XPS 12 9250 TDP Configuration

Recently got the XPS 12 9250 and got very interested with the cpu that came with the system, the Intel m5-6y54. This cpu has base frequency of 1.1Ghz with Turbo Boost capabilities to 2.7Ghz on single core or 2.4Ghz on dual core. An impressive performance considering with a base TDP of only 4.5W. (My previous laptop was the XPS 1645 with the first gen i7-720QM with TDP of 45W. So my new notebook dissipates 10x less power!!)

The m5 has a feature to allow notebook manufactures to increase the TDP to up to 7W or decrease to 3.5W based on thermal designs on the notebooks. According to Intel Data Sheet for the m5-6y54, the base frequency can be configured to 1.5Ghz at TDP of 7W or down to 600Mhz at TDP of 3.5W.

To my surprise, the XPS 12 9250 with the m5-6y54 is actually configured at 1.5Ghz! I was able to verified this under System in Windows 10 and the performance section of Task Manager. I also tried stressing the cpu with Turbo Boost disabled and it stays at around 1.5Ghz! This means my m5-6y54 has a base frequency that is faster than the base m7-6y75!

Another surprise I also discovered is that instead of a TDP of 7W, somehow Dell was able to achieve this 1.5Ghz with TDP of only 6W! 6W is the only option available under Power Options and I can also verified this by stress testing the cpu. My m5-6y54 will power limit throttle back to 6W within couple seconds of achieving maximum Turbo Boost and the TDP is very stable to right at or below 6W level and not 7W.

How Dell was able to achieve the highest rated base clock for the m5-6y54 with 6W TDP is beyond me. But I am glad Dell chose to configure the m5-6y54 other than its default setting. Although I think Dell can do a better job to allow its customers to choose which TDP setting to use under Power Options in Windows. Currently, 6W is the option option for both plugged-in or battery. A better approach is to allow users to select a lower TDP while on battery to conserve battery power. I actually tried doing this by adjusting power option settings via registry but subsequent testing shows that the TDP is still at 6W which seems like Dell must have fixed the TDP setting within its BIOS.

Cheers.

 

Using the program CPU-Z, I can see my core 0 speed jump around from the low of 1.1GHz to well over 2Ghz, never remaining constant for more than a few seconds.

 

You could always try throttle stop, dunno if it will let you undervolt your processor even more...

Also you can specify the multiplier.