The ThrottleStop Guide

Thanks error-id10t for finding that bug. The logging feature was only working when the button in ThrottleStop was set to show power consumption or charging. I'll get that fixed up for the next release so logging is happening all the time if you want it to.

 

Does Throttlesto leave any lasting features? Like if I install it and change something like EIST or TDP limit does it stay even after turning it off or exiting it?

 

The TDP / TDC limits and EIST get written directly to the processor so when you exit ThrottleStop, those values will still be within the CPU but rebooting will reset the CPU to its default values.

 

Thanks for the answer.

 

ThrottleStop 2.95


-fixed some bugs when switching profiles that were in most of the 2.90 beta series.
-some minor changes to the layout as well as initial Sandy Bridge support.
-moved the turbo ratio and TDP / TDC options to the main screen so they are easier to find.

ThrottleStop 2.95 should let you access the adjustable multipliers in the new Sandy Bridge mobile and K series CPUs like the 2500K and 2600K as well as the turbo TDP / TDC settings. I don't have any hardware to test on so if you see anything that works or doesn't work, post a screen shot so I can get it fixed up.

 

@ unclewebb: so after i download the the new version, all i have to do is double-click the executable right? no need to do anything else with the old version except delete?

 

That should be good enough. I prefer deleting all of the old settings and starting from scratch. I try to make sure a new version won't get screwed up by some old settings but if you start with a clean folder, there's less chance of a problem in case I forgot something.

Almost forgot. If you adjust the new column widths and want to get back to default column width settings, just right click on this new table.

 

suhweet! thank you very much, sir.

 

Sandy Bridge support confirmed. Thanks stasio for the pic.

Time to bring on the Core i mobile Sandy Bridge processors.

 

hey uncleweb,
I have a question. Basically I have an i7-920xm running at 23x on 4 cores, 85W, 75A and when running prime95 the multiplier stays at 23x but when I play a game whether it's gpu (BfBC2) or cpu (FSX) intensive, the CPU keeps throttling periodically without reaching temperature limit (loading at 92c max).
Also I set the C0% load to 8% so the load is always high enough for turbo.
What settings in throttlestop could be responsible for the throttling?
Thanks!

 

H-Emmanuel: How are you setting the C0% load to 8%? That's not really possible as far as I know.

The 920XM is a mobile CPU. It is designed to automatically slow down when it is lightly loaded. When you are playing a game, there should be enough load on the CPU to keep the core that is doing the work using the highest multiplier. Setting the Minimum processor state to 100% in the Control Panel Power Options should help out.

The scheduler is designed so that it can rapidly move a task around from thread to thread or from core to core so the average multiplier on an individual thread when this is happening might be less than the maximum but that doesn't mean that the CPU is not running at full speed when it actually has something to do.

Can you run ThrottleStop with the Log File and More Data options selected and then go play a game for a while. You can upload the log file to MediaFire and then post a link here or PM it to me so I can have a look.

I don't think there will be a significant amount of throttling going on while gaming but the log file will show that. When gaming and working your GPU, the overall system temperature will increase which can indirectly lead to a small increase in CPU power consumption. The TDP TDC settings you are using might need to be increased slightly when gaming.

 

I will upload a log file later.
If I understand, the setting "PowerSaver C0%" is the threshold for Turbo or PowerSaver to kick in depending on how you look at it. The way I understand it is if the load is over the default 35% the CPU enters Turbo, otherwise it just throttles.

 

The PowerSaver option doesn't save any power on the Core i CPUs that I tried it on. This was mostly designed for the old 65nm Core 2 mobile CPUs from the good old days that ran hot as hell unless you dropped the multiplier at idle. I wouldn't use this feature on your 920XM. Your understanding of the feature is accurate. It allows your CPU to use the minimum multiplier at idle but on the newer chips, 45nm Core 2 mobile and up, there is rarely a reason to do this. Use the Windows performance monitor and measure battery power consumption and you will see what I mean.

 

Unclewebb, I've read through the thread, but am curious about two things:

1) for an i7-820QM - does throttle stop help, or do you have to have an XM processor? my multiplier reads "TURBO", then one step down is 13 - should I leave it or set it to 13? All the discussion is wrapped around the XM processors, clearly the BIOS unlocks are key... but...

2) for a C2D processor in an M11x-R1, is there anything you can do with TS to push it?

Great guide, +1 rep

 

I have a question - my i3-370M uses 9.5W on lowest possible power state in idle mode, whereas an i5-430M in an identical system uses only 6.5W in the same conditions. Is this something I can fix with throttlestop?

Thanks in advance!

 

Docsteel: Besides monitor, ThrottleStop can't do very much with an i7-820QM. As you know, the multipliers and turbo TDP / TDC values are locked unless you have an XM CPU. The M17x-R2 doesn't have any throttling issues for most users so there isn't any throttling that ThrottleStop can fix. If you do use ThrottleStop, the Set Multiplier option should be set to Turbo to make sure you get the maximum amount of turbo boost.

When you increase the bus speed to 266 MHz in the M11x-R1 bios, Dell disables and locks the EIST bit in the processor which locks these CPUs to the 6.0 multiplier and there is nothing ThrottleStop can do with this situation either. Once EIST is disabled and locked, no software can do anything. DavyGT on NBR recently pushed his bus speed up to 345 MHz in his M11x-R1.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/463095-m11x-clock-generator-ics9lprs387bklf-28.html

That is the only way to overclock these laptops, if your motherboard is supported by SetFSB.

min2209: Core voltage is not adjustable in the Core i CPUs. Some motherboard specific software like Asus Turbo V can adjust the voltage on the Asus desktop boards but I don't know of any options for laptops.

What software are you using to report power consumption? I built up a desktop computer recently with a Core i5-650 and every program I could find was reporting something silly like 0.25W while it was fully loaded which obviously wasn't very true.

Try monitoring total system power consumption with the Windows Performance Monitor while on battery power. I trust the numbers it is showing. ThrottleStop 2.95 can also display this same power consumption number now since it is coming from a Windows routine.

 

Hey unclewebb,
Where in the performance monitor do I have the total power consumption. I want to compare readings to my not so trusted watt meter.

 

Unclewebb, you have made one kick piece of software.

Went from 1.1500v and 78c @ full load to this:



Dropped the VID as low as it would go and it's been running smooth.

 

Nice work emc_2.

When using HWmonitor, you need to edit the hwmonitorw.ini file and make sure it is using the correct TJMax value. The Intel docs show 105C for your CPU.

Intel® Pentium® Processor T4300 (1M Cache, 2.10 GHz, 800 MHz FSB)with SPEC Code(s)SLGJM

so this line in hwmonitorw.ini should look like this.

CPU_0_TJMAX=105.0

ThrottleStop and HWMonitor should report pretty much the same thing once you fix that.

H-Emmanuel: Here's how to monitor the battery discharge rate in Windows Performance Monitor.



I liked this number so much that I started including it in the ThrottleStop log file. It helps to debunk some myths about how to conserve battery power and ThrottleStop is getting this data from the same source as the Windows Performance Monitor.

 

I got a question regarding ThrottleStop on the 920XM. I have ran different setup of TDC & TDP and multipliers and i dont see much of an improvement with the benchmark. My 920xm is OEM.

Stock TDC & TDP are 55/49 with 24/23/17/17 multipliers.

Tested with :
1- 70/49 24/23/17/17
2- 55/49 24/23/19/19
3- 70/49 24/23/19/19

Max temps around 85C with the throttlestop benchmark (32m). Temps reach 99C while running 70/49 24/23/19/19 on 3Dmark06. I have repasted, still have high temps.

Anyone with the 920xm can share his setup?
__________________

 

The cooling solution in your laptop is not adequate. Alienware M17x R2 owners have been able to adjust their 920XM or 940XM so they are running with 24/24/24/24 or 25/25/25/25 for multipliers and have also raised both the TDP and TDC high enough so when runing wPrime, the reported multipliers are sticking at those values with zero turbo throttling. If your temps are that high, you won't be able to come close to this performance level.

If you can get wPrime to work on your computer try running that test. You have not increased your TDC at all and your full load multiplier has only increased from 17 to 19 so that is less than a 12% full load performance increase that you will see. You might not even see that if your CPU is turbo throttling or running too hot and thermal throttling.

 

I see... I though the g73jh has somewhat decent cooling system. With my previous CPU (720QM) my temps was at 50C idle and 75C on load, now with the 920xm its 55C idle and 95C on heavy load, the issue might be the chip. I repasted with MX-4, ill try to get some IC diamond. Is there any way to upgrade the heatsink with something custom? I dont want to put my laptop on a cooling tablet, not really comfotable for gaming.

 

raise the tdp values as well

 

Here my result with higher value.

Wprime 32m - 13,298secs

90/70 & 24/24/24/24

Max temps 100C.

Weak

 

Hmm... I thought the cooling system of your laptop was great... A friend of mine has a G73JW and the cooling system is superb, isn't it the same as in the G73JH?

Maybe you did a bad job with the paste... try reapplying it. The MX-4 you used should be fine.

With 24x across all cores I get below 8 seconds on wPrime 32m (8 threads), even with some programs running in the background.

 

That was with 4threads. 10,356sec with 8threads.

 

I assume the temps are still climbing up to 100°C? Throttlestop is definitely working, but the temps are limiting the cpu.

Maybe we better go back to your CPU thread as this doesn't really seem to be a Throttlestop issue, not necessary to fill this thread with unrelated stuff.

 

ThrottleStop 2.97
http://www.mediafire.com/?c1dla4mk4i9npnq

-Sandy Bridge support fixed.

Unfortunately, ThrottleStop may no longer be able to increase the turbo multipliers on the new Intel Sandy Bridge CPUs. Burebista's initial testing does not look good.

I'll have to wait and see some more testing but with Sandy Bridge, you might be limited to multiplier adjustments in the bios only or you might have to use a motherboard specific tool to do this when in Windows.

Any feedback about this when using a new 2500K or 2600K CPU or on a new Sandy Bridge mobile CPU would be appreciated.

 

Great app i just have i suggestion, is it possible to make it start with windows? i am using it with an upgraded whs server and the only way i can make it run at full speed is with your program and it is a pain to everytime i turn it on to have to log in and open the program...

 

Hmm, i notice on my 920XM on M15X, the TDP have tons of impact on the turbo and overclocking, while the TDC no matter high or low it is change, no effect?

Y is this so?

I notice that everytime i start my M15X, with TS autostart, the Chipset Clock Mod is tick but behave untick, solution is that everytime it starts from windows i open TS untick and tick again..that solve the problem, is it possible for u to repograme that? TS automaticly untick and tick again?

 

kyo86sg: What version of TS are you using? I think the problem you are having has already been fixed in version 2.97. The 2.90 beta series had this bug but I think it is OK now. If it is not fixed then I will have a look at it.

Other users have reported the same thing where the TDC setting has little to no effect. Maybe the CPU ignores this information so it is not a turbo boost limiting factor. In theory, either TDP or TDC can reduce the amount of turbo boost.

peste19: To AutoStart ThrottleStop, you can copy a link to ThrottleStop.exe into your Startup folder. If you click on the Windows logo in Vista or Windows 7, or the Start button in XP; you should be able to find this folder in the All Programs section.

You can also try using the Task Scheduler method as explained here if you are using UAC.

Task Scheduler Method

 

I'm using ThrottleStop 2.97 in monitor mode to get familiar with it. Before I invoke it, my HP8530w runs in SLFM(left pic) mode. When TS is running it never enters this mode again, it runs in LFM(right pic) mode and stays there. Even when I close TS SLFM mode is never entered again until a new boot.
From the HWiNFO32 screenshots I see, that BusGV turned from green to red after invoking and subsequent closing TS.

 

It looks like by default, even in TS Monitoring mode, that it turns off the SLFM bit in the CPU.

BusGV in HWiNFO32 and DFFS in RM Clock and SLFM in ThrottleStop are all talking about the exact same thing.

ThrottleStop shouldn't turn this off in Monitoring mode when you first start it so I will look into fixing this. When this happens there is no need to reboot. Just click on SLFM to restore this setting. Most people that use TS want their computer to run faster so that's probably why TS does this by default. Since this setting also controls the lowest possible SLFM voltage, its really not a good idea to do this by default.

Some of these settings don't result in any significant change in idle power consumption in the 45nm Core 2 so it's a good idea to do your own testing to see what you actually need.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6369641-post5060.html

 

is it possible to lower the voltage any lower than 1.05? my Q9100 runs fine at that low of a voltage without changing clock speeds...

 

The mobile Core 2 Quads do not support SLFM so if that's as low as the ThrottleStop VID adjuster goes then that is all your CPU supports.

When the CPU is idle, it should enter the lower C-States like C3, etc. where it will automatically go to sleep and reduce the VID voltage internally. Programs like ThrottleStop or RM Clock can't be used to control this lower VID.

Even if you could adjust the ThrottleStop VID lower than 1.05, it wouldn't make any difference to idle power consumption as shown in this test.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6369641-post5060.html

It could reduce full load power consumption if it was possible to lower VID below 1.05 but unfortunately, it's not possible.

 

I'm looking to lower the full load voltage power consumption.

its 56ish at idle(web browsing/etc) and 84 under full load...

 

unclewebb, are you going to implement per profile TRL by any chance? We have per profile TPL would love to have different TRL's for different situations.

 

If im undervolting....and lets assume it stills throttles

is it safe to run throttle stop with rmclock undervolting?

 

You can run RM Clock and ThrottleStop at the same time but only let one of those programs control your CPU multiplier and VID voltage. If both programs are trying to control this they will fight over what the correct value should be.

What are you trying to accomplish? You're probably better off using one program or the other but not both.

 

"Power Saver lets your CPU use its lowest possible multiplier and voltage when idle. On the newer 45nm Core 2 and Core i CPUs, this does not seem to be necessary and provides little to no power savings because at idle"

I have an HP HDX 16 (X16-1354CA), will I see any benefit by turning on Power Saver?

Also, everytime I restart, Throttlestop does not startup. I've even checked it off in the menu to start up minimized but it's not in my tray.

My highest multiplier is 7.5, is that normal? everywhere I've read people have multipliers like 11x, 15x etc.

Thanks!

 

If you want ThrottleStop to start up with Windows then you can add it to your startup sequence by using the Task Scheduler.

Task Scheduler

The highest possible multiplier depends on what CPU model you have. A P7350 is designed to run at 2000 MHz so at full load, it should be running at 7.5 x 266 MHz ~ 2000 MHz

Intel® Core 2 Duo Processor P7350 (3M Cache, 2.00 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB)with SPEC Code(s)SLB53, SLGE3

You'll have to do your own testing to see if Power Saver does anything useful for you.

 

unclewebb

Hello. I can't get my Core i3 to idle at multiplier 7 on Windows. Whenever any process takes place, then ThrottleStop can enforce any multiplier.

​

First I thought mainboard was the cause and tried Linux live sessions of OpenSUSE 11.3, Ubuntu 10.04.1 and Fedora 13. All of them can rest my CPU at lowest multiplier 7 very soon and steadily.

​

If this interests you, please have a look of this thread where I first tried to obtain help.
My notebook is a Dell Inspiron 1564 with the Core i3 330M, chipset Intel HM55 and Windows 7 x64 Home Premium. I really appreciate any input. Thanks!

 

If you set the multiplier to 13 to request full turbo boost and then set the turbo ratio for two cores to iono... 20, then when 2 cores are active your CPU will clock up by 8x.133 per core? And if this is true, then what has been found to be a safe turbo ratio for the 740qm (preferable less than 80C max temp)?

Kojaku

 

You can't set the turbo ratio limits on an i7 740qm.
It is locked.
Only i7 920xm and 940xm have unlocked multipliers

 

Damn. Forgot xD...guess I'm using setFSB...

 

Is this "Throttle" program only for advanced users?

Thanks in advance

 

o770: Have you tried going into the Control Panel -> Power Options and set the Minimum processor state to 100%? This allows ThrottleStop to control your multiplier without having to fight against Windows.

Audi4ever: That depends. ThrottleStop has many advanced options for advanced users but when you first start it up, its in monitoring mode so you can check it out without too much stress. You didn't mention what CPU you have or what you are trying to accomplish. Give me a few more details so I can make some suggestions on how to set it up. If you don't understand something then just ask.

Kojaku: The 740QM isn't very adjustable. You either get as much turbo boost as the CPU decides to give you based mostly on how many cores are in the active state or you can Disable Turbo and get zero turbo boost. This will reduce performance but might reduce your core temperature a little when you don't want your laptop burning through your lap.

o770: Here are some examples. I have a Core i5-650 desktop CPU so to prevent the average multiplier from floating around all over the place at idle, I use the ThrottleStop Power Saver option. You can see in this first screen shot that the multiplier is locked on the minimum at idle which is 9.00 for this CPU.



With this setting, when you apply a load, the CPU will immediately get back up to full speed and use full Turbo Boost. The second picture shows a single thread of the TS Benchmark running. This CPU supports a maximum turbo multiplier of 26 when a single core is active. A reading of 25.84 shows that it is using the maximum turbo multiplier, the majority of the time. Whenever a second core becomes active, the turbo multiplier drops down to 25.00 so that's why it is impossible to average the full 26.00. There are always Windows background tasks that will wake up the second core and reduce the average multiplier.



The Power Saver option can be further controlled by the PowerSaver C0% number in the Options window. By default I think that is about 35. When the C0% goes above that value and you are using Power Saver mode, the CPU will increase to full speed and when it goes below that value, it will return to its minimum speed. If you set this value sky high to 100 then that will force the CPU to always use the minimum multiplier even when all 4 threads are fully loaded. Here's an example of that.



That might be a useful setting if you want to maximize battery life. If the minimum multiplier provides you with an adequate amount of performance then running the minimum multiplier when loaded will decrease power consumption.

 

new version looks beautiful and as usual harder faster better stronger!
THANK YOU unclewebb for thinking of us!

 

I've got more screenshots of various states that will probably puzzle you. Simply put: CPU idle state is locked around 1.4GHz.

As seen in the last screenshot here once any load is present, clock scales either managed by power profile or ThrottleStop.
This is so odd that CPU actually downscales when any process takes place that requires less than 1.4GHz.
Thanks for your time!

​

 

When setting the Minimum and Maximum processor state to 100%, at idle, your CPU is going into the C3 and or C6 sleep states. That's why the average multiplier is where it's at.

If you use a minimum of 5% and a maximum of 100%, that should let your multiplier go to its minimum when lightly loaded.

If you have any options in the bios that lets you play with the C States, you can get a stable idle multi that is higher but you will likely lose turbo boost since these deeper sleep states are needed for the correct operation of that.

Try using the High Performance profile when testing.

The maximum multiplier for your CPU is 16 and the minimum is 7. It's bouncing back and forth between those two values which is why the average is somewhere in the middle near the average of 11.5.

When using Linux, there's no guarantee that your multiplier is being reported accurately. I've seen too much Windows software that doesn't follow Intel's directions so I've learned not to believe anything.

Don't tell Windows to limit your maximum processor state to 5% and then your CPU won't downscale when you apply a load to it.