HP 8560w TurboBoost Problems

Hello,

I now have my HP 8560w with i7-2720qm and ATI FirePro M5950 with BIOS Version F20.

I installed the Intels-Turbo-Boost-Tool to look how the Turbo is distributed, but I never saw it, it is only on 2,2GHZ, even if only 1 core was used and nothing else. In the BIOS options there is nothing to configure and I did not change anything on my Win7 Prof with SP1, it is a clean install.

Does have somebody else this behavior or am I just to stupid? Or does the tool display it wrong.

I would appreciate if someone could help me.

 

You can try monitoring Turboboost with CPU-z.Just open it and load your CPU (BTW for expamle, you could try some converter which allows you to choose how many cores will be used by the Converter since your CPU is quad so you can check all Turboboost modes) and monitor CPU speed in CPU-z...
I thought mine (Core i5) was not working and I did a test same way...
Hope this will be useful...
Cheers

 

Yes, I had the same problem with 8760W. As no one else was complaining, at first I taught that something went wrong during OS installation. So I installed Windows 7 x64 four times in the row, each time with different BIOS or OS settings. Finally my conclusion is that bios F.20 & F.21 (for 8760W) are setting turbo boost option to off, and this setting is hidden.
As solution I use ThrottleStop utility. You have to set multiplier in the desired profile to “Turbo” and everything works like expected or even better.

 

Ok, I downloaded the ThrottleStop, and turned it to Turbo. The Intel-Tool now shows that the TurboBoost is used. That looks good, but now the question, why is it disabled in the BIOS?

I will try and run with the "Turbo" settings for a while and monitoring the temperature.

Thanks for the quick help.

 

Maybe because some extensive heat management problems :| that HP is aware of, and just put things in way that a)experienced users will know how to turn it on b)non-experienced users don't need it anyway. No no ... I'm just beeing silly am I?...

Put some info about temperatures that you have in normal scenarios, not pushing with benchmarks. By "normal scenario" I mean, watching 1080p YT vid, and in the same time "windowed" Portal 2 (Other semi-hardware-hogg game) , FF with 20 tabs , communicators, Excel (with some large spreadsheet), playing some MP3 music (with high bit rate) and listening to Internet radio. I know this sound stupid but in some part is more realistic than synthetic workloads.

 

HP EliteBook 8560w Mobile Workstation specifications - HP Small & Medium Business products

HP does not mention anything about Intel Turbo Boost for the 8560w so I have to assume that they deliberately decided to turn this feature off to reduce heat output and power consumption.

I am happy to hear that ThrottleStop has allowed you to get the Intel designed performance out of your Core i7-2720QM, including full Turbo Boost.

 

I will perform some test, I just did not have time, but I will share the information as soon as I got them.

 

I paid premium price for the power and performance as this is workstation used for the serious work and not some consumer laptop used for the entertainment. As any consumer laptop with the quad core blasts full TurboBoost, I find hard to accept that HP has implemented TurboThrotle instead.
There isn't a single review of 8x60w notebooks which doesn't show benchmarks with full TurboBoost speeds. Many users have TurboBoost working so I believe this is just bug in the latest bios.
Unclewebb, thanks’ for the great utility which makes my notebook even better than designed.

 

So I did small tests,

I had Winamp running, watching 1080p Youtube Vid and then played 15 min Skyrim. I did both tests, without and with Turbo.
I noticed that the fan was louder with Turbo as without.

I attached an excel file with the log file, the max Temp without Turbo was 82°C CPU and 74°C GPU, with Turbo it was 95°C CPU and 79°C GPU. Also the watt usage increased from 24,3 to 41,4

So, that is quite an increase in power drain and also in heat production, but everything is still in norm, so I agree with the former poster, that this should be an Bug, I cannot belief that a Workstation Notebook has an disabled Turbo when consumer Notebooks have it enabled.

 

Bricki: Here are the Intel specs for your 2720QM.

Intel® Core i7-2720QM Processor (6M Cache, 2.20 GHz)

The default non-turbo multiplier is 22 and the maximum turbo multiplier is 33.

I used Excel and converted your MULTI column to numbers and checked out the MAX. Without Turbo the max was a multi of 22.00 which is exactly what you would expect.

With Turbo Boost enabled, the max multi was 30.86.

You will never see the full 33 multiplier in any real world applications for any significant length of time. The 500 to 1000 threads that Windows 7 has running at any instant in time when it is supposedly idle are constantly waking up additional cores. This makes it impossible for the CPU to run at the full 33 multiplier for more than a few milliseconds here and there but a peak multiplier of almost 31 compared to 22 isn't too bad, especially when it's free!

 

@Bricki
Thanks for this test, it seems that 13C difference is rather high. Even used by HP SunOn Maglev (high temperature cooler that is used for example in projectors for cooling) is a suggestion that insides will get hot, this cooler has magnetic bearing and when operational it's metal bearing elements do not contact each other. This is only way to build reliable laptop with temperatures reaching 100C ( Sunon) .... but this will not apply to HDD's and theirs bearings! If reliability is important I think that HP did deliberately turned this feature off. They are hush about this move as they know that in effect only one 15" mobile workstation would left as choice, I'm not a Dell fan but, it's hard to not admit that M4600 (m6600) only have cooling capacity to hold x4 core i7 and powerfull discrete GPU. Also it seems that it is quite true, due to configurations (with i72920xm CPUs) that are possible only with Dell M4600.

95C is far to close to the point when (after some extensive use) dust will came, thermal compounds will dry and after year whole laptop will shut itself down (as now Samsung RF511 based on 2630qm+GT540m does) due to CPU reaching 105C (of course with Turbo on). It would look far better when maximum CPU temps were in 80 - 85's range with Turbo turned on.

 

Hi again,

I did further tests, with more comparison, I played 15 min Skyrim with time in-between to let the Notebook cool down to around 60°.

I conducted three tests, one with Multi-22 (original), one with Multi-24 and one with Multi-33. I have all the results in the Excel chart and I also did some graphs to see the difference.

As a result, I have to say, that Multi-33 is as stated by the former poster, on long-term use to risky. The temp is spiking at 100° and 50% of the time the temp is higher than 85°, also the Power usage is increased a lot, also 50% of the time it is more than 25W in comparison to the original setting where 25W is almost max. Safe to say, that Muli-33 should definitely not used for long-term.

As a trade-off the Multi-24 variant seems quite nice, the Power usage is almost the same as the Multi-22 the temp is around 90° instead of around 85°. Also the Multi-24 is reached quite often. So, to give this machine a little bit more power and be safe, a Multi of 24 should be safe.

For more information look at the Excel-Sheet. I will now set the Multi to 24 and will use it for a while

 

Great info and thanks for sharing!

 

One feature that ThrottleStop has that might be useful is profile switching based on CPU or GPU temperature. You could set up Profile 1 to use full Turbo Boost and then set up a second profile with Turbo Boost disabled. In the Options window, click on the Alarm box and set it to a DTS value of 15 which will tell it to switch to Profile 2 when it gets to within 15 degrees of the Intel specified throttling point.

The Intel DTS sensor is a count down thermometer so a DTS setting of 15 is approximately equal to a temperature of (100 - 15) or 85C. When your core temperature is under 85C, ThrottleStop will use Profile 1 so your CPU can run at its full Intel intended speed. When the core temperature hits 85C, ThrottleStop will switch to Profile 2 and disable Turbo Boost if that is what you have told ThrottleStop to do. This is a great feature so you can use your computer without worrying about it getting too hot. It will continuously and automatically switch profiles while gaming or whatever you like to do.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a peak core temperature of 80C or 90C is a big number but it is well within the Intel specification. This temperature reading is coming from a microscopic spot located on the hottest part of the core. As soon as you move 1 cm away from this point, the core temperature of a significantly loaded CPU can drop by 20C. If Intel was not comfortable with their CPUs running 24/7 at a peak core temperature of 80C or 90C then they would lower that value.

Don't let your own temperature fears keep you from using your Intel CPU as the manufacturer intended. Intel builds some incredible technology into their CPUs to keep them running within specification no matter what you do with ThrottleStop or any other software for that matter. No software can prevent an Intel CPU from staying at a safe temperature. If an Intel CPU really needs to throttle to reduce the core temperature, it will.

 

for turboboost to be used you need to ensure the Intel Management Engine is installed and up to date.

and by the by, it states quite clearly in the quickspecs that the cpu's have turbo boost.

8560w quickspecs

source: page 5

Sio

 

Well, I have latest Intel Management Engine Components driver and Intel Full Management Engine (ME) 7.0 Firmware, but Turbo Boost works only with ThrottleStop aid.

 

Nice find. If HP says this model is supposed to support Turbo Boost and it is not working correctly then HP needs to get to work on a bios update. Owners should not have to hunt through forums and run third party software to get basic features of the 8560w working properly.

 

indeed, i had a test on a 8560w and it does seem that there is a limitation on turbo boost. (I was not aware of this before posting about the IMEI driver).

I am surprised though, because the fan could quite easily cope with the TB frequencies, so there must be some reason it's disabled (or crippled as we can adjust it with TS)

Sio

 

I've got the same problem on my Elitebook 8460p QM2720 that Turboboost just works with throotlestop on.

 

Bios F.23 brought back Turbo Boost to the 8760W. I suppose that bios F.22 does the same for the 8560W.

 

Thanks for the Info, I will test the new BIOS in a couple of days and I will report if the Turbo is working or not.

 

i had a hp 8560w since decmber , updated it to F21 and all was fine , had to change the laptop just baught another one today , i mad the bios update F22 and now turboboost is dead ....

First turboboost is implemented by default on all new 8560w !! because it was working this morning 'F03)before the update !

Second : no heat issue ....before ...(on wprime the max was 74 C ! 95C on a macbookpro !!)

i downgraded the bios to F20 , nothing helped , while i remeber in dec that i made this F20 update (the only one available or maybe the 21 ..) and TB was still working ...!!!

why bios F21 is no more on the website ?

Maybe the new model have diffrent harware ? don't know but i'm mad !
Throtthle stop is working

Intel info utility for Cpu id showing without trottle stop : current 2.2 , expeected 2.2 !! tech nolgies : everything but turboboost !!

Damn !!

I7 2670QM here

 

I spent all day with HP here and in US : nothing !!! damn that F22 update !!!

Anyone with it and no issue ?

 

So, I finally updated to F22 and still no TurboMode.

So I can confirm, that with F20 and F22 there is not TurboMode. Prior to F20 I have not data. So lets hope the next Update brings back TurboMode.

 

i changed another time the laptop , did the upgrade and bam issue again !!

So anybody can confirm for sure that he has the last update and turboboost runing ok ?

 

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

 

I have a problem that might be related:
After flash the bios from F.03 to F.22,
The Resource Monitor (in Windows 7) shows the CPU always has 100% Maximum Frequency, no step down or up (30%-120% or so before bios change).
With ThrottleStop, I can change the Set Multiplier (to Turbo),
and EIST is checked.
However, 100% Maximum Frequency won't change no matter what multiplier is set.

 

I have 8460P and just upgraded to quad core. I'm on BIOS F22 and noticed that Turbo does not work. From all the findings here, I guess HP disabled Turbo in BIOS and SATA3 doesn't work too.

 

I just had a chat with a support specialist and according to him, HP decided to disable Turbo for quad cores because of overheating issues. I have requested HP to bring back Turbo Boost in the next BIOS update with the option of disabling it if the owners think it causes overheating .I hope owners here could make same request to HP.

 

Using the Intel Turbo Boost Technology Monitor 2.0 on my 8560W Elitebook Mobile workstation, I did indeed see Turbo Boost working.

However there is NO option in the BIOS to enable/disable Turbo Boost (this seems stupid to me, please HP add the option to disable it if we require).

That said, the utility I download was from here:
Processors — Intel® Turbo Boost Technology Monitor overview

My system has 32GB of RAM, ATI FirePro M5950, and Intel Core i7 2860QM (2.50ghz with 3.60ghz max turbo frequency).

Edit: Using BIOS F.22 (sorry forgot that in my original post).

Attached is a screenshot showing the CPU is indeed exceeding the 2.5 and using turbo boost. Additionally, running Windows 7 x64.

Thanks.

 

Can you try F.20 with Turbo boost. I think HP fixed F.22 for 8560w.

 

I've actually upgraded to F.25 now and can't downgrade (it says during the upgrade process to not downgrade)...I will say on Pages 2 and 3 of this forum thread are several references that F.22 does not resolve the issue...but for whatever reason it does indeed work with my configuration.

As a side-note, F.25 also seems to work fine with Turboboost 2.0 on my configuration.

You can find bios F.25 here:
HP EliteBook 8560w Mobile Workstation- HP System BIOS Update - HP Business Support Center

 

I just upgraded to F.25 and Turbo is still disable. I think HP disabled it for 8560p, 8460p and 8460w. I don't see many owners here with quad core.

 

"I just upgraded to F.25 and Turbo is still disable. I think HP disabled it for 8560p, 8460p and 8460w. I don't see many owners here with quad core"

Not entirely sure for the other models but I saw several users post with 8560W with quad-core cpus and F.20 and F.22 not working on pages 1,2,and 3 of this thread... so at the least I can confirm 8560W working with a quad-core cpu (with hyperthreading = 8 threads) and TurboBoost 2.0 is indeed working.

I still think it would be very nice if HP allowed us to disable this again if we wanted to...

Don't have any 'p' series notebooks available here, only W's, but I'll ask around and see if we can find a 'p' series...no promises.
---

 

8460W, 8460P and 8560P use same BIOS and system board. 8560W is different and uses 8560W-only BIOS HP could decide to disable or enable it but they told me 8460 series couldn't handle the heat so they decided to disabled it after F.20. I couldn't find any 8460P/W or 8560P series who is using quad. Some are still on old BIOS and not willing to take the risk of losing Turbo.

 

Hi everyone.
Unfortunately my 8560w upgrade its BIOS itself up to F25 (suppose using auto update on HP Support Assistant).With my first BIOS version (68SVD Ver. F.03) I have no problems.
And now Turbo boost not working ( max 2195Mhz -22.0X100),and the Temperature of CPU and GPU are higher ( CPU idle – 51-59°C ; GPU idle 50-58°C) .
I don’t know what the hell HP Support’s do but things getting worse.

If you have time sheer your experience ,with answering to this post : http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-business-class-notebooks/651746-elitebook-cpu-overheating.html
Thanks in advance…

 

I have an 8460p with bios F.22 stock installed. I upgraded from i5 2540 to i7 2630qm and turbo boost is active. I downloaded the intel turbo boost monitor and it shows my cpu going above the 2.0ghz to 2.8ghz on turbo boost.

 

Thats weird. So it seems Turbo Boost is not working for certain CPUs? I have 2670QM and Turbo doesn't work with BIOS F.20 and above. I sent to HP for mother board replacement and the new motherboard comes with F.08 and Turbo is working perfertly.

bondeg, can you test BIOS F.20 too? I have 8460p too and I would like to try the newest BIOS but I don't want to risk losing Turbo.

Lifebook, I suggest you complain to HP. I complained to HP over 10 times but they ignored me because my notebook wasn't shipped with 2670QM by default. Since you have 2670QM on stock configuration, I think you should ask for fix.

 

I have 8560w with 2630QM, bios F.22. Turbo Boost works on AC power, overclocks to 2.6 GHz quite often, especially on full load with 8 threads. Sometimes goes up to 2.8 GHz. However, Turbo Boost does NOT work on battery at all, CPU clock limit is 2.0 GHz in that case (cpu power maximum is set to 100% on battery in windows' power management).

BTW, can any of you guys please check if GPU is underclocking on battery on your 8560w? I have Quadro 2000m, and it works at full power while on AC, but when I switch to battery - GPU clock is capped at 200 MHz always. I posted more info in this thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-business-class-notebooks/637592-elitebook-8560w-gpu-throttling-when-battery.html

Nvidia Control Panel power setting doesn't help, neither does different windows power management settings. The only thing Nvidia Control Panel setting seems to do is whether GPU clock should be always at maximum level (550 MHz AC, 200 MHz on battery on my 8560w), or should it dynamically change it depending on the load.

I read on lenovo forums, I think, that GPU caps on battery are set to protect battery from fast discharge or something. It would also make sense to prolong run time on battery power, although that can be done well by adaptive clock control. Anyway, it would be good to know whether this is common in other 8560w.