MSI GT 780DX i7 2860QM + ThrottleStop: Not Possible to Force Turbo

Hi all,

After reading several posts and trying to find an answer in the several threads in this magnific forum, I decided to post my own as I am still a little confused and don't want to mess up with my machine.

What I got:
Rig: GenTech Custom Built MSI 780DX, i7 2860QM (2.5-3.6 Ghz), Geforce GTX 570M 1.5 GB, 12 GB DDR3 1600 Mhz, Primary HDD 120GB Intel Solid-State Drive 510 Series, Secondary HDD 750GB Seagate Momentus XT 7200RPM 32MB, 8GB SSD Hybrid Drive
Cooling: Cooler Master NotePal U3 Notebook Cooler with 3 Fans + placed as a "bridge" (between books and my Saitek Yoke) with aprox 5" clearence from base of the table and fans.

What I Get
Gaming: Flight Simulator X (FSX) fully configured and running "fine" (i.e. smooth, but at 8-10 fps at busy airports with limited AI traffic and 20+ fps in the air, excellent visuals etc)

What I Want
The main purpose of this Laptop is Flight Simming… it does a nice job, but I know (or at least I believe!) it can do a better job.

FSX is 6 years old, and it does not take all the advantage of multicore and HT (this is what I have read) and it is a processor intensive game. With turboboost I only get 3.3 Ghz out of my i7 with the sim and I am wondering if I could force it to rum at 3.6 Ghz with Throttlestop. I am aware of the risks, and the temperature factors, but the thing is that apparently with this RIG, changing some settings in throttlestop are not allowed: for instance changing the TPL (Turbo Power Limits) is grayed out.

Is there any way to unlock this TPL values so I can change them in throttlestop?

In general, what other performance boost measures I can take in order to get the maximum of the processor?

Thanks in advance for your help and support.

Regards,

Henrique

 

Can you upload some ThrottleStop log file data while gaming to Pastebin.com

Delete any previous logs, turn on Log File in ThrottleStop, go do some gaming and when you are finished gaming, exit the game and then exit ThrottleStop so it can write all of the relevant information to the log file.

Copy and paste this data to pastebin and then post a link here so I can have a look.

Your CPU can only use the 36 multiplier when a single core is active. It is physically impossible for this CPU to use that multiplier all the time unless you disable the other 3 cores which isn't a good idea. That is a hardware limitation set by Intel at the factory and there is no software, including ThrottleStop that can change that.

If you can not adjust the Turbo Power Limits with ThrottleStop then that means this feature has been locked by the bios. You would need a modified bios to unlock this feature. Unfortunately, the Turbo Power Limits in the 2860QM have a very limited range of adjustment. You can thank Intel for that. Intel severely limited the adjustments you can do with these CPUs to try and force enthusiasts to spend more money on a fully unlocked 2920XM Extreme CPU.

The log file will show if your CPU is running at its rated speed. If that is OK then you will have to log the GPU to make sure it is staying in 3D mode and running at the appropriate 3D clocks.

 

Unclewebb, thanks for your prompt reply.

I uploaded a log file to pastebin FSX TEST 1 - Pastebin.com

These are the last hour of gaming using FSX. Let me know you comments!

Regards

 

Here are the specs for an Intel Core i7-2860QM.

Intel® Core i7-2860QM Processor (8M Cache, up to 3.60 GHz)

While gaming, the multiplier is spending most of its time between 32 and 33 which is correct considering the load this game is putting on the CPU. Power consumption is steady near 45W which is the TDP limit for a 2860QM. Your CPU is operating exactly as Intel intended without any throttling issues that some other laptops have.

The CPU is at a comfortable temperature around 80C so no worries there. The GPU is running very cool and never hits 60C from what I can see. You could try running GPU-Z to make sure it is running at the appropriate 3D speed when gaming. There is lots of headroom so you could try overclocking the GPU. That would help the FPS.

 

FSX supports multi core after installing the service packs.. huge I mean HUGE boost after installing FSX SP1 and SP2, now I get over 60 FPS in the air.