i7 620m Turbo Boost Shuts off after cores hit 72 Degrees C?

Someone online wrote that turbo boost shuts off after the CPU cores hit 72 degrees in i7 mobile chips. I am curious if this is true or false.

Some additional info:

I have a Sager NP8690 with an i7 620m+4gb RAM and a 5870. I have replaced the thermal compound on the CPU and GPU and removed the sticker over the CPU fan. I loaded my CPU to 100% use for about 10 minutes and I hit 77 degrees (I will test for a longer amount of time later). I think these temperatures are fine, but if turbo boost shuts off at 72 degrees I might not be as happy with them. Also, after running the Crysis CPU benchmark for 1 hour (40 loops) my CPU core 2 hit 61 degrees. However, this is obviously not as intense as loading to 100%.

 

Well, did Turbo Boost shut off?

 

Honestly, I don't know how to check. Could you give some some instructions for how to check that.

 

Start a game, find it under the process tab of Task Manager, right click -> Set Affinity -> turn off a core.

Then monitor the temps and core frequency. If the core doesn't hit 3.33Ghz, let me know.

 

Awesome, thanks for the help.

 

Ok, I have run the tests and Turbo Boost didn't shut off after 72 or even 80 Degrees. This is good news for me, although I wouldn't have been too upset either way. Thanks again for the help.

 

That definitely isn't true for the 620m models. After completely shutting off air to the CPU vent, I was able to reach 87 degrees in Core #0 and my multiplier didn't change.

 

Good to hear. I'm pretty sure that TB issue is specific to a specific laptop manufacturer, but I can't remember which one.

Clevo would never allow such a thing.

 

The quad core i7s does lower the turbo boost rate after 72C though.

 

I'm not too sure if it's true. Mine (840QM) stays @max all the way up to 85C (Unless the latest version of HWinfo32 is unable to detect the clock drops) up to the point when the fan ramps to the max rpm lowering the temps.
No throttling observed running Prime95.
Talking about HP 8740w BTW.

 

This seems to be mostly a Dell feature. My M15x with 820QM throttles by core as each core hits 72*C. The effect is to limit the processor temps to 72*C +/- 2*. The 920XM in my Sager appears to temp throttle around 85*C, but it will bust on through the limits if it continues to be pushed. The Dell won't. Both of course power throttle around TDP regardless of temps.

Edit: Would someone remind me of the ASCI string for the degree symbol?

 

I noticed something odd that I hope someone can explain. Twice while fully loading the CPU with prime95, CPUZ said that my multiplier was jumping from 23 to 21 to 22. Very odd, I can't seem to replicate the issue. Other than these times, it always it stays at x23 under full load, regardless of temperature. This seems software related (or at least I hope so) because after the issue happened each time, letting the temperatures completely fall didn't change anything. I couldn't make it stop happening. Does anyone have any idea what the issue is?

 

That happens when your power plan is set to High Performance with CPU-Z and eLeet. It is a normal occurrence and does not indicate any problem.

 

Were you responding to me?

 

What is Eleet?

 

You guys might want to give ThrottleStop a try. It very accurately displays the average multiplier for each thread so you can understand how turbo boost works. CPU-Z by default is only showing you core 0 but that can be misleading at times. It also doesn't show you how the average multiplier drops at idle and rounds off the reported multiplier so you might not notice turbo throttling when it first starts to happen. Use the task manager, Set Affinity... option to move tasks around to different cores and you should see turbo boost in action.

If you have an i7-620 and right click on ThrottleStop, you can adjust the turbo TDP/TDC limit of your CPU if it is not locked. Exceeding the TDP turbo limit of your CPU is much more likely to lead to turbo throttling than excessive core temperature.

 

I am a user and tremendous fan of Throttlestop, most particularly for its ability to raise the TDP for the 920XM used in my Sager 8760. It unleashes a whole new level of power and performance, but does require some judgment and moderation. I can't thank you enough for the program and the increased understanding of the i7 CPU's operating characteristics resulting from its implementation and use.

 

Thanks The Revelator for the positive review of ThrottleStop. I thought you'd be the last guy giving it the thumbs up.

Have you been able to get your Clevo going again or are you still waiting on parts? I'm interested in finding out what happened so keep me updated.

 

No sense blaming the hammer when you miss the nail and smash your thumb. The Clevo is back to normal after a motherboard replacement. It's not clear exactly what broke or why, but the folks at Sager and GenTech could not have been more supportive and responsive. Unparalleled customer service.

 

I noticed when running Prime95 again and monitoring my core 1 temperature that around 83 - 86 ish the multiplier goes from x23 to 22 for a second then snaps back up to x23. This seems to happen every time I test, though it didn't seem to happen one time. Anyone know what causes this?

 

Greetings, I'm new here and I seem to have the same problem with the turbo boost thing but I'm not so sure its got something to do with the temperature, maybe theres a chance at that but I'm not sure.

[Heres the problem] - My intel turbo boost stopped working after I played a game like Dragon Age Origins. The cpu speed fell from about 3Ghz(at Turbo) to about 1.3 Ghz and remained 1.3 Ghz throughout the whole time after playing the game. Is that normal ? When I did the torture test on my cpu using Prime95, the same results happens. When the cpu was stressing, the speed went up to turbo at about 3Ghz(the temperature was about 88 degrees), after about 15-20 mins later, the speed went down to about 1.3Ghz and the temperature deceases as well.It maintain that way throughout the whole time. While playing games, a noticeable lag can be seen after some time playing(due to turbo boost not working). Its really making me sad

 

That's exactly how Turboboost is supposed to work. With my processor (820QM), it operates at 3.06Ghz (23x) under load using 1 core, 2.8Ghz (21x) using 2 cores and 2.0Ghz (15x) using 3 or 4 cores. However, when engaged in desktop tasks (email, internet browsing, word processing, etc.), it will downclock to 1.2Ghz (9x) because relatively little processor power is required, ramping only when and to the extent needed. As a result, outside of gameplay, the processor spends nearly all of its time at its minimum speed. In effect, it reserves its power until needed. This allows it to operate within practical power and heat limits that make i7 processor use in notebook computers practical. As you witnessed, when the processor is used at its maximum multipliers/speed, heat builds up rapidly so operations at that level need to be limited. No need to be sad. It's working precisely as designed.

 

But the the cpu downclocks itself permanently, after playing hours of Dragon Age or any hardcore games. It can be seen from the turbo boost gadget. The blue bar stops appearing. There is no hint of turbo boost. When I check cpu-z, its cpu speed remains at 1.3Ghz+ or lower. It wont reach 3Ghz not until I restart my laptop and not play any games.

 

Download wPrime v1.55 from here: Downloads | wPrime Multithreaded Benchmark

After exiting a game and having Turboboost disappear, run wPrime (the 32M test will be sufficient for this purpose). It defaults to testing with 1 core, so you should see the blue indicator go to max (or nearly max) boost. wPrime loads the CPU (or the core(s) being tested) to 100%. To test with all 8 cores/threads, click on Advanced Settings, insert 8 in the selection box and click save. Then run the test.

If you don't see max turboboost on the initial 1 core test, there is serious issue.
See what happens.

 

I'm sorry. It didn't work. Thanks for your help though.

 

Did the guy specify anything else regarding the turbo boost shut down ? Did he used any software that resulted this ? Cuz I had a similar problem.

 

What does that mean? Were you unable to download wPrime? Unable to run it? It ran, but TB didn't work? TB worked, but it didn't register in the little TB sidebar gadget? Good luck.

 

What I meant was, I did what you told me to."After exiting a game and having Turboboost disappear, run wPrime (the 32M test will be sufficient for this purpose)." After playing a game to a point where TB stops, I ran wPrime but showed no results on TB, no blue bar at all despite running wPrime. BTW Im using an Acer Aspire 4820tg laptop, does the motherboard restricts the cpu from stressing too hard ? Can I do something to the bios ? lol do you recommend overclocking ?

 

According to CPUZ, my multiplier for core #1 snaps to x22 from x23 for a second during Prime95 full 4 core stress test then back up. Is this another CPUZ issue? or is it something caused by temperature. Also, will it affect CPU performance? Before I reapplied thermal compound and removed the sticker, my CPU was often around 87 when playing GTA IV. I never noticed performance issues, but I'm not sure.

 

What proc? 620m?

 

It seems that around 80 degrees C, HWinfo says my clock speeds become a bit jumpy, going from 3060 I think to around 3015 and then back up. I'm not sure if that clock speed difference would change what FPS you get in game or not.

 

Does anyone know what this means?

 

Yes it is an i7 620m in an accer aspire 4820tg laptop.

 

Yeah, my computer won't go above 84 degrees running prime95, but I do start to see some minor throttling around 80 where the CPU clock jumps around a bit (3015 - 3060) MHZ. I'm not sure it shows up in game. Before I reapplied my thermal paste, I always ran my computer around 86 degrees and I never noticed performance decreases from it. If I were you, I'd reapply your thermal compound to get your temps down, that might fix your issue.

 

That doesn't seem to be a major variance, nor a real throttling. You can check with ThrottleStop too if it displays Clock/Chipset modulation engaged.

 

Modulation?

 

You really need to reapply the thermal paste on your components. I'm fairly certain your issue is heat related. I'm guessing if you reapply thermal paste then your throttling issues will go away. Unless the new paste doesn't lower your temps enough.

 

Does anyone know if your Sager warranty is voided after you reapply thermal compound? Also what's the deal with Xotic and warranty?

 

Ok. I think youre right. thanks but it'll have to wait until my warranty ends.

 

Why? If your laptop is new then I'd give it a week or two and test all your components for defects, then I'd change the compound ASAP.

 

First thing is , I can't afford to take the risk if something happens to my laptop cuz I'm using it for school. Secondly, I'm still a noob at modding laptops , I'm afraid I won't be able to put it back together after applying the thermal paste but I can do it on PCs though. Do you have any advise for a noob like me on apply thermal paste on a laptop cpu ?

 

Firstly, look at the service manual (in my sig), it gives instructions on disassembly and reassembly, then look on youtube for videos on applying thermal paste.

 

Thanks, I think that might help

 

It's a lot easier than it sounds. I did it for the first time last week and I was pretty concerned I'd screw up, but it's really not bad. Just buy some Arctic Cooling MX3 and get some isopropyl alcohol and look online for tutorials and a disassembly guide.

 

Do they have a tutorial how to disassemble a 4820tg acer laptop ? I can only find the 3820tg disassembly guide.

 

I'll look into it, I'm guessing you don't really need one. You really just need to take the bottom piece off your computer and locate the heatsink for your CPU and gpu. I'll look for a dissasembly tutorial, but you probably won't need it.

 

Hmmm... I just found out that some of the owners of my laptop reported that their i7 620m didn't have any throttling issues when it reached 90 degrees. Unfortunately mine did, similar to the topic of this thread. I haven't applied that thermal paste btw.. its disassembly is rather different.. you gotta dismantle much of the laptop to reach the cpu.