functionalities sometimes. Its good thing you narrowed down the issue. + rep added.

 

Does anyone know why the prochot would change from 95C to 86C on my laptop? It's an Asus Scar II with the 2070. I put a new nvme in it and installed everything and noticed it right away. I thought maybe I installed something wrong so I put the old drive back in. It's showing the same thing, 86. Nothing in the BIOS changed either.

 

@Aided Onslaught - Some manufacturers like Lenovo are varying the PROCHOT temperature on the fly to control their CPUs. It is cheaper to do this compared to them having to spend money on an adequate heatsink and fan.

Download the latest version of ThrottleStop, open up the Options window and set the PROCHOT Offset value to 5 or less. The Intel default value for PROCHOT Offset is 0. After that, check the Lock option to prevent your laptop from screwing around like this.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RYy38wgvtndUhTMM6q5uJsKqt3ZV4NjL



The black dot indicates that this register is locked.

 

Use your laptop on turbo mode, as that mostly increases the PROCHOT temperature to 95C. Also disabling DPTF permanently sets it to 96C. This works for my Scar 3. Additionally you can try what Unclewebb said in the above post.

 

Awesome, I use to use Windows mode in Amoury Crate and recently switched to just using "Silent, balance, and turbo". I put it to Windows mode and restarted the computer and it's back to 95. Now I know!

Now for the 300 other issues I've had with this machine right after the 30 day return period. Never touching Asus again. Sorry, needed to rant a bit. Thank you both!

 

Tell me this (sorry if it's a thread derail) does DTPF provide any functionality with the CPU unlock hacks applied outlined in the other threads?

 

Can you please elaborate on what you mean by 'CPU unlock hacks'? In layman terms, DPTF mainly provides an interface for Asus to dynamically control CPU power limits which are inversely proportional to your CPU temperature. For example, when the CPU is running cool enough it allows for a PL1 of 70W (on my Scar 3), and once CPU starts heating up to high temperatures, this PL1 is reduced accordingly to keep the temperatures in check. You can run a benchmark on two laptops of the same make and model, and you'll get different results depending on which one has better cooling. On a lighter note, dynamic power limits are like 'happy thermal throttling in advance' . So if you get rid of DPTF, then Asus won't be able to control the power limits, and they'll become static, fixed at 45W PL1. Nevertheless, Throttlestop allows you to set power limits as high as you like.

 

Hi. Im kinda new in posting here, but i been following the development since 2012 since I had temperature problem with my first laptop, Acer Aspire that come with i5-2410M and GT540M.

So, here Im on my third laptop, 2019 Nitro 5 i5-9300H and still using Throttle Stop. I been undervolting, repasting to keep the temperature down. Its good btw. Not a problem.
There 1 request. There 1 feature that are really good. Really good that now we had an easy access on how much CPU can ramp up.
Configurable Speed Shift is really nice. Its much better than capping CPU multiplier to decrease heat. So, is there a way to make a profile to set a specific value for each application instead making it global?.
Set it to 0 is good. Maximum performance but, that can ramp up CPU to max and can reach thermal limit pretty fast. Example, i been playing an FPS online game. With 0 SS, no vync, fps about 180++, but temperature fluctuating on 85-95 after 1 hour of playing. But, with speed shift 110, fps still same, temperature hover around 75-85. CPU speed playing around 3.2Ghz and 3.5Ghz and sometime only reaching 4.0Ghz.
1 things i learned from my experience of modding kernel on Android phone is, max speed doesnt always so good if its keep thermal throttling.
Edit : Don't get me wrong. 110 SpeedShift value only works great on this game. When I try to play Shadow of Mordor, there are significant frame drop and stuttering. So, i tested and decrease to 85 give good temp and not having frame drop.

 

Specificially the IMON Slope offset which reports half the wattage usage to the laptop effectively removing the TDP completley - how does DTPF interact with this?

 

Not sure but the imon slope tweak works for MSI brand. Don't know if it would works on Asus

 

Tested on Lenovo Legion Y740 also worked.

 

Different ThrottleStop settings or Speed Shift settings for different applications is a great idea but I will probably never get around to adding this feature to ThrottleStop. Why? I like that fact that ThrottleStop is extremely efficient. For your idea to work, ThrottleStop would have to constantly monitor what applications you have running on your computer. What happens if you are running 2 different applications at the same time? What profile would ThrottleStop use in that situation? There is no way to do this efficiently.

I think Intel XTU had a feature like this. XTU soaks up more than 10 times as many CPU cycles compared to ThrottleStop and it also kills C state residency time so battery run time takes a big hit. No thanks.

Thanks for the

I tend to forget how long I have been playing around with ThrottleStop. It is the only app that can change voltages on Core 2 Duo, 10th Gen Core i and many laptops in between. Not bad considering the first TS version was just an afternoon project.

 

@unclewebb you mentioned not having new hardware to play with anymore.

Is this an unable to or dont want to kind of thing?

 

Why techpowerup and your signature points to different versions? Any improvements on v8.75b for skylake users?

 

A bit of both. No job because of Covid-19 so I will need to watch my expenses closely for the next year or so. More likely to be selling assets, not acquiring new ones.

The other problem is that I have no need for a new laptop or any new hardware. I am not a power user in any way. I already have multiple desktop and laptop computers. If I put a SSD in my old Core 2 Quad desktop, it would be enough computing power for me. Intel's hot running 10th Gen hardware is not getting me excited. A good computer to me is one that is silent. That is why I am happy with my 4th Gen laptop.

ThrottleStop already works OK on the 10th Gen. No urge to add any new significant features.

8.70.6 is still the last official version. The TechPowerUp link in my signature takes you to the same download page that includes the 8.74 beta version. I guess that is the last official beta.

I avoid sending new versions to TechPowerUp until after I get some feedback. That can take a while. The latest TS 8.75 beta 4 allows you to change the PROCHOT Offset variable. That is a useful feature for those that need it. Some Lenovo laptops NEED this feature. If you do not need that specific feature, there is no reason to update.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RYy38wgvtndUhTMM6q5uJsKqt3ZV4NjL

I will probably finalize 8.75 in the near future and send it to TechPowerUp so it can be the next official version. I have been waiting for the next official version of Windows 10 to be released to see if ThrottleStop still works or not. I think TS will be OK.

 

Hmm. I'll try GP'ing my sister's lenovo ideapad.

 

@Vasudev - This issue first surfaced about 9 months ago. Lenovo thought it would be cute to drop the Intel 100°C thermal throttling specification down to 80°C on the fly. They are doing this to their high dollar X1 Extreme to make users think that their laptops are running nice and cool. They are running nice and cool because they are severely throttling.

I think Lenovo might be using this new miracle in some of their other laptops as well. Once more people start using TS 8.75, there might be a few manufacturers with egg on their face. They will have some explaining to do.