Can't seem to get turbo boost to work..

Turbo Boost isn't kicking in on my Malibal P150HM, i7-2670QM with Prime95 running. All 4 cores are running at 100% in High Performance mode(both Windows and Malibal settings) but CPU-Z and Intel Turbo Boost Monitor both reports that the CPU is running at the base of 2.20 ghz.

 

have you tried CPU-Z? and check if the clock speed will go up more than 2.2 ghz?

 

Yes. As mentioned previously, both CPU-Z and Intel Turbo Boost Monitor shows the CPU at 2.20 ghz but no higher.

 

is this the power life conservation mode?

 

Yes. It's set to Performance.

 

have you tried running 1 core, then 2 cores then 3, then four then all of the cores? and see if its constantly at 2.2ghz?

 

Yea, I have and it didn't change the clock speed at all.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the computer has to meet thermal specifications to enable turbo boost...It may be possible that Prime95 is creating an environment where turbo boost won't turn on due to heat.

Also, I seem to remember a similar thread stating that CPU-Z sometimes prevents turbo boost from happening too. Try turning off CPU-Z and running prime95, see if the turbo boost kicks in.

You could also try throttlestop. Just a quick on and off, and maybe that'll get it working again.

Have you ever noticed turbo boost running on other programs?

 

Hi JP. I've tried running Prime95 without CPU-Z but still no go. Also tried turning ThrottleStop on and off but still no change.

As for the temperature, according to HWmonitor, I'm only hitting about ~65 max.

I've tried running some games that pushes the CPU but haven't seen it work once yet.

 

In another news:

I decided to apply some after-market thermal grease, Artic Cooling MX-2. Now I'm getting hotter temps! I used to hit about 67c in prime95 but now I'm hitting 90c! What gives?

I've re-applied twice, and this isn't my first time applying thermal grease either. Ugh, this whole thing is starting to become very frustrating.

 

Turbo Boost not working could be caused by disabling processor C-states in the BIOS. I'm not sure if this is a setting that can be changed on the notebook in question, but it would at least be worth a look.

 

Nothing like that in the bios; the bios is bare bones.

I'm just trying to get my temperature problem sorted out before worrying about Turbo Boost at this point. I don't understand why my laptop is running so hot.

 

I belive you have the same problem as I had:

Also: check the task mgr.. you should see 8 CPU graphs and not just four

 

Oh! That did it! I don't even remember changing my boot settings, how odd. Thanks man, you just cured one headache.

Now I just need some help with my temperature issue...

 

What paste was on the stock? I had IC diamond on my old laptop and decided to change it to MX-4 and the temps went through the roof. Switched back to IC Diamond 7 and temps went back down. If you can get your hands on some give it a try.

 

I'm not sure which stock paste it was. It wasn't IC Diamond for sure, though.

Maybe Arctic Cooling MX series aren't good with laptops? I don't know how that's possible but unless I totally screwed up the pasting 3 times I can't think of any other reason.

One oddity I noticed was that the idle temperature doesn't stay consistent. It stays around 46-50 then JUMPS to 60 for no reason. This makes me think that the paste isn't making proper contact or something along those lines but I'm not too sure.

 

I would say to get your hands on some premium paste like IC Diamond or Arctic Silver and see if that sorts it out. They're the two most commonly used and well tested pastes. I'm not familiar with the MX paste, so I don't know if higher temps are common or not.

 

that's odd that Arctic cooling MX would be having problems, compared to an IC diamond you should only get a few degrees higher. not to the temps you're getting.

have you reseated the heatsinks properly (making sure it's pushing the cpu/gpu down with enough force?)

also take note that some older thermal pastes needs some curing time (AS 5 i think takes 50-200 hours)

 

Different paste by itself wouldn't cause such a difference in temperature. It's an issue with application, or the heatsink placement.

 

I've always been an Arctic Silver user but decided to go the AC route this time due to the positive reviews. I can't find one negative review on this paste. In any case, I ordered some IC Diamond so I guess I'll find out when it arrives next week.

I believe I reseated it properly, as in, I screwed the heatsink down firmly. When I took the heatsink off for my second attempt, it seemed like there wre good amount of paste on the heatsink and the CPU, which makes me believe that it made contact.

I've also made sure to move the heatsink slightly while firmly pressing down on the heatsink before screwing it on.

Also, Arctic Cooling MX series supposedly don't have a cure period unlike AS.

Right, and this is why I'm so confused. The difference in temperature shouldn't be this extreme. It's not the application, either, since I can feel the hot air coming out from the vent holes. I've taken off the heatsink 3 times now and replaced it. The steps I took:

1) Take off heatsink, cleaned off the old paste with Isopropyl alcohol 91% and a microfiber cloth.
2)Applied the paste. First time I used the line method in a size of a rice paddy.
3) Pressed down firmly then screwed it back into place

Second time, I put more paste and spread it myself using a credit card.

Last time, I used generous amount of paste.

Same results all 3 times.

Thanks for the reply guys, appreciate it.

 

I'm not sure how much paste was there but could you try again but this time don't put too much paste like (only like half a grain of rice), let the heat sink spread it instead of the credit card technique, just making a very thin layer of paste between the cpu/gpu and the heatsink.

 

Yea, that's what I did the first time kind of. When I took it off to check it, it was very thin layer and looked perfect in my eyes.

I'll try it again with IC Diamond once I get it though I'm not very hopeful that it'll change anything.

 

No problem.. when I had that problem I already thought my CPU's are dead

 

Okay so I just tried IC Diamond and I get the exact same temps. This is starting to really bug me.

I am now suspecting the heatsinks/contacts because there is no way I can mess up 5 times applying thermal paste, especially since I've been working with them fine for the years prior.

I guess my next step is to contact Malibal directly.