HP Envy 17 SB Throttling test

You shouldn't dismiss this, I can speak from personal experience (throttling at 60°C). I even wrote a lengthy post on how I solved my issue ... but I guess no one took it seriously

 

kev007, sorry, but you solved the throttling issue? Maybe it was too good to be true so many of us missed it. Would you kindly repost your solution. It may be very helpful to the rest of us bunch, thanks.

KJ

 

Is this the post you were referring to? There are no such advanced bios settings in the Envy 17 3D. The bios itself is very very basic. I upgraded my bios to f.08 the minute I got the machine. If anyone did not...are the settings still there???

 

Oops, I think I failed to mention that the program can disable (or "Unlock") BDPROCHOT regardless of BIOS setting. I recommend reading the guide.

Also, using this method, Envy 17 users (EDIT: only one) have claimed to be able to access advanced BIOS settings.

I have to mention that I do not use ThrottleStop alone to overcome the throttling, I also disabled core parking (just google it) but that was long before I noticed CPU performance issues. I initially configured core parking depending on the active power profile to save power. That's when I noticed that it was still enabled under the "High Performance" profile but didn't notice and benefits of changing it ... that was before my discovery of CPU-Z and Resource Monitor (I was a noob back then ... maybe I still am )

EDIT 2:
Some screenshots that might help you out:

(A bit rough, but they should be self explanatory)

 

Pretty sad that you have to use a 3rd party program to make your CPU behave normally though. But I'll give it a try.
Selling the Envy regardless, I'm done spending 90% of my time on a new computer trying to fix it.

 

Kev007's laptop and solution is irrelevant to us, he is using a i7-720QM this is meant to be a Sandy Bridge discussion.

 

Ha...so maybe with the Sandy Bridge processor, its not an option to play with the settings in the BIOS like Bobmitch mentioned..... Too bad.

KJ

 

Still no response from my contact. I will wait another 2 days then I will call in and see how high I can take this.

 

Crimsoned, not sure why you are going out of your way for you/us, but seriously, thanks...it can't be said enough. I'll try to +1 again, as soon as I can.

KJ

 

Don't worry about it lol. No need to +1 me.

 

Just reporting in that I have run the test for 2hrs now after running throttlestop just once on boot to monitor the cpu clock/multi only, I do not touch any settings nor hit the "Turn On" button within the program.

I do not get any throttling whatsoever. At its lowest clock I get is 2200mhz, highest is 2400mhz. Temps stay good at around 75-80c on CPU, and 78-81c on GPU. All this in a 84-86f room, so throttlestop certainly does something to prevent it from downclocking to 798mhz.

Granted I am on a G73SW, and I know Crimsoned has tried without success, but it certainly says something that I can prevent it from downclocking simply by running throttlestop once, and not altering anything in TS.

The worst thing I can think of, my PSU got super HOT and even started to smell a tiny bit. So I certainly don't want to be pushing it again like that, unless I buy a 180w psu or something. But I'm certainly happy to see it pass for a full 2hrs without ever once dropping to 798mhz, and my temps stay quite good.

 

Is there a way for us to find the command for the advanced BIOS settings at boot up. Maybe we get lucky!

 

What wattage is your PSU? Give you give the specs on it?

 

It's a 150watt Delta Electronics PSU.

Model ADP-150NB.
Output: 19.5v, 7.7A
Input: 100-240v ~ 2.0A

 

I did exactly as dkillone described in his post but on my Envy 17 3D SB of course, I just downloaded Throttlestop 3.0 and opened it. Didn't touch any setting I just watched it monitor my CPU. I then opened CPU-Z and followed the Throttling test. But now instead of immediately dropping down to 798mhz I remained at 1895.7. ThrottleStop, CPU-Z and Intel Turbo Boost Monitor confirmed this. I ran this for about 35mins, Furmark avg FPS was 28 with a Temp of 82C. My CPU Temp was about 87-88C.

 

It did not go below 1800 mhz? This is odd. Mine did indeed throttle to 1800 mhz but soon enough dropped to 700 mhz. I will do further testing with throttle stop.

 

Don't let it get too hot. The long term reliability of your CPU could be affected...

 

Well, the CPU is built to withstand high temps, I don't think you'd have any troubles running at 88c over time. Long term reliability might go down, but what are we talking about here? 10 years instead of 15? It's not going to last that long anyway, especially not the Envy.

 

Hmm, so what is the story? Does this throttle stop really work then? If so, then we can use it while playing for a couple hours, then shut it off and go back to normal when done and all is good?

Still waiting for Crimsoned's verdict on this program...

KJ

 

I just got back from a family dinner. I am currently running Furmark+Prime 95 with throttlestop open.

The throttling went from 2.6 ghz running just prime95 to going to 1.6 ghz once Furmark was introduced.
Within approximately 2 minutes the speed decreased to 1.4 ghz.
While this is better than 798 mhz it is still considerably lower then the base max frequency of 2.3 ghz for the i7-2820QM.

What intrigues me is the fact the processor is not spiking up like it would without throttlestop (even for a minor second).
I am going to give it a few more tests with different throttlestop configurations to see if I can perhaps come up with a better solution.

 

Okay I have managed to come up with one configuration, I am going to test it for a longer amount of time. Approximately 30 minutes to see if I see signs of throttling or worse hardware failure. :| Hopefully nothing bad happens lol.

EDIT:
Please refrain from doing this, I have accidental protection+ a contact whom I can get immediate replacements from so please do not attempt anything. Let me handle this test.

8:31PM (Central)
So far test results are favorable, another 26 minutes before I can seem it even remotely safe.
After this 30 minute run I will be providing the configuration, only requires a couple clicks lol. I need more people to test, keep in mind THIS IS AT YOUR OWN RISK.

8:37PM (Central)
We are approximately 10 minutes into the test, speeds have lowered lower then 2.3 ghz but seem to be staying pretty solidly at 2.1 ghz.

The laptop is HOT.
Processor according to Throttle stop is using approximately 36w, which sounds right.
Temperatures:
CPU: 97c~
GPU: 96c
Perhaps this throttling is HP's way to cope with the inadequate cooling system.

8:56 PM (Central)

Test are done, results seem very favorable however pose a pretty high temperature threshold I think one can call it.

So far the processor managed to stay at 2- 2.1 ghz during the test, however temperatures remained in the 97c~ for both GPU and CPU.
Hard drive was safely in the 39c-40c meaning the GPU/CPU load don't have a whole lot to do with hard drive temperatures.
So far everything on my laptop is running fine. I will try a longer test later tonight.


After I run the test for approximately overnight will I in my personal opinion recommend this fix to all Envy users.

WARNING: TEMPERATURES ARE GETTING CONSIDERABLY HIGH, PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO MESS WITH THIS YET. Thank you. I don't think my laptop will fail, however if it does I will be saddened but happy to know the results.
PLEASE REFRAIN FROM TRYING THIS YOURSELF.

 

Guess thats good you're getting results, I agree that with those temps people should still be super careful.

HP's cooling is truly preventing your CPU to boost properly, which is certainly a shame. What's more curious, is that while the downclocking in the Envy would make sense, there is absolutely no reason for it to be there in my Asus G73SW since my temps max out at 80c.

I'm still going to blame this on a chipset or something that is default when building HM65 motherboards. I guess reason it doesnt happen on Alienwares is because they disabled it. If we can get some Toishiba ppl and other laptop manufactures that have a SB and a dedicated GPU to test for us, it would help find out just how widespread this is. But I'm going to guess most of them will see the exact same downclocking we see.

 

Many thanks to you sir for taking such a risk, and for letting us envy owners know about it.

 

+1 Rep for you. You have certainly earned that and more...

 

Doesnt this clearly indicate that the throttling issue is not a hardware problem?

 

Crimsoned,
Silly question, but are you running these tests under HP's 'recommended ' power setting (this is the Power Option under 'hardware and sound' in Control Panel)? Or are you running these tests under 'High Performance'? When I looked at some stat modeling, with the later on and the GPU enabled, my core speed was always above 3000MHZ for the length of my tests (about one hour now.)
When I run this with HP's recommended option, my CPU was running below the 800MHZ mark. I am not using any GPU intensive program at all. Just numerical calculations.

 

Forget it. Just after I posted here, my CPU went down again below 800MHZ, even with 'High performance' enabled ... I should have waited ....

 

Actually, my question about the power settings is still valid. I didn't realize that my test have finished in a fraction of what it took me when I had HP's recommended power settings!!

 

High performance with a few tweaks here and there.

 

Sorry to hear that. So, there is still a problem.
I am relieved that it doesn't affect my work though, since I rely on numerical calculations only and just use the discrete GPU to connect external monitors.

Hope you find a solution to this problem soon!

 

hopefully when my laptop gets here next week I will run the prime, cpu, and funmark to test mine as well and will give results... I really hope HP figures this out and doesnt play quiet on it....

Has there been any changes to envy since laptop first appeared with sb?

just wondering if anyone recently got a laptop and occured the same results...

Also what is the best heat monitor CPU etc?? What are you guys using?

 

Alright so far I've ran the configuration that I tested last night during games and the slight throttling is gone. Nothing zip nada. This is great news as I can now run games the way they were meant to be run.

I did not however run a test using the stress utilities I am afraid I don't trust the laptop to run at 97c for 8~ hours.
Temperatures are way too high. I am afraid I am going to have to set this configuration as a temporary fix.

 

Crimsoned...

What would you say the next step is? Should we have hopes for a BIOS fix?

Can the department you are in touch with increase the fan speed for the next BIOS and maybe remove the throttle?

 

What's the configuration your using ?

Too much info in this thread, tried finding it; maybe I skimmed too fast.

 

Let me re-iterate as taken from Intel's spec sheet ( http://www.intel.com/Assets/PDF/datasheet/324692.pdf ):

5.4.1.3.3 Thermal Solution Design and PROCHOT# Behavior
.
•Result in prolonged operation at or above the specified maximum junction temperature and affect the long-term reliability of the processor..
.

IMO, the results of the test seems to indicate this throttling issue is a thermal limitation which means the single fan cooling solution is probably the limiting factor.

 

It is probably not just that. Several members have indicated that their machines perform well and without throttling assuming their reports are correct.

This only leaves a few options. Damaged hardware, Different climate of the country or the Cooling pad on the CPU isn't properly fitted and hence doesn't dispence heat very well.

HP is known for using cheap "thermal pad/stickers". Maybe someone should try removing the CPU lubricant and replacing it with Artic....

Or maybe the BIOS just needs adjusting to allow higher temps without throttling.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-envy-hdx/575817-hp-envy-17-sb-throttling-test.html

Actually several members, Von have indicated they do throttle but they are perfectly fine with it.
It is not thermal throttling, the throttling happens are any temperature. I suspect it's a power consumption control.
All manufacturers use "cheap" thermal pads. This issue is not thermally related, it is related to perhaps a BIOS power consumption control.

Here is the fix I've come up with. It produces temperatures of 97c using the 9 cell battery meaning it has optimum air flow, it may go higher for others depending on surface+ambient temperatures.

Here's the fix link.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-envy-hdx/577420-envy-17-3d-sb-throttling-fix.html

 

I see. I always thought that the "power consumption control" in the BIOS is tuned to regulate the temp. My bad!

Any chance of HP Research releasing a new BIOS? ... Not asking for you to bug HP R ... just wondering what you think might happen.

 

I've no real clue my contact is no longer responding to calls lol.

 

Ahh what a shame! It might have something to do with that department being directly related to releasing the new laptops that were just announced a couple of days ago!

Maybe they have their hands full right now in dealing with other issues related to the launch.

On another note! Someone suggested to get into the advanced BIOS which would allow us to change the service that causes the throttling.

It was a key combo on the older BIOS... but since this is an UEFI BIOS the combination might have changed. Maybe someone knows on how to do it?!

BTW. I tested a Sager 2720QM with a AMD 6970M .. it has a Clevo motherboard. = no issues.
But Furmark by itself was using more processor speed then when it was running with prime95. That is probably related to the way the i7 works

 

Throttle jockeys:

Have throttling tests been run on power option settings for high performance? This must have come up before but I can't find record of it.

Drilling deep into the ADVANCED settings in the taskbar power options we may find the min power sertings are at other than 100%. There are separate categories for graphics and primary power......

Example setting: Processor power management when PLUGGED IN:

Minimum is set to 5% on "HP recommended" by default. BBUUUTTT:
Minimum is set to 100% on HIGH POWER power setting


Can throttling be solved by simply adjusting the advanced settings? Or has someone eluded to trying this already? Bobmitch or someone may have mentioned this before. If not, weigh in......

 

Don't post in so many threads for the same thing, it can confuse people.

 

Ok and gotcha.

 

Posts have been deleted. If you do not want to see other users' posts, then add them to the ignore system(see userCP). Stay on topic.

 

Have you guys tried disabling speedstep in the BIOS? Apparently that has issues with throttling back the cpu.

 

I am not sure if it's available on the BIOS. Let me check.
No such option available on the motherboard.

I already posted a temporary fix anyways, for now many of us will be fine until we see if HP will do anything about it.

 

Out of curiosity I wanted to see if this would improve episodes from Liberty City. However, when I try this my computer instantly turns off. Then upon turning on again I am greeted with a blank screen and have to log in and shutdown blind. I tried twice, changing which program I started first from one to the other. I was on the 6-cell at the time, and I may just try again plugged in. I haven't even tried gaming on it while using throttlestop yet.

 

What specs are you running?
What programs do you have running in the background?

 

I take it you don't have the same problem on batteries?

Odd thing is it did similar things when new, but updating GPU (11.4) seems to have alleviated it.

Only standard programs running. Nothing extra. Synaptics, etc... (Just prime and throttlestop)
I just thought, I may need to update prime since I'm sure I haven't in a while. I'll post back soon.
2630QM
8GB 1333 RAM
160SSD+640HDD
1920x1080 LCD
Blue Ray DVD

 

It definitely throttles in GTA4.

Before running throttlestop.

Code:

  DATE     TIME     MHz   C0 C1 C2 C3 LOAD%
05/12/11 22:47:45 1446.77 48 50 43 43 16.5
05/12/11 22:47:50 2584.22 57 57 51 49 39.7
05/12/11 22:47:55 848.10 58 55 47 49 44.3
05/12/11 22:48:00 997.77 61 60 54 54 41.4
05/12/11 22:48:05 798.22 55 55 47 47 40.8
05/12/11 22:48:10 798.22 55 54 47 47 38.5
05/12/11 22:48:15 798.22 55 54 47 47 40.4
05/12/11 22:48:20 1546.54 62 62 56 56 59.6
05/12/11 22:48:25 897.99 55 55 47 47 50.3
05/12/11 22:48:30 798.22 55 54 46 47 37.1
05/12/11 22:48:35 798.22 54 55 46 46 38.2
05/12/11 22:48:40 2235.00 62 65 58 57 64.8
05/12/11 22:48:45 1446.77 55 55 45 47 58.7
05/12/11 22:48:50 798.22 55 54 46 46 36.7
05/12/11 22:48:55 2594.20 65 67 60 60 81.3
05/12/11 22:49:00 1546.54 60 58 51 54 66.7
05/12/11 22:49:05 2594.20 67 69 63 62 81.4
05/12/11 22:49:10 2594.20 69 70 64 63 82.5
05/12/11 22:49:15 2584.22 72 70 63 64 73.4
05/12/11 22:49:20 798.22 62 62 55 56 38.5

After running throttlestop.

Code:

  DATE     TIME     MHz   C0 C1 C2 C3 LOAD%
05/12/11 22:50:15 2624.12 62 58 51 52 15.3
05/12/11 22:50:20 2584.23 66 65 57 58 44.8
05/12/11 22:50:25 2594.20 70 69 64 61 70.1
05/12/11 22:50:30 2594.20 72 73 67 65 80.8
05/12/11 22:50:35 2594.20 74 74 68 67 68.0
05/12/11 22:50:40 2594.20 74 75 70 70 76.8
05/12/11 22:50:45 2594.20 75 76 70 70 68.9
05/12/11 22:50:50 2594.20 77 75 70 69 76.3
05/12/11 22:50:55 2594.20 77 76 71 70 80.9
05/12/11 22:51:00 2594.20 77 77 71 71 76.2
05/12/11 22:51:05 2594.20 78 76 71 70 78.0
05/12/11 22:51:10 2594.20 78 77 71 71 81.7
05/12/11 22:51:15 2594.20 77 76 71 69 72.0
05/12/11 22:51:20 2594.20 77 76 73 71 78.2
05/12/11 22:51:25 2594.20 78 75 72 70 75.8
05/12/11 22:51:30 2594.20 76 76 71 71 76.0
05/12/11 22:51:35 2584.22 73 70 65 63 50.2

Used Realtemp 3.67 to log.