Laptop CPU usage throttled to 84%

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angrypig7

Estimable
Aug 25, 2015
4
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4,510
I have my thinkpad E560p which has an I7-6700HQ.
I tried to get better thermals and more battery life by undervolting via throttlestop, but undervolting did not work under load so, I just set it back to default, turned it off.
But after that, CPU got limited to 84% at 2.16~2.18Ghz all the time. Rebooting does not help, closing/removing throttlestop does not help either.
Plus, the temps are nothing to worry about.

A temporary fix is available in two ways :
1. Run throttlestop and set multiplier to max. If I close the program it will throttle back down again.
2. Take the charger cable off and plug it on again. I set CPU usage to 80% max on battery, and 100% on AC charger and I think this action resets the max CPU usage of 84%.

Any kind of help would really be appreciated...
 
Solution
Make sure you either uninstall throttle stop or make sure it is not starting in the background or running a service.

Windows also has power settings. There is a Max and min CPU on battery and power. I'd check that area... and set 1 min 100 max for all.

If that's not it...
I'd trying shut the machine down. Unplug the power and pull out the battery, now how the power button for about 5 seconds. Put power and battery back and try again. Other possible things you can try reset the BIOS settings.

Honestly not sure what is causing it but that's what I'd try if I didn't know what was going on.

nzalog

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Jan 2, 2017
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What is the temperature is the CPU when it starts to throttle?

Most laptops don't have cooling capable of running the CPU at full speed for extend periods of time so the rely on throttling to keep it cool enough to not damage the CPU. About the best you could do to improve this easily is thoroughly dust the thing out and maybe change to better thermal paste.

I really recommend against using throttle stop on a laptop. Throttle stop will run your CPU at max power (where it generate the most heat). This will saturate the cooler with heat and when the processor could actually benefit from speeding up, the cooling component will already too hot and the max CPU temp will have already been hit. You will basically be wasting constantly throttling even when your CPU has nothing to do.
 

angrypig7

Estimable
Aug 25, 2015
4
0
4,510


CPU hovers around 60C when cpu usage limited at 84%.
Temperatures, voltages and everything varies but this 84% usage limit is rock solid. Nothing else seems to be the problem to me. It looks like it applies some sort of CPU usage limit at startup.
 

nzalog

Commendable
Jan 2, 2017
28
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Almost wonder if this is by design. Maybe Lenovo artificially limited it?

Honestly not too sure because I would not expect throttling at 60C.

Are you on the latest BIOS?
 

angrypig7

Estimable
Aug 25, 2015
4
0
4,510


Yes, my BIOS is latest, and it didn't happen before I installed throttlestop.
My AC power adapter is 135W, and it came with the laptop.
 

nzalog

Commendable
Jan 2, 2017
28
0
1,590
Make sure you either uninstall throttle stop or make sure it is not starting in the background or running a service.

Windows also has power settings. There is a Max and min CPU on battery and power. I'd check that area... and set 1 min 100 max for all.

If that's not it...
I'd trying shut the machine down. Unplug the power and pull out the battery, now how the power button for about 5 seconds. Put power and battery back and try again. Other possible things you can try reset the BIOS settings.

Honestly not sure what is causing it but that's what I'd try if I didn't know what was going on.
 
Solution

angrypig7

Estimable
Aug 25, 2015
4
0
4,510


Wow, I did not expect this to work at all.
I tried uninstalling throttlestop or tweaking windows power settings but didn't do anything.
I got into BIOS, disabled internal battery temporarily, pressed power button a few times, connected AC power and booted and my CPU just came back normal.
I have absolutely no clue what caused this problem but your solution worked :)
 

nzalog

Commendable
Jan 2, 2017
28
0
1,590
Assuming throttle stop did something funky that put it into that state. Laptops are a little unique because not all parts of the system get their power cut off 100%. Probably some low level bios function hung up... not sure... Pulling the battery and the power then holding the power button drains all the power and lets things get a fresh start. You probably don't have to hold the power button but it helps because if there are any charged capacitors, that should help drain them instantly instead of waiting longer.

Glad it worked out. =]
 
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