Speeding up my Laptop

[teamjunior]

Hey guys,
I recently downloaded CPU-Z, a program that tells you your computer's current specs. The thing I found surprising that my laptop is supposed to be clocked at 2.2 GHz dual core. Instead, within 10 minutes of starting the laptop, the voltage drops from 1.150 V to .9 and the clock drops from 2.2 GHz to 1.2 GHz. I know some laptops underclock themselves after heating up, but the laptop isn't heating at all; I always have an external fan connected.

I have a Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 / 2.2 GHz ( Dual-Core ) Processor

My laptop is a MSI A6000, you can find its specs here:
http/www.cnet.com/laptops/msi-a6000-029us-core/4505-3121_7-33847513.html

Note: I recently also changed the hard drive to crucial's M4 SSD

 

[Russel Johnson]

There are other reasons behind the purpose of underclocking like saving power, you do have a laptop after all.

 

[teamjunior]

There are other reasons behind the purpose of underclocking like saving power, you do have a laptop after all.

Yes, its a laptop and its always plugged in since the battery life is only around 5 minutes

 

[C12Friedman]

Although using a cooling pad can help temps, I might suggest running CoreTemp to see what your temps actually are, it really does sound like thermal throttling to me. The problem arises when dust bunnies develop around the heatsink, they will block airflow enough that the only recourse is to open the unit and clean the heatsink (blowing compressed air through the vent(s) does little to move them - they'll move back quickly). See what CoreTemp tells you http/www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

 

[teamjunior]

Sorry it took me a while to get back to you, I ran the program and this is what I got:

Select CPU: Processor #0 / 2 Core(s) / 2 Thread(s)

---Processore Information---

Model: Mobile Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 (Penryn-3M)
Platform: Socket P (mFCPGA-478)
Frequency: 1200.04MHz (200.01 x 6.0) <--This should be 2200MHz
VID: 0.9250 v <--This should be 1.150V
Revision: R0
CPUID: 0x10067A
Lithography: 45nm

---Processor #0: Temperature Readings---

Tj. Max: 90°C

Core #0 62°C Min. 62°C / Max. 67°C / Load 35%
Core #1 64°C Min. 62°C / Max. 67°C / Load 25%

 

[C12Friedman]

I'm sticking with thermal throttling here, there should be more than a 5C difference between min and max temps. I was unable to find any how-to instruction videos for cleaning your heatsink but that's where I'd focus

 

[teamjunior]

Ok, when I opened up the laptop, the fan is a bit dusty but running full speed. There is an orange tunnel connected to it gets very hot. Think putting a vacuum tube to the top of the fan should do the trick or do I have to remove the fan to get the vacuum tube to connect to the end of the orange tunnel?

 

[C12Friedman]

Hopefully you can clean it without further disassembly, see what you can get out of it. I am not positive but I believe the 'orange tunnel" you are referring to is the heatpipe (sealed on both ends) which transfers the heat from the CPU and GPU out to the vent. The vent, heatpipe and blocks are all soldered together and remove as a single unit (refer to picture here https/www.discountedlaptopparts.com/msi-a5000-cooling-heatsink-fan-e320800230f05.html - all one unit). If you do decide to remove the heatsink assembly, a fresh application of thermal compound and possibly new thermal pads would be needed

 

[teamjunior]

This is exactly how it looks like, the fan isn't very dusty to be honest. If I do not want to remove the heatsink, will simply vacuuming the top of the fan with a vacuum tube work?

 

[C12Friedman]

That should work, I'll suggest holding the fan so it doesn't spin while vacuuming

 

[teamjunior]

Will give it a try, thanks!