# Throttlestop PL Limits



## Shiiicken (Aug 18, 2020)

Hello! I have a Razer Blade 15 Advanced with an 8750h and a 2070 Max Q

I usually undervolt and  throttle the laptop through limiting the CPU Power limit for when I'm on the go. I'm not a speed demon and the laptop is powerful enough for me to do some work and light gaming so I don't mind not squeezing the 100% out of it all the time.

Is there any way to set different PL1 and 2 settings for different profiles?

When I'm plugged in I'd like to have it around 35 watts since I do work that requires more speed and being a bit noisy doesn't bother me, but when I'm in a meeting or just on the go I'd like to cap my power limit around 15 ish Watts to keep the fans completly silent and the computer frosty.

Also, I got some questions about the pp0 current and power limit on the TPL window. What do these settings do?

Thanks in advance!


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## unclewebb (Aug 19, 2020)

Shiiicken said:


> Is there any way to set different PL1 and 2 settings for different profiles?


Not yet. Maybe someday.



Shiiicken said:


> the pp0 current and power limit


Intel CPUs have a power limit for the entire CPU package which includes everything including the Intel GPU. The two PP0 limits are separate limits that only apply to  to the cores. You can use these to set either a power consumption limit or a limit of how much current can flow through the cores.


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## Shiiicken (Aug 19, 2020)

Thanks Unclewebb! 

I got a couple more questions for you about settings on the FIVR and TPL window if you don't mind.

Are there any optimal settings for the PP0 current or PP0 Power Limit? I personally don't notice any difference of performance between having the PP0 Current limit from 0 to 100 and I've never messed with the PP0 power Limit box.


Is it better to have an undervolt with a higher negative offset on the core than the cache or should I undervolt the Core and Cache equally always?


Should the System agent, Intel GPU and iGPU unslice be undervolted equally? should they even be undervolted on my system since I have a dGPU?
I've tried to inform myself through the bunch of guides on youtube an on this forum too but one thing is to hear other people saying these things and another is to hear it straight from you so I'd love to get some answers if it's not too troublesome for you!

Thanks again! and have a great day/night.


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## unclewebb (Aug 19, 2020)

@Shiiicken - ThrottleStop is a tool. It can solve a lot of different problems. If you do not have a problem that needs to be solved then do not change anything.

1) Optimal settings do not exist. Every CPU and every laptop is unique. If the manufacturer has set the PP0 Current Limit to 0 then that usually means this limit is not being used. Leave it alone or set it to a big number like 256 so it does not cause any throttling. All of these are just limits. Setting the current limit sky high does not mean your CPU is suddenly going to start flowing 500 or 1000 amps. The CPU will only use as much current as it needs so it can run at its rated speed. Setting the current limit to 100 is probably more than enough.

The PP0 Power Limit is rarely used by manufacturers . No need to change this if it is not causing any problems. Leave it unchecked and set to 0.

2) You need to test your own laptop. Setting the core and cache equally is always a good place to start testing. Do some testing with Cinebench R20. See what your baseline score is and then try adjusting only the CPU core voltage more than the CPU cache. Some users with the 8750H get better results by doing this. If you do not see any improvements in performance or core temperatures then there is no reason to do this.

Many users have reported their best results with the cache offset at -125 mV and the core offset at -200 mV. If you get your best results at -125 mV for both of these offset voltages then stick with whatever works best for your laptop.

3) If you are going to undervolt your Intel GPU then start by undervolting both the Intel GPU and the iGPU Unslice equally. Do you need to undervolt the Intel GPU? Probably not. If you have an Nvidia GPU, that will be used when gaming so undervolting the Intel GPU will make no difference. That is why most people leave this alone.

If undervolting the System Agent improves temperatures or performance without negatively effecting stability then yes, go ahead and undervolt it. 

As for your settings, you seem to have your power limits reversed. It makes sense for the CPU to use a 60W limit for a short period of time and then after the CPU heats up, to switch to a lower power limit like 35W for the long term. Setting the long term turbo power limit higher than the short term turbo power limit does not make sense at all.


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## Shiiicken (Aug 20, 2020)

Got the settings corrected and it's working like a charm!

I got a more stable undervolt, it passed all TS Bench tests back to back (64, 256 and 1024MB) with no errors although the speed is capped around 3.1 Ghz on all 6 cores while peaking around 74c on the hottest core and 66c on the coolest one with the fans set to Auto.

While gaming it gets a bit hotter, around 80ishC constant, but I'd say that's the 2070 saturating some of the heatsink too

Again, Thanks for clearing up some doubts!


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## Kyaw Zin (Nov 15, 2020)

I have MSI GE73 RGB 8RF i7 8750H, GTX 1070 8Gb DDR5, RAM 16G

I undervolted my laptop as per settings shown below. At first, I set the PP0 value to 130 and I encountered freeze frames issue when playing Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts. That issue occurred every 5 seconds when running the game. Game screen froze completely and then continued for 5 seconds then stopped again. But when I change the PP0 value from 130 to 200, all issues disappeared at once and the frame rate jumps from 50 fps to 120+ fps. Gaming experience is so smooth and CPU temp is at 73C.

I undervolted my laptop because CPU temp is 90+C whenever I'm in gaming. Now temp is around 73C and a smoother gaming experience resulted from ThrottleStop.

Is there any correlation between PP0 current limit setting and its effect on gaming? I'm happy if I learn something from that case. My settings are as below.


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## unclewebb (Nov 15, 2020)

Kyaw Zin said:


> any correlation between PP0 current limit setting and its effect on gaming


I have not heard of any correlation.

Some of your ThrottleStop settings might be the cause of your problems. Why did you set the turbo boost power limits so low? Your settings are half of what these CPUs are set to at default and about a third of what these CPUs need to obtain maximum performance. Setting the long power limit between 45W (default) and 60W is more appropriate. If your cooling is bad then try replacing the thermal paste.

Your core and cache voltages do not have to be set equally. Download Cinebench R20 or R23 and use that when setting your voltages. Run a baseline test with the core and cache both set to -125 mV. From here, start increasing only the core up to -150 mV, -175 mV, -200 mV, -225 mV. Each time run Cinebench again and you should see improved performance or improved temperatures. Before you do any testing, reset your turbo ratios to their default values, and set Speed Shift Max to 41. What sort of temperatures are you seeing during Cinebench testing? These CPUs are designed to run at over 90°C continuously when gaming. I think your settings are sacrificing too much performance when you really do not have to.


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## Kyaw Zin (Nov 15, 2020)

unclewebb said:


> I have not heard of any correlation.
> 
> Some of your ThrottleStop settings might be the cause of your problems. Why did you set the turbo boost power limits so low? Your settings are half of what these CPUs are set to at default and about a third of what these CPUs need to obtain maximum performance. Setting the long power limit between 45W (default) and 60W is more appropriate. If your cooling is bad then try replacing the thermal paste.
> 
> Your core and cache voltages do not have to be set equally. Download Cinebench R20 or R23 and use that when setting your voltages. Run a baseline test with the core and cache both set to -125 mV. From here, start increasing only the core up to -150 mV, -175 mV, -200 mV, -225 mV. Each time run Cinebench again and you should see improved performance or improved temperatures. Before you do any testing, reset your turbo ratios to their default values, and set Speed Shift Max to 41. What sort of temperatures are you seeing during Cinebench testing? These CPUs are designed to run at over 90°C continuously when gaming. I think your settings are sacrificing too much performance when you really do not have to.


Thanks a lot for your reply! Now I will try like your say. My CPU temp is around 90C and sometimes goes up to 92C under full stress. I think I have to repaste CPU thermal compound too.


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