Intel CPU using low clock for no reason

Question

I've got a strange problem with my computer:

Since a few days I notice that it sometimes is much slower than it should be. When I open the Task Manager, this is what I see (sorry for the German):

It seems as if the CPU is limited to 0.98GHz and that's why Task Manager shows only 40% usage.

It stays this way even when I do a CPU stress test:

The only way to get the CPU back to speed is to reboot the computer:

Although I think that even this is not the core frequency that it should have.

All the relevant energy settings are set to the maximum when it's not on battery:

As you can see in the screenshots from Intel XTU, the temperature seems to be perfectly fine.

What could be causing this?

All I can say is that it worked perfectly fine until a few days ago and I did not change any settings.

I'm using Windows 10. You can find more information about the hardware here.

This is the part missing from the screenshot of the energie options above:

"Auf Akku" means "on battery" and "Netzbetrieb" means "on external power".

Running powercfg -ENERGY after closing all programs shows no useful information other than "high cpu usage".

Besides the fact your processor is throttling down to 1GHz, why is the fact it is running at 2GHz which is the base frequency of the i7-3537U a concern? You have a dual-core processor yet based on the information you have provided only one core is being detected and hyper-threading isn't being used based on what Windows is reporting. We need more information about the version of Windows you are running and the hardware itself. Your graphics frequency is a 1/4 of what it should be. ETU claims it detects both cores though. Why are you giving it more then 17 W? — Ramhound, Oct 13 '15 at 18:38
@Ramhound I updated the question with details about my hardware. If you need more specific details, let me know. — Johann Bauer, Oct 13 '15 at 19:11
I probably should have said that, but I did not change anything in Intel XTU and it seems like I can't change anything either. — Johann Bauer, Oct 13 '15 at 19:12
Maybe the graphics frequency was set so low because there is an Nvidia graphics chip that's being used for anything more then surfing the web (Nvidia Optimus). — Johann Bauer, Oct 13 '15 at 19:17
Since it comes back "normal" after reboot, have you tried purposely getting Optimus to switch to dedicated GPU and back and then trying the test? This seems like a likely (though hypothetical) "point of failure." Alternatively, attempt to disable GPU switching so that you can rule it out. — Yorik, Oct 13 '15 at 19:30
@Ramhound: The first screenshot clearly shows both cores are being detected AND hyper-threading IS being used. The graphics frequency is exactly what it should be. — qasdfdsaq, Oct 20 '15 at 12:20
@qasdfdsaq - I appreciate your feedback and will take it into consideration. — Ramhound, Oct 20 '15 at 12:28
Can you please scroll up and show the full section which contains the top entry "Netzbetreieb: 25.0W @ 2.5Ghz"? This appears to be a proprietary power limiting configuration not normally part of Windows. — qasdfdsaq, Oct 20 '15 at 15:10
@JohannBauer: Is there software called Power4Gear Hybrid Utility installed? Apparently it can mess things up. Try changing the power settings in the app. — James P, Oct 20 '15 at 16:14
@James No, sorry. It seems as if this program wasn't made for Windows 10. — Johann Bauer, Oct 20 '15 at 21:55

score 7 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 03 '16 at 13:53

Under some circumstances the Intel(R) Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework silently crash during windows start. In this case the cpu "locked" in 0.98 Ghz ( maybe maximum power saving mode).

You can check this error in the windows event log (Control Panel - Event Viewer):

The problematic DPTF component located here: c:\Windows\System32\Intel\DPTF\DptfPolicyConfigTdp.dll

You can rename, move or delete it with administrative privileges (don't required for reboot in safe mode), restart windows, and the problem is gone.

After this modification intel dptf can change the cpu speed dynamically (based on cpu load, and preferred cpu power consumption settings).

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 20 '15 at 12:06

5

I got same issue with my Dell, when I used a lower powered adapter.

Dell policy is to reduce CPU frequency, if you use reduced power adapter.

If this is your case, you have 2 options:

buy an adapter with the same wattage as original.
disable SpeedStep technology in your BIOS.

P.S. I got the same issue with adapter with the original power. It seems that it was some kind of

buggy.

answered Oct 20 '15 at 12:06

JRr

422

Good idea, thanks. I couldn't reproduce the issue on battery for now but I'll try a little more. I do use an original power adapter though. – Johann Bauer Oct 20 '15 at 16:13
Oh what a relief to find a better PSU – Kjeld Flarup Sep 10 '20 at 09:32

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 20 '15 at 17:48

3

I recommend uninstalling Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework and disabling it in the BIOS.

This is not a normal built-in part of Windows and others have reported similar symptoms using it:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows8_1-performance/everything-is-so-slow-after-upgrade-to-81/c1d68dcc-8b03-412a-bcdb-fd03f9d2ff69?page=2

Windows has it's own built-in processor speed and thermal management already, which is sufficient on its own.

answered Oct 20 '15 at 17:48

qasdfdsaq

6,691

It seems likely that this is the error here. I couldn't do extensive tests so I can't actually tell if it worked but I awarded you the bounty because this is the best suggestion from the 3 answers I received. – Johann Bauer Oct 20 '15 at 22:06
1

I'll report if it worked in a day or so and accept the answer if it did. – Johann Bauer Oct 20 '15 at 22:06

dotdawtdaught · Answer 4 · 2015-10-13T18:38:34.787

2

I had the same problem a while back. Changing the system power policy to "High Performance" would stop Windows from crippling the processor performance. I was finally able to make it work long term by creating a new power policy BASED off of the High Performance policy.

For reasons I'm not fully sure of, downloading the OEM chipset drivers from my processor manufacturer really helped too. I'm assuming there's SOMETHING in there that contains descriptors about the Proc's capability under given thermal constraints.

Hope that helps!

edited Oct 13 '15 at 18:38

answered Oct 13 '15 at 18:19

dotdawtdaught

162

I don't think download AMD chipset drivers is going to help the author. – Ramhound Oct 13 '15 at 18:33
1

Revised AMD to my processor manufacturer – dotdawtdaught Oct 13 '15 at 18:39
Changing the power plan didn't solve this. I also downloaded the Intel Driver Update Utility which should have installed any missing drivers. – Johann Bauer Oct 13 '15 at 19:21
Try opening a command prompt and running powercfg -ENERGY which should generate a report. Look at that report and see if there are any angry warnings in there. – dotdawtdaught Oct 14 '15 at 20:38
the only error there is high cpu usage. – Johann Bauer Oct 15 '15 at 18:21
@JohannBauer - Update your question to include that information. – Ramhound Oct 20 '15 at 12:28

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Oct 18 '18 at 09:41

0

It happens sometime after a Windows Update. Just update driver for each processor from Device Manager\processor.

answered Oct 18 '18 at 09:41

Ionel

1

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Dec 22 '19 at 22:01

0

What's working for me is:

Suspend to disk
Resume

Suspending to RAM does not help.

answered Dec 22 '19 at 22:01

bebbo

321

score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Jun 21 '20 at 10:15

If in BIOS you have option "CPU Power Management" ENABLED, Windows will happily ignore minimum CPU power setting and will clock down to 800 Mhz, multiplier 8 and you will get nice and cool laptop which is default at 800 Mhz and clock up whenever you need CPU. In Linux this is called OnDemand CPU governor. You have to go to BIOS, and DISABLE "CPU Power Management", then your freq will be at maximum turbo boost, until throttling happens.

Interesting enough, if you have "Intel Speed Step Technology" DISABLED at the same time, maximum frequency will be that of what it is advertised for your CPU, instead of maximum turbo boost.

Configure your BIOS according to this picture.

enter image description here

score -1 · Answer 8 · edited Jun 12 '20 at 11:57

I have been banging my head against a wall over the EXACT issue you've described for the last 3 days with my new ASUS ROG G703GX Laptop..

I have an i7 8750h that should be running at 2.2Ghz with a Turbo or Boost or something at something like 4.4Ghz but it's been running at .97Ghz (basically same as your screenshots) even under a stress test from CPU-Z app. (And any Gaming I've done has resulted in low FPS.)

I just figured it out.

My Laptop shipped to me with two A/C Adapters, and two A/C input ports.
I've been plugging them both in this whole time and having the problem described above.

Tonight I unplugged the one on the left-hand side.. and IMMEDIATELY my CPU jumped up to 4.4 Ghz and my fans kicked on (I could hear them).

I ran the stress test again, and the CPU jumped to 100% and I pulled up a game I'd previously been getting 5-10 FPS in and it's was up at 80-90 fps.

Problem solved! I'm sharing my experience for my specific hardware.

Intel CPU using low clock for no reason

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